We all know the feeling of wanting to change something in our lives. However, sometimes our determination is not strong enough to fight past the feeling that our end goal is so far out of reach that the journey just doesn't seem worth beginning. The fact of the matter is, you can sit and hope or wish or pray that your goal will magically sprout legs and walk towards you, or you can get up off your arse and go and get it for yourself. No matter how far away it seems, even one step in the right direction is one step closer to achieving it. Taking these manageable baby steps are precisely how I have been trying to reach my own personal goals, and three months into the journey I have realised that when all these baby steps are added together I have actually travelled a bloody long way.
Here's some of the most important little steps that have made an immeasurable difference in my life:
1. Stop Comparing - I have never competed or compared myself with other people in a way that has negatively affected my own self esteem, but I do continually compare myself to a better version of the person I want to be, or a better version of the person I feel I was in the past. Learning to stop comparing yourself is one of the most positive things you can do. This can be an incredibly challenging step, as I realised recently that even if you are working hard not to compare yourself, someone else will always try to. Don't let these people knock you back or make your progress seem any less profound. You are your own person, don't let your self worth be defined by anyone else's success.
2. Every time you eat, nourish your body - Your body is like a car, if you don't put petrol in it, it won't run. So stop selfishly piling your body with things that your mind craves. Your body needs nourishing, it is the only 'house' that you can't pack up and move out of, so be house proud, treat it well and make it somewhere healthy, happy and positive. Every single time you are hungry it is an opportunity for you to feed yourself with vitamins and minerals that will help you to become stronger. Remember: if you fill your petrol car with diesel it won't run very far, so stop filling yourself with the wrong fuel too.
3. Take things one day at a time - Each morning is a chance to try again, so don't drag over yesterday's failures into todays blank start. Wake up each morning and begin with a fresh mind, don't dwell on the things that have happened in the past and try not to worry about what may happen in the future. Live in the moment and only look back to see how far you've come.
4. Ask for help - No one is expecting you to do this alone. Things take time, and when I first decided to make healthy living my ultimate priority I became disheartened at how slow my progress seemed to be. I would go to the gym, but I never really knew what to do there, I would go to do a food shop, but I never really knew what to buy. I wanted to change but never knew how to change. But I was terrified of asking anyone else to help me. This was my journey and surely that meant I had to fight all my battles for myself? True, I did and still do need to do this for myself, but that doesn't mean that other people can't help you get there. Things seem much easier to handle when you have a team of people around you supporting you every step of the way.
