What if no one cares?

ACCOUNTABILITY

It seems we need this to stick with something that we don't enjoy.

I have felt (countless times) that LACK of accountability. And what happens when I don't have anyone to hold me accountable? I fall. I fail. I make excuses. I quit. I slack. I don't measure up to any expectations, especially when NO expectations have been set. 

I often have a pity party inside my head! I frequently find myself saying, 

"Well, no one else cares if I fail. I have done it before, and NO ONE cared. Why does it matter what I look like, anyway? I am still a good {wife, mom, friend, sister, daughter} even if I don't fit into those goal jeans or hit my goal weight. 

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

NO ONE ELSE CARES? 

WHY SHOULD I?"

After time and time again of struggling through this mindset, this thought came to me just yesterday. I reversed the question and asked myself:

 "IF I DON'T CARE ABOUT MYSELF, 

WHY SHOULD ANYONE ELSE?"

This was a tough reality check. 

Why do I worry so much about what others think and try to please everyone else?

The person I should worry most about is myself. After all, I am the one who has to look at myself in the mirror. Am I proud or ashamed of the choices I have made? 

So where should the expectations come from? 

They should come from within. What is it YOU want and desire? And how bad do you want it?

Expect more from yourself. Not because you are not good enough RIGHT NOW, but because you are capable of SO MUCH MORE!!!! Much more than you ever give yourself credit for. 

Do it for YOU. And no one else. Because you are worth it. 

Don't get me wrong, this is NOT an easy task. 

We all need constant reminders.

Can you count yourself as your own accountability? Your level of commitment depends on your level of desire to grow and become better. 

But guess what? No matter how much you think no one else cares, there is always Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that will care for you no matter what. They also want you to do your best and become your best. Challenge yourself. Improve your skills and mindset. We are here to learn and grow, NOT JUST SURVIVE.

It seems that through struggles, we are brought to our knees in humility and broken heart, which then draws us closer to God and we will then become spiritually stronger. 

We all have a purpose and a place in this life. There is no doubt in my mind that each one of us is unique and we each play an important part here on earth. 

This new favorite song of mine portrays JUST THAT!!!!!

Read the powerful words, then LISTEN to the song and FEEL of it's truthfulness <3

There are times when

you might feel aimless

and can't see the places 

where you belong.

but you will find that 

there is a purpose

it's been there within you all along

and when you're near it, 

you can almost hear it.

It's like a symphony

Just keep listening

and pretty soon you'll start 

to figure out your part.

Everyone plays a piece

And there are melodies

in each one of us.

It's Glorious!

And you will know how

to let it ring out

As you discover who you are

Others around you will start to wake up

To the sounds that are in their hearts

It's so amazing

What we're all creating.

It's like a symphony

Just keep listening

and pretty soon you'll start 

to figure out your part.

Everyone plays a piece

And there are melodies

in each one of us.

It's Glorious!

Listen to GLORIOUS by David Archuletta

"Focus your energy on the things that really matter! There will always be distractions that will keep you from achieving your goals. Don't give in to them. How have you increased your skills, knowledge, abilities, or income in the past 90 days? Do you really expect to be successful, given how you are using the majority of your time, resources and skills?

Are you spending time with people who can enhance and enrich your life? What are you doing to take your life to the next level? Will your current efforts make the next 90 days even more successful than what you just experienced? Be honest with your assessment. Don't play games with yourself. Remember ~ if you don't have an agenda for your life...you will be a part of someone else's agenda. You have GREATNESS within you!" -Les Brown

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Negative Mindset and Stress WEIGH YOU DOWN--- LITERALLY!

Negative Mindset and Stress WEIGH YOU DOWN--- LITERALLY!

I have noticed that this is so true!

It is so much harder to lose weight when you have a doubtful mindset and choose to focus on negative parts of life that are simply out of your control.

It is like a spiral downward... You want to be happier and lose weight, but find it difficult to put in ALL THAT WORK, or even worse, you put in all that work without seeing the results quick enough, so you begin to doubt yourself, which in turn causes your body to hold onto that stress and anxiety, therefore making it even more difficult to lose the weight. 

