Quote Tuesdays

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” ~Dale Carnegie

I have been thinking a lot lately about confidence.

Confidence is something I always had growing up - confidence in my abilities, confidence in myself and confidence in my actions. But, somewhere along the way, I seemed to have lost it.

I think gaining weight had a lot to do with it - not because I was fat or unattractive, but because I wasn't myself. Everyone could see it and often pointed out - they said that I was meeker, milder and more quiet. I had retreated in, not feeling understood. I hated being told that I looked "different" or being asked if I was pregnant or that "I would never have recognized you." I was usually fine with the weight that I had put on, but to be told that I didn't look like me was not okay. All of a sudden, I began to not feel like me either. I wallowed in that for a few years, fluctuating in weight, not feeling like myself, trying to rediscover myself only to realize that I wasn't that same person anymore - so then trying to figure out who the new person I has become was - then being hit with the fact that my body wasn't really my body but instead something food had taken over - I had no idea what my body was really like since it was always fighting something. It was just one blow after another. I feared I'd never lose the weight, that I wouldn't ever be myself again and I had no confidence in myself. All that doubt lead to more inaction - more wallowing in my own self pity and laziness - which, not surprisingly, didn't help!

Recently, however, I have begun to have more confidence in myself. I am learning that I am strong, determined and smart. I have confidence in the new lifestyle that I have begun, I am confident in the choices I make and I am beginning to have more confidence in my body. After reading this moving story, I decided that it was time to stop putting off doing/buying things until I have my "better" body. I bought a couple new, beautiful, pieces to add to my wardrobe - splurged a bit on a few pieces of jewelry and decided not to wait anymore for a skinnier body to get some feel-good clothes. And, they are in my newest style - vintagey, feminine pieces. It's not about waiting and longing for the body that I had and want again, but instead about celebrating the body that I have now - a curvy, womanly, comfy body. After all, Real Women Have Curves.

Now, all this is not to say that I'm giving up hope on a skinner body - but I'm not focusing or obsessing over it, either. My main goal is to be healthy, and if getting skinny comes as a result of that - then so be it - if not, then I will survive! I am taking actions to be a healthier person - I'm moving around/exercising more, I'm trying to eat more fruits and vegetables while eating less sweets and I'm just trying to take care of me. I know these actions will only further help my confidence and before you know it, it will no longer be a conscious effort, but instead, a result of my routine actions!

So, what have you been putting off? What do YOU want to do? Well, go out and get busy doing it! :)

 

2 comments:

Carrie said...

I want to write a book, I want to be able to cook and bake full time, and I want to work from home... and eventually lose about 50 lbs... but I'm starting now despite the 50 lbs! ;-P

Tori said...

I'm right there... trying to be healthy and working to accept me as I am and as I change. So simple... yet difficult, too!

I enjoy your blog and look forward to checking it frequently. I appreciated the jeans post you linked to! Wow. What a great essay on goals, expectation, and perspective, huh? :)


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