My extraordinary life

How the 12WBT is helping me live the extraordinary life that I deserve:

This was last week’s task, which I didn’t get around to doing on Friday/Saturday as per reasons below.  I really had thought about it a lot during the week so wanted to make sure I still did it.  So here goes…I wonder if I’ll be able to put into words how I feel about this one.

Mish says there are five key things to living an extraordinary life – and reflecting on these I really do believe that I’m now getting back to my usual self and 12WBT has helped me do that.

1.     Passionate

I’ve always been passionate about living a healthy lifestyle, well so I thought.  I have kept fit and healthy most of my life but over the past 12-18 months back when I was diagnosed with depression my mind took over and I let it.  I let myself believe the silly negative things my mind was telling me and as a consequence I ate badly and didn’t look after myself.

Since joining up with 12WBT, completing the pre-season tasks got me back on track and in the right mindset to change my way of thinking, do the hard work and get back to the person I know I love being – fit and healthy and full of life. 

I draw inspiration from others, especially by involving myself on twitter and the forums, and I have told my close friends/family about the program so that they know what I’m doing and then they also can get excited about the program with me.  And they have, people can see how I’m thriving, the weight is coming off, I’m energetic, I’m smiling so much more and I’m genuinely a happier person.  I’m a group cycling instructor, I’m a role model for members of the gym, for my family and for my nephews.  I love being fit, I love helping others achieve their goals, and I love living a fit and healthy life.

2.     Never Give Up

I went into the program believing in myself, I knew that if I stuck to the program I’d be able to be at the end a lot lighter and happier about myself.  It took me until end of week 4 to hit my first road block.  It was all mental, it was tough but I knew that one bad weekend wasn’t going to ruin my 12 week program…and journey back to my own life.  I didn’t give up, I just accepted that I had a bad weekend and I think by doing that I’ve come out even stronger.  I understand that I can’t be in control 100% of the time with planning meals etc, and that some times I just have to make the best possible choice I can.  I’ve learnt that this is my life back again, I fuel my body with good nutrition and my body rewards me by making me feel fantastic!  I respect my body, and I will never give up.  I will continue on if I have a slip up, this is life, this is forever.

3.     Resilient Mindset

I’ve been to psychologists in the past for help with my depression so I came into this program with the background knowledge but I hadn’t been practicing it as much as I should have.  I feel now that through this program – hearing from others and gaining the support from other likeminded people – I’ve now put into practice the teachings from these sessions.  I have faith and I believe in myself now, I look at each day in a positive way, I know that I will get to my goal weight and I know that I will be so much happier when I do.  I also understand that controlling my thoughts, and not letting the negative side take over is so critical, I focus on my mind as well as my physical fitness.  The book I’m reading for the second time at the moment is Fit Body Fit Soul, and it defines how I want to live my life.  It’s about getting that balance between a fit & healthy mind, and a fit & healthy body.  I know that I can achieve greatness, I am positive, I have a great life and I’m going to live it to the best of my ability.

4.     Disciplined

I’ve been at the top of my fitness before, I’ve been at the weight I want to be at, I know how good it feels.  I also know that it doesn’t come easy, and that if you want to live that fit, energetic, healthy life then you need to put in the hard work to be able to reap the benefits.  I am a highly organised person, it is my no.1 strength in life and I’ve learnt to harness this, use it to my advantage.  I lay out my program at the start of the week, I organise my food, physical activity, stretching, time out and social activities.  I know that if I get out there an do the hard work, the sessions I’ve planned for the week (which when I plan them I make sure they are realistically going to be able to be achieved in the time I have) then I know that I just have to follow the plan and the results will come.

I’ve had several days where it’s been hard to get out of bed, I made a commitment out loud with my fiancé and we agreed that he’ll help me to get out of bed in the morning when the alarm goes off instead of giving me that extra hug that will make me stay in bed longer.  I understand that I will never regret doing a work out, but I am likely to regret not doing it.  So I use Mish’s saying JFDI whenever I need to and know that the hard work will pay off.  “If it is to be, it is up to me” is another one I think of quite a bit.

5.     Raise the bar

Finally, I achieve and I succeed.  I try not to set unrealistic goals, I set challenging ones but ones that are achievable as well.  When I surprise myself and meet my goals earlier than expected I do set new ones, I know how far my body can go, I know it well.  I continue to blow myself away with the results on the scales each week, I don’t become obsessed about it but I do get very happy when another number goes away for good.  I’ll continue to challenge myself, for I feel the best when I achieve goals I set.  I have been there before, I’ve ran an ultra-marathon (45km along the Great Ocean Road in May 2010) and many other things that I never thought I would be able to do.  The sky really is the limit.  I understand the balance of life, I understand how the body works (qualified in Cert III in Fitness and am a group cycling instructor) and I will continue to thrive to achieving my FIT BODY FIT SOUL!