You then become MORE stressed out, and find yourself speaking even more negative thoughts to yourself, which in turn attracts negative into your life... 

weighing you down mentally and physically. 

Mentally, as in the burden of your stress and worry is overwhelming at times. 

Physically, as in you will not only have a hard time losing weight, but you may actually find yourself gaining weight...

Maybe this downward spiral sounds familiar to you? I may not be aware of your personal situation, but I am aware of my personal experiences, and that pretty much describes some tough times that I have been through.

BUT, I have also experienced the opposite spiral! The one where you want to lose weight, choose to be happy and focus on all the things that are going right in your life. Where you create positive affirmations for yourself that you speak aloud to yourself daily, which in turn brings a sense of peace and positive energy into your mind, freeing you from worry and stress, and lightening that mental burden. This sense of enlightenment increases your desire and drive to improve and you begin to lose weight and see positive changes in your life. 

The spiral continues upward and you begin to create bigger goals for yourself. 

Your energy is through the roof! 

You see your potential is greater than you ever thought possible and you set higher expectations and feel AMAZING as you see yourself accomplishing what you once only dreamed about! Dreams begin to become reality and you realize that not only are you changing your own life, but your positive energy and newly-found purpose and drive 

is spilling out into the lives of others. 

They begin to see hope for themselves and then reach out to thank YOU for inspiring them!

Yes, both scenarios are VERY real.  I have lived them both, and I have seen others live them. The truth is, your reality is based on the choices you make. 

But also, you ATTRACT into your life what you ARE. 

If you are negative and living a life of regret and hopelessness, then that is what kind of people and experiences that you will find coming into your life. 

But on the other hand, if you are driven to improve, striving for progress, setting your mood to a happy, positive beat every morning, THAT is the kind of people and experiences you will attract into your life. It literally begins with a conscious choice... EVERYDAY.

  

I would love to hear your experiences with either scenario. 

Please share and tell me what you have learned. 

REMEMBER:

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DEEP in thought... me being a little more than transparent

The Last few months I have been reflecting on a LOT. Trying to recall my journey throughout the last couple of years. I know that I once had some regret, and still do regret not keeping a record of my emotional struggles and successes through my 70+ pound weight loss journey. Especially now that I feel like I am almost starting over.

I was once obese and through nutrition and exercise I was able to lose a significant amount of weight. Easier said than done, right? 

I can easily recall the way I FELT after losing weight. I can remember the abundance of energy, the escalated self confidence, the joy of getting dressed and liking the way my clothes were fitting! It was so exciting and is still fresh in my mind!

But I wasn't done! I still had more to lose! It is well known that weight loss really doesn't have a finish line, because once you lose the weight, you must then CONTINUE the healthy lifestyle to MAINTAIN that weight. Well, I still had weight to lose! 

So why did I stop after coming so dang far? I still ask myself that question...

But I have learned so much going through these struggles, that I KNOW that it HAD to happen for me to overcome my self-doubts and increase BELIEF in myself and my potential. Mindset is huge in any life transformation. To pursue and progress forward you must personally grow. I recognize that it was my lack of personal development that kept me from progressing. How can I help others if I don't first help myself?

But is it too late to restart? 

Absolutely not.

It is NEVER too late to learn. It is never to late to improve. It is NEVER EVER too late to change direction and course. 

Well, of course unless you are dead, but even then I believe there is HOPE! ;)

TO ALL MY FOLLOWERS (or those who once followed me, and no longer do because I'm a slacker), I am SO SORRY!!!!! I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. 

Here is ONE (of the MANY) things I have learned in the past several months:

"Choices you make everyday, although seemingly insignificant at the time, ultimately determine where you end up. Do your daily choices align with where you want to be?

It is this very reason that when wondering WHY you are where you are, the answer is so very clear... take a look in the mirror and you will see who is responsible." -Cherish

So here is my confession: It is ALL my fault... For gaining weight, for losing support, for losing belief in myself, for losing traction on my momentum, for losing sight of my goals... It is ALL my fault and NO ONE else's. 

