Extra
I know this happens a lot. You work out extra hard. You ate well all day. You feel like a rock star. You feel like a major bad ass. Your inner “let’s do something we shouldn’t” brain is telling you that you deserve to have …
Author: peggielarsen
Perspective
As I sit down to write this early Monday morning, I can hear the whir of the ceiling fan, subtle, not loud. Just subtle. I can hear the cars on the highway passing by the house carrying the people on the way to start their …
Break Away
As I was getting ready to write my blog this week, I gathered my several notebooks out of my bag that gets hauled everywhere. I carry them with me all the time, in case an idea strikes or if I just take ten minutes in the morning and write. Sometimes I put notes in my phone, but I would much rather feel the pen on the paper. I like to feel the smoothness or the scratchiness of the pen, depending on the tip. I like the cool look of the dotted journal. I love to fill in the empty pages with my thoughts and musings.
I grabbed several of the notebooks and headed to my computer to start the process. As I opened the yellow notebook to find the next blank page, I opened to a page that had one word written on it. It made me wonder what my thoughts were when I wrote it. It made me wonder why I didn’t go back and finish what I started. Ha. How ironic now that I am sitting down and thinking about this.
There is something in our lives that is very, very hard for us to do. It just is. That is the word that was written on the page. The word was “change.” Wouldn’t you agree that change is something that can be hard? We get so comfortable in our little comfort zone. Bring on the comfy couch, blankie and bowl of popcorn. Turn the TV on and we are set. It’s our after-work-zone-out, mindless-eat and withdraw-from-the-world routine. I would bet that most people are grabbing a beer or a glass of wine as well. I know I used to.
Change can be scary and change can take time. Sometimes we don’t think we need to change. We are so busy denying anything is wrong that we just stay in our little bubble of comfort. Denial keeps self-sabotage alive. It’s a defense mechanism we use to keep us from feeling things we don’t want to feel. It essentially numbs our emotions. Kind of like too much alcohol. Kind of like too much food. Kind of like a lot of things.
Take some small steps towards change. One thing can start the ball rolling. For example, if you think you can add some extra steps to your day, that’s a start. That might be all you need.
Change can also be exciting. It can help us see things in a different way. It can help to motivate us. Once we start seeing some positive things happening, we want to keep going.
Be patient with yourself. Clean off that lens of perception and take a good hard look and see what can be possible. The truth really does set you free.
Let your life flow. Let your life change. Break away from the fear of change. Embrace it. Live it.
The definition of change is to make or become different. Take a chance on yourself.
I walk the walk
Do you walk the walk? Do you talk the talk? You know what I mean by that, right? If you are perceived as being someone who is healthy or you do things that influence people or you tell people what to do, do you take …
Shift The Blame
You want it to be someone or something else’s fault. It couldn’t be you. Why would you do that to yourself? It’s so easy to play that game, but it’s a game you will never win. You will never win. Yep, I repeated that, because …
It Was Just A Ruler
The sticky note was on my computer for about two weeks. Two 3×3 yellow sheets of square shaped paper with the written words. Sitting there. Waiting to be written. Forming the words in my head and my heart. Thinking how to write it. Thinking about how certain things trigger memories. Thinking about it. Letting it swish and swirl around in my head. Still waiting to be written. Every time I opened my laptop, there it was, reminding me. Reminding me of her memory. Waiting to be written.
It was just a ruler. A wooden ruler. It was an 18 inch ruler though, not the standard 12 inch ruler. That was kind of odd. But, it’s just a ruler. Why is this ruler a thing? I wondered, what’s so special about this ruler? Then I saw it. It was her ruler.
He came out of his office to show me. He said he always thought it gave him good luck. I wasn’t sure what he was talking about. It was just a ruler. Then he flipped it over and on the back side was a name. The letters were written in black Sharpie. The letters were written in all caps. The letters formed a name. It was her name. It was her writing. I recognized it right away. That recognition never goes away, no matter how long it’s been. I tried to hide the emotions. I’m sure he saw it. It caught me off guard.
It’s fitting, or ironic, a coincidence or a message from her. Her absolute favorite holiday was the 4th of July. Tomorrow. Manana. She said that to me every day when she left the office…manana.
She was always so excited for the 4th. Her neighborhood had their own parade. Pretty much their own holiday. Sunshine. She would set up a table in the yard to launch her fireworks. She was giddy with excitement. It was the kind of excitement that was contagious. Just like her smile…contagious. Just like her. Full of life and full of sunshine and full of beauty.
I see her now. Walking around, a glass of wine in her hand or if the day called for it, a glass of scotch. Ice cubes clanking against the glass, making her music. Her hair flowing and her head tilted back with laughter. She loved to laugh. She loved to live. She was a beautiful soul. Gone way too soon.
So, when I saw the ruler, the name on the ruler, I knew it was her. I knew she was there. I get goosebumps now thinking about her and how she touched my life. I can’t imagine never having known her. I miss you Sandy. Light it up tomorrow!
Sail On Silver Girl
I wish I would have written down the day or the date or even the time. I do that sometimes. When I am writing I forgot to write that down. Then when I go back and fine tune and add or subtract, otherwise known as …
Is It Special Enough?
Is it special enough? Only you know the answer to that. Let’s say you have your set macros, or even if you are counting calories, you have your set number of calories. That is your budget for the day. That is what you get to …
Number Goals
Should you have number goal? When you are on your journey of transformation, which can be quite rocky and up and down and sideways, of losing weight, should you have a number. Should you have a number goal or a goal weight you are trying to achieve?
We are always made acutely aware of those numbers. You know, the scale numbers, the defining how your day is going to go numbers, the defining you numbers. I understand saying I want to lose X number of pounds.
But think about it. What happens when you reach that number. When you stand on the scale, does the scale say, “hey bitch, you reached that number, now you’re perfect.” What happens to your life when you reach that number? What is going to be different? Not much. Things will not be much different at all. It’s still you. You still have to live with you.
The bigger, more important things are your health, your happiness, you well-being. Those are the things that really matter. Can you put a number on those? What if you never reach that number? What if you get three pounds away from that number? What then? Are you just going to say screw it, I guess I’m done now. I didn’t reach that number. I failed. I failed again. I am a piece of shit. We all have beat ourselves up like that. We all have told ourselves that.
You just missed the big picture. You concentrated on the negative. So you never even enjoyed the positive. You didn’t enjoy the progress you did make. You were so focused on wanting to reach an arbitrary – this will make me feel better – number, that you missed everything in between.
You missed the – oh I can breathe better today. You missed the – wow, that workout felt easier. You missed the – my pants aren’t as tight. You missed the – holy shit my skin looks amazing, and many many more little victories you accomplished along the way. You made a crap ton of progress and you missed it all because of that number, all because you had it in your head the whole time. You were tunnel visioning that number.
Focus on the process when you are going through your transformation. Focus on the journey. The numbers happen regardless, the numbers are always going to be there. Don’t let the number hold the power over you. Don’t let the number dictate who you are or who you want to be.
You are the only one who has the power to change and to be you. You control it. Set some non-scale goals along the way. Enjoy the process along the way. Live your life along the way. When you pay more attention to the journey and to what happens during the process, you learn how your body responds to things and you learn way more than you would checking out and chasing a number. Check into your life and learn about yourself. Take back your body and take back your life.
You Just Never Know…
It was a day like any other summer day. It was June 3rd. The year was 2000 It was early morning. We were just lying in bed. Talking to each other like we always did. We could her the birds chirping and the waves against …