Late last week I made the decision to invest in something for me. I so often find myself investing in equipment, classes, books, and other things for my business, but I very rarely take the time to invest in or work on myself. So I decided to take a little money I had set aside and invest in a year-long course about health, money, time, relationships, and overall happiness. And I can honestly say that this has so far been worth the investment.

The first portion of the course has covered health which is really quite a broad topic if you think about it. I mean, health covers everything from what you eat, to how you move, to your stress level and the amount of sleep you get each night. So a wide range of things has been covered. Some new, some old. But regardless of whether this was the first time I’d heard the information before or the 100th time – sometimes reminders or looking at information from a different perspective can really help you get a handle on it.

For most of my life, I’ve been telling myself what I am not and what I can’t do. Growing up I always told myself (and firmly believed that) I wasn’t creative. I wasn’t athletic. I wasn’t smart enough. I wasn’t pretty. I wasn’t lovable. And on and on and on. I’ve spent so much of my life determining what I’m not that I haven’t really taken the time to confirm with myself who I am. Okay – I had created this alter ego – the me I could or would be in a perfect world, but I never honestly believed she was someone I could become… because she is the perfect version of me.

One of the things that they tell you to do is pick an identity like “I wake up at 7 am every morning” or “I always eat a healthy breakfast” or “I never miss a workout.” Decide who your new identity is and then  be that person. Let me start by saying – Oh my gosh! How simple is that? and Why did I never think of this? And that’s when I started to realize how long now I’ve been defining myself by what I’m not and what I don’t want to be. For years now I’ve been telling myself I don’t want to go back to the world of eating disorders and negative body image. Sure I don’t love the way I look now but I love who I am and it took me years to develop the ability to do that. But I never realized that by focusing on the negative (what I didn’t want) I was preventing myself from moving forward, becoming who I want to be, and getting myself back in shape.

So here I am… On my blog… Telling all of you what my newly defined identity is. Because if I just keep it to myself what good is that really going to do me? My goal is to occasionally share with you my progress (and boy am I hoping for progress) so that I can stay accountable to myself and all of you. So I’ve decided my new identity is as follows:

I never miss two workouts in a row.
&
I always choose healthy, whole, and natural foods whenever possible.

I’m starting with only two because I don’t want to add too many changes at once and then fail to stick with any of them. So I’m starting with these simple, but very solid and direct statements. It’s the beginning steps towards a healthier me and I’ve started today! I ate a healthy breakfast this morning and I’m drinking lots of water and I did my first body weight workout of 2013! And I’m feeling great about all of it! I’ve tried a lot of different things in the past but I feel that this is the first time I’m really approaching all of this in a positive way and with enough information that I can succeed at it.

There are so many other things I have learned and I’m really excited about but I figure I’ll share a little bit at a time. I’d love to hear if you find this interesting and if there’s anything you are working on this year! I hope you all are having a wonderful Monday! See you Wednesday!

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