For starters, I’d like to say thank you for the sweet comments on my last post. I am so thrilled with my progress and am just desperate to share it with people. Not so they can cheer for me, but hopefully see that you don’t have to wear dumpy clothes to hide or never leave your home for fear of criticism. I truly do wish I could bottle up this feeling and pass it out!
In light of my personal physical changes, I’ve been reflecting on my mental state. This has been going on for months; actually since the beginning of the year because I found a box of my old journals. I went through them because I was looking for a specific entry (I’ve kept a journal since I was 8 years old) and as I read, I was filled with so much sadness. I was a very honest child and documented everything. I was stunned by how merciful I used to be. So kind and positive. When something bad/sad/unjust happened, I gave the other person grace and resolved to love on them more. And I’m just not that graceful anymore.
To be fair to myself, the years in between those entries and now haven’t been a walk in the park. I grew up, I saw things, I experienced things and allowed myself to become quite a Negative Nancy. Over the years, I’ve managed to cut out the awful habit of gossiping almost completely and I’ve gotten a much better handle on my temper. But the one major flaw that I haven’t been able to manage is my constant negative outlook. I am a perfectionist and I have very high expectations for myself, so I do tend to note failure before success. I knew these were my issues, but honestly, until I started exercising consistently and watching a physical change, I didn’t really care to work on my mental outlook.
Therefore, for the month of June, I am challenging myself to not focus on the negative. Instead of saying “thank you, but…” I’m going to just stop at thank you. Instead of starting an answer or comment with “ugh, it was the worst!”… I’m not sure how I’ll start my comments, but I’ve got to break that habit. Not everything is the worst. I’m going to work on not complaining about the constant challenges that I face either during workouts, or parenting, relationships,or business. It’s a hefty challenge, I realize this.
This isn’t about me becoming a mindless cheer bomb. I am going to have lousy days at some point in the next month.. I’m human and live in the real world! But I don’t need to focus on that part of the day. What I need to do is reverse the natural polarity of my thoughts. From Negative to Positive. From Nancy to Penny, so to speak. As a visual for this exercise, I’m going to put a penny in a jar every time I don’t remember to focus on the positive. I’ll be sharing my progress at the end of my Go Green Get Fit update posts since my mental health and my physical health go hand in hand. It takes 2 weeks to form a habit, but I’m giving myself a month… I’m realistic and honest with myself.
Just as I’ve challenged you to join me in strengthening your physical bodies, I’d like to also challenge you to strengthen your mind. All of our days could be so much more pleasant if we were Positive Pennys speaking with a purpose! Join me in bettering your mental state and learning to enjoy the little bits of life that were previously unpleasant!