The Keys To My Success - And Yours?

Celebrate small successes, no matter how small!

I don’t just look at the numbers or the size anymore I judge by how I feel inside (my mood) and out (feel stronger, look leaner).

 

Surround myself and my schedule with likeminded people!

My new Crossfit family has been a HUGE motivation for me. I’ve noticed no matter how much I am hurting during the workout I can’t stop telling myself that there is nowhere else I would rather be. Point blank, the more I move the more I want to move. The more I learn about health and fitness the more I want to know.   I’ve put myself out there and met so many new people and each person has either shared something with me or taught me something and I am so grateful.

Set goals all kinds of goals!

Keep it simple and attainable. Setting goals that make me happy vs goals that are strictly numbers based have a better success rate.

Example:

Goal A (BORING!) I want to lose 8lbs in 2 weeks  

vs.  

Goal B I want to attend 3 Crossfit classes per week, Paddle Board 2x/week, Zumba Monday nights and eat healthy 90% of the time.

See what I mean?  Not only does Goal B sound more fun but it also has specific direction in setting myself up for success to lose 8lbs in 2 weeks without even thinking about it.

Do things that are completely out of my comfort zone!

If I dream about it, think about it, desire to do it then I make it happen. It is really that easy. Life is meant to be lived.

The Self Talk Game

After snoozing the alarm twice this morning I quickly realized it was Wednesday and on Wednesday nights I Stand Up Paddle Board with a group of ladies. I have no time to waste on Wednesday mornings because I need to get my 10’ board from the garage strapped onto my car. I’m feeling a bit off this morning and the first I said to myself after I realized it was Wednesday was – “Angelina, who do you think you are – seriously? Paddle Boarding….and seriously Angelina – you signed up to run your first 5k in October? You joined Crossfit? Who is this person? You aren’t that person Angelina – you don’t exercise to that extent, you aren’t cool enough to be Paddle Boarding like some California chic and you certainly don’t run!”

Now usually when I have these kinds of negative discussions with myself they linger and a lot of the time they determine what kind of day I am going to have but not today. I now know its not about who do I think I am to do this activities – its who do I think I am NOT to participate in these activities.

The trouble is I’ve been rejected a lot in life which has affected me personally to some degree. Friendships, Relationships, jobs, certain things I’ve tried out for – all telling me basically I wasn’t good enough. The last few years I’ve done a lot of reflecting on where I’ve gone wrong in life for people to treat me the way they have. I’ve often referred to it as being like a tissue – someone needs me for a moment, so glad they have me but once they are done using me they discard me because my job is over. No questions, no regrets on how it would affect me and just a simple – I’m done. My most recent breakup was very much like that. For him there was no issues and no regrets ending things through a simple txt – we’re done. Clearly we weren’t on the same page with how we felt about each other. I often wonder if he knew how much that hurt me if he would have handled himself in the same manner. Who knows…

Anyhow, my point with all this is that perhaps people have treated me this way my entire life because “I” have never made myself  a priority in life. As a child I was told, be respectful to all, speak when you are spoken to and that I was to be the peace maker in the house. These are all things that taught me to be a respectful caring person in life but I think they were taken to such an extreme that somewhere along the line my mindset told me as long as everyone around me was happy only then can I be happy. Now as a grown adult how has that philosophy served me? Not very well…

I read a quote that said “You are what you eat, so don’t be fast, cheap, easy or fake” – maybe that’s how I’ve always treated myself and not just from a diet perspective but in general. Have I just always treated myself like I was second best and that’s why people have treated me that way? Coming to this realization has been a real game changer for me. As much as I thought I really loved myself and who I am as a person – clearly I haven’t and that needs to change right now.

This journey I’m on is a marathon not a sprint. There will be bumps in the road, hills to climb and there will be times I hit the famous “wall” runners speak of and I am okay with that because no matter what I know will just keep moving forward. I will move forward because I am a good person and I am worthy of a long, happy, healthy life. I know it won’t be easy – but it will be so worth it!

 

It all starts with me and I’m ready.

Never Looking Back - Cleaning Out The Old

 

I generally clean out my closet at least twice a year to get rid of items I haven’t worn in a while but this time I am doing it for different reasons.

My life is changing and saying goodbye to the old Angelina involves many things. If I’m learning to clean out the mental baggage I also need to clean out the physical stuff too. No need to have reminders of just how far I let myself go.  I’ve decided to clean out my closet and not keep any clothes that are too big on me now “just in case” I gain some back.  

When I made the decision to do this it actually gave me a rush inside because for the first time in my life I believe in myself enough not to look back, not to have a safety net and just go with it.

Bye bye size 24’s! I am now quite happy with my current size 20’s and looking forward to donating those as well soon enough!