Helping Others on Their Journey

Driving out to the hike with my friend yesterday she began to talk about not feeling confident about her body, even though I think she looks great I know one of the most important components to confidence is self-acceptance.  She mentions that she’s going to try Plexus.  I’m not going to bash the products because I don’t know enough about them to truly back up any arguments but I’m just not a fan of supplements, diets, or other products that push seemingly magical weight loss.

If you are a Plexus user, member of any diet program, or taking any other product to lose or maintain your weight I will say the same thing I told her if you have done your research, know the product is safe, and find it works for you then I’m happy for you.  I’m a supporter of finding what works for you but I’m always going to push making lifestyle changes.

Any weight loss plan must encourage you to make healthy changes to your diet and exercise plus be something you can sustain for a lifetime (unless you want to gain back the weight….or take pills forever).

I tried to remind her that even while taking the pills she needs to work on changing her eating habits plus getting out to exercise more often and even though I’m far from having everything figured out I want to help her in any way I can because my slow progress is still progress.  Another thing is even if I’m not dropping heaps of weight in a short time frame the changes I’ve made to my diet and exercise program have changed my life.

I’m not gonna lie. I love that I’ve lost weight and will continue to do so but my biggest victory in this process has been finding sustainable ways to change my entire lifestyle.  I’ve gone from someone who was blaming everyone and everything else for my misery to someone who understands life is what you make of it and if you put in the tiniest bit of effort you can find happiness just about anywhere.  I wouldn’t put myself in the category of the super active but I definitely wouldn’t define myself as a couch potato anymore.

If I see someone struggling in the way I was struggling I will share my stories, the things that worked for me, the things that didn’t, the lessons I’ve learned along the way but ultimately everyone has their own story and their own journey.

The hardest part for me was facing the truth, which led to the biggest revelation in my journey, the one that really helped change my whole outlook on life:

I’m primarily responsible for my happiness.  If I’m unhappy in my life something has to change.  Scenery.  Hair.  Career. Eating habits.  Exercise habits.  Hobbies.  Working out.  Attitude.  The list goes on and on but the point is to find happiness something has to change.  

I shared one of my favorite quotes with my friend “Be happy with what you have while working for what you want” because it always resonates with me.  It reminds me how silly it is to think you can’t be happy until you’ve reached whatever goal you’re working toward.

Think about it.  Do you want to be miserable for months or even years while you work on losing weight?  Or a career change?  Or saving up for a big purchase?  No and you don’t have to be.  You can be happy while you work toward your goal.  Knowing your working toward a goal is a great reason to be happy.

I feel like I’m on such an amazing journey of self-discovery, rekindling my spirit, and regaining my confidence so when I see people who are miserable I want to help.  At the least I hope some of my positive spirit will inspire someone to start on their own happiness journey.