Mental Fitness #2

Have you ever noticed the difference between driving to your house in your neighborhood and walking to your neighborhood to your house?

Last year I decided to learn how to skateboard. I started off with a 5 degree hill, then incrementally tackled more and more of the hill. Every time I would practice, I'd have to walk back up. After a while, I could skate down a few streets at a time, but then of course, I'd have to walk back up each street to do it all over again. It takes time.

When skateboarding and walking the same streets (or driving and walking),  a strange and noticeable phenomena occurs. The scenery doesn't look the same. While driving, the houses, the cars, the shrubs, and the people are all just there. Nothing special stands out. Nothing unusual, nothing interesting, the rather ordinary exists.

Skateboarding the streets is different than driving. With skateboarding, I notice the little rocks and fallen droppings from the trees, and people's mannerisms watering and mowing and doing different things in their garages.

Yet even more changes are noticed when walking. The colors in the trees are more noticeably yellow and green and orange. I see the veins in each leaf and I think about which gardens I like and don't like and why. Shiny and dusty, new and old cars in a variety of colors line the streets. Some times of the day there are few cars parked along the streets. I like skateboarding those times. Other days, there are too many cars parked that I forego skateboarding because of the danger. Sometimes there are more leaves on the ground after a windy night, some days more black dogs are being walked. 

Slowing down to notice what is really there and how those things feel on the inside is calming, quiet, and peaceful. It is a good, perhaps great feeling to be alive at those moments when all is slowed down. I am convinced that loving and appreciating deeper in life comes from slowing the pace.

Slowing down doesn't mean accomplishing less. As I have slowed down everything, and have rid life of the unnecessary things, duties, and obligations, I've made more room and time to enjoy the moment and accomplish so much more. 

To savour the moments of shopping, cooking, and containing foods or running on the treadmill becomes more enjoyable when I'm not wanting to move onto the next "thing." The time, wherever spent, is enjoyed more thoroughly and happily. 

I have found myself running on the treadmill for sometimes 15 minutes more when I'm not focused on what I'm going to do next. My happy meter inside my body clicks on sometimes during a run, something I wouldn't notice if I wasn't calm and peaceful. The same happens when I've eaten healthy foods. Being more present with what's going on right now brings more awareness to the feelings and thoughts, and perhaps gives more ammunition to becoming consistent in nutrition and exercise, because something is starting to feel good and I have more energy to put where it's needed. 

Here is my awareness question to you right now:

Who is the most important person to you?

Answer this question, remember this question, and remember the exact place and time. 

Next blog I will talk more about the question and getting into the place you don't want to go but need to go.

Emotional Update

Yesterday and today I have felt pretty good emotionally. I'm not angry and pissed off now. I wouldn't say that I'm excited and happy either. I'm in a place somewhere in between. I am sure that it's not too difficult to understand that when the body and mind have to go through a change that it is difficult. Success in this process comes from being able to manage one's actions by eating only the foods that will help make a successful transformation and consistently exercising and pushing the body to new levels as one is motivated or able to challenge oneself.

Inspite of all my complaining, I wouldn't put myself through this process unless I enjoyed the process. A moment on stage is just that. The challenge is really the months it takes to get to that one moment in time. I can understand why many people who exercise and diet for a prom, a reunion, a marriage, or some special event are not successful keeping off the weight after the event. The focus for all of us who have done these types of diets tends not to be successful, because it's all about the "moment" and not about the process. If one could get to the place of enjoying the process then there may be more emphasis on changing the mental state of being, and less focus on a single moment of time where "the jeans fit."

If one is to be successful then one needs to put the effort in on a daily basis to start making small changes. It doesn't mean that every day for the rest of one's life that one cannot go out to dinner, splurge on your favorite snack food, but it does mean that more time must be spent on altering one's food choices and making exercise a regular habit. In our house we don't go out to dinner evey week. Sometimes we go out once a month or maybe every two months, or maybe 3-4 times in two weeks. We are not consistent in that way, so that there are many more days that allow our entire family to stay committed to a particular nutrition and exercise schedule. Then when there are events or dinners out then we can relax more if we choose.

Kids should never be one's excuse for not eating well or exercising. Kids should eat well most of the time too. They should be eating fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and good fats every day. Kids will always have birthday parties to attend, and little goodies that their friends share with them, so there is really no need to go out of one's way to buy unhealthy or highly processed foods for them. If anything, kids should be the reason to be at one's best. We are role models for them. If parents are on the couch eating, or eating fast food, don't expect them to do differently.  If your refrigerator is consistently packed with easy to go grab foods that are prepackaged, don't expect the child to wait for you to clean and cut fresh fruit.


RsmKettleGirl@gmail.com