SHE BELIEVED SHE COULD SO SHE DID

As you set out on this quest to "Finding Your Fabulous", you must recognize that it's less about the destination and more about the journey.  Every step we make, every action we take or any reactions we experience in our lives, play a part in forming us into the person we will become.  We can keep doing the same things we've always done and get what we've always had OR we can make the necessary changes in our lives to bring different results.

Some of you have a support network which encourages you to be the best you can be, those who reassure you when you doubt, and who help you celebrate your accomplishments and victories.  Then there may be those of you who are solely responsible for boosting your own confidence, and you may have no one to share in your struggles or relish in your successes. In fact, you may even have people in your life who take enjoyment in belittling you or discouraging you.

Regardless of your situation, the people you are surrounded by or your current circumstances, there is only ONE way to reach your dreams and goals.  YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN! 

For most of my life, I have had people encouraging and supporting me, cheering me on for any attempt I've made towards pursuing my hopes and dreams.  THEY believed in me, but there was one small problem, it didn't matter how much they believed in and for me, it wasn't enough to push me towards success because I failed to suppose that I COULD succeed.  I've let fear, doubt, and unbelief pull me back to the "safe zone" I've created for myself that has allowed me to remain comfortable and complacent.  Rather than take chances I needed to take, I shrunk back in panic, closed the doors to my sheltered space and withdrew back into that place of false security.

This coming year, I have many changes I am facing in my personal life and I have struggled with anxiety, apprehension and even terror in these uncertain times. Some days are better than others, but there are times when I allow myself to be overtaken with the fear of the unknown.  It has crippled me emotionally at times, and no matter how reassuring my friends and family have been, I would still find myself immersed in misery because of my doubts.  It quickly became apparent to me that I HAD to start making some changes.

I started this year free of resolutions and instead chose One Word for the year to focus on and after meditating on it for a few weeks at the end of 2014, I chose the word EMPOWER.  (Read my blog post about it here at my writing blog, Stay Calm, Just Write.) " Empower" encompassed everything I felt I would need to make 2015 the year for change.  It also represented breaking out of my comfort zone of everything I'd always known, gaining strength, power, confidence, boldness, and most importantly giving myself the authority to make the necessary changes.

For me, one of the first steps I have made towards empowerment is to also become physically healthy
again.  I began making smarter, healthier choices, gave up soda, sugar and carbs, started drinking more water, and began exercising everyday, NO MATTER WHAT. For me, this in itself is miraculous.  I was probably one of the most idle people before I made this change.  I sit at a desk all day long at my day job, then I would come home, eat terribly then perch on the couch until bedtime.  No wonder I felt so horrible and depressed.  My body was literally shutting down from lack of movement.  Now, in just four weeks, in addition to the by-product of weight loss, the physical and mental shifts have been remarkable.  It really is all about the attitude.  How you see yourself determines your success.  What others think of you should have no value to where you are, where you are going and where you end up!  You must see yourself as that which is greater than what you feel.  Feelings and emotions change, sometimes hourly, so we have to focus not on how we might feel at any given time, but look at the bigger picture of what we want beyond today.

There is nothing wrong with living in the moment, we should enjoy each day, live life to the fullest, absolutely!  However, we have to keep in the back of our mind, that although none of us are promised tomorrow, we should plan as if it were guaranteed, otherwise, life will pass us by, day by day.  It is time for each of us to find what makes us fabulous and unique, to discover the diamond in the rough so we can shine, sparkle, and radiate our rare inner and outer beauty to the world!!