Do It Because You Love Your Body, Not Because You Hate It

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and even if it weren’t…
GRATITUDE is always in season, right?

But when is the last time you gave gratitude for your body? The simple stuff- arms that can lift and legs that can take you from one room to the next- is often overlooked in a “gimme more” society.

Because we are bombarded with images of people that spend the majority of their waking hours focused on their physical appearance, we have been subliminally brainwashed into idolizing a look verses a healthy lifestyle. So instead of focusing on how we can walk to the mailbox or drive a car with our fully functioning arms and legs- we focus on what we don’t have or look like.

This is discouraging and has a negative boomerang effect.

My mother often tells the story of driving my grandmother around town after she (my grandmother) had suffered her stroke and lost the ability to walk. As they sat at a stop light, people crossed the sidewalk in front of the car.

My grandma spoke softly, “I wish I could walk.”

It broke my mother’s heart to hear it and it broke my heart to hear the story retold. I think of it often and am humbled. What aspects of your health would you be grateful for today if you were without tomorrow?

In the video above, I talk about the small mental shift of thinking…

I am exercising because I love my body, not because I hate it.

This is a critical step in the ability to sustain a healthier lifestyle. Creating new habits to endure the test of time is the goal. Maintaining a health and fitness level that you are happy with requires intention, determination, discipline and most importantly– a change in mindset.

Shaming yourself into better health just doesn’t work.

It always comes back down to your thoughts.

So the next time someone needs to take out the trash – let it be YOU with your brawny arms.

Let it be YOU who finds joy in the ability to walk from the furthest spot in the parking lot.

Let it be YOU who is always up for a walk and talk about life.

Start small. Start by giving gratitude. Thank Him for your physical strength and brilliant mind.

It’s all downhill from mental.

If you need help creating a health plan you can really live with- click here to schedule a free consultation with me.

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