I'm happy to have you here for Day 3 of CurvySexy Fitness! Hopefully you took twelve minutes out of your day and watched the funny yet thought-provoking video from Ted Talks yesterday. I, myself, saw the benefits of positive thinking when I was going through a very difficult time in my life. For anyone who has been there, you may understand what I mean when I say going through my divorce eight years ago was one of the most painful and trying times I've ever experienced. It wasn't something I wanted, but in the end, it was something I had to go through.
But the odd thing is that I also look back at the time as a very good time in a lot of ways, particularly on a personal level. The thing that saved me was that I decided early on that I was going to come out of the divorce a better person than I was going into it. I focused on exercising and celebrating the strength of my body; I used walks or runs to think problems through, make decisions, and clear my head; I kept a blog where I wrote about what I was feeling, kept a list of the things I was thankful for, and focused on the positives after hashing out the painful stuff; I was kind to myself and did things that made me happy; and I spent a lot of time with a great support system of friends and family. There was so much good mixed in with the bad.
Since then, I have gotten away from a lot of that, and while I still generally consider myself to be an optimistic, happy person, I notice that I'm not as care-free and easy-going as I used to be. I'm hoping that implementing Achor's steps for positivity will bring back some of that magic and help me make improvements in other areas of my life. So today, we continue to build and work on making the small, positive changes from days 1 and 2, and we add two small things to begin working on today:
1. Journal about a positive experience from the last 24 hours, allowing our brains to relive it and enjoy the spike in dopamine. This doesn't have to be a long exercise, but it might help to be detailed in terms of sensory details or how it made us feel.
2. We can choose between yoga and a 20 minute walk or run, and continue working on pulling our stomachs in and up and on doing kegels, but today we add a 30 second plank to our exercise routine. I know it isn't easy, but if we push for 30 seconds, we might be surprised to find we can reach it. If we absolutely can't do 30 seconds, try for 15 or 20. We will do this daily, and we'll build on our endurance, but I promise not to escalate too quickly. A strong core is going to be important for all we do in life.
That's it! Not bad, right?
So to fulfill my gratitude and positivity journal:
1. Tuesday night is pool league night for my husband, and we usually have a couple of drinks and dinner at the bar where he plays. Last night I was happy to make healthier choices - a grilled chicken sandwich with no bun and sweet potato fries and water to drink. Although I don't intend to cut alcohol out of my diet altogether (this is supposed to be a lifestyle change after all), I am saving it for New Year's Eve on Thursday when we get together with our friends.
2. I went back to add to a story I hadn't looked at since October when I set it aside for National Novel Writing Month, and I was glad to see, as I read over the part of my first draft that I'd previously written, that I was happy with it. I thought it was pretty good. I also added about 1,000 words to it.
3. We had our first coating of snow the other night, less than an inch total, and yesterday, when my husband left for work, he stopped to shovel the sidewalk so I could get to my car easily later in the day. Also, when he picked me up to take me to pool, he already had the seat warmer on for my seat, which was amazing considering it was 32 degrees out! Sometimes it's the little things!
My positive experience yesterday came at the end of pool league. It was almost midnight, and we were starting to say our goodbyes. A friend of mine, the team captain's wife, hugged me goodbye, but rather than a loose, light hug, she gave me a good tight squeeze. It took me by surprise, but I'm a sucker for a good hug, so I wrapped her up more tightly and squeezed back for a few moments. There's just something about that connection and stopping everything else for a few moments to show affection for someone that brings a huge smile to my face.
Okay, CurvySexy ladies! I'm off for the day, but please feel free to check in with your gratitudes or positivity posts. Keep collecting those small victories!
Be CurvySexy,
Christine
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