Why have I been so quick to throw the blame on other people? Maybe because it was easier than taking responsibility of my own actions and fessing up to my mistakes and lack of action. (and yes, I overate, and lacked self control when it came to food, and that is ALL MY FAULT as well!)

I heard a quote a while back that said "NEVER GIVE UP ON SOMETHING YOU CAN'T GO A DAY WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT."

Guess what? I have something that I think about EVERY DAY, that I have been trying to give up on, but I just can't seem to imagine my life without it! And as much as it changed my life previously, I can't imagine not sharing it with others since I KNOW it can change their life as well!

It is something that taught me countless things about myself!!! It helped me believe in things that I thought were once impossible, it taught me how to take control of my life and make positive changes, it taught me that I was capable of inspiring others and making a difference in this world, it taught me to expect more from myself, it taught me that everyday choices are what will determine where we end up in a year from now, ten years from now... I have learned SO much from being a Beachbody Coach! I learned so much about myself and my limitless potential. I have learned to BELIEVE in myself and also to help others BELIEVE in themselves! It is SO empowering to know without a shadow of a doubt, that YOU are destined for great things! And it is also SUPER empowering to know that when great things don't happen, there is no one else to blame but yourself. (by the way, I am swallowing A LOT of pride when I say all this)... don't judge! lol! But seriously, I can't in good faith, keep something so life-changing, to myself. Yes, it's about working out and getting healthy, but more importantly, I FOUND purpose and PASSION in helping others see what was possible for them in their own life.

My point is, nothing is final until we are dead, and even then, there is still HOPE! 

I want to throw this out there that I HAVEN'T GIVEN UP! I have faced some road blocks and hit my head on a few brick walls, but I am still alive and therefore, I still have to look at myself in the mirror each day. And I cannot look at myself in the mirror with adoration until I fulfill my calling in life which is to make a DIFFERENCE in the lives of others! That means being a positive influence and it starts with ME! 

The next question is, are you with me? Because it won't be easy if I'm on my own. I look forward to building more relationships and being that source of hope and light for others that feel there isn't much hope or light out there. 

Much Love,

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My health transformation

This picture shows a part of my journey. Not the beginning, and not the end. 

I am in this continual process of becoming better, stronger, healthier, smarter, more knowledgeable, etc. 

I am determined to never let this progression end.  

This picture shows the outward result of the decision to CHANGE.

What was I BEFORE?

I was obese, but that didn't define me. 

More importantly, I was a wife and a mother. 

I was happy and content with my life. I thought I was healthy, because my blood pressure and cholesterol numbers were "normal". I was teaching my young children how to make healthy food choices, yet I wasn't being an example. I didn't know how to set and reach goals, and I had never heard of "Personal Development". I was a follower that blended into the crowd. I would look in the mirror and wonder where my GLOW went. Where was my spark for life? I was just going through the motions and not doing anything extraordinary. 

I KNEW I needed to make a change, but I was afraid of committing. 

WHY? 

Not because I was afraid, of failure, but because I was afraid of the work that it was going to take. I knew that if I was going to lose weight, I was going to do it the right way. By eating healthy and exercise. Which we all know takes time and effort. I was not a sucker for the fad diets, pills, wraps, or any other "quick fix" claims out there. I was also a cheap-o, and didn't want to cost my family extra money for something that I wasn't sure would work. I had looked into a personal trainer and was blown away by the expense of that. I was a stay-at-home mom with no extra source of income and wasn't about to spend that much for a personal trainer that would take me out of my home to workout, cost extra money for gas and daycare during workouts, take up extra time than necessary. I hoped there was another way, but I had no idea where to begin. Which is the reason I put it off for so long. When I found out about how I could workout at home and follow a training schedule that was laid out for me, with no question about whether or not it would work. I had no doubt that if I did my best and worked a little each day, I could essentially reach small goals. I discovered that it wasn't so difficult. Easy to do, but also easy not to do.

The thing that makes all the difference: 

DECIDE what it is you want and how bad you want it?

What am I NOW?

I am a wife and a mother. 

I am happy, but KNOW that being content with my life is a way of saying I don't deserve better than what I currently have. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for all the blessings in my life. I am happy with the progress I have made, but if I were to become content and comfortable with my life as it is at this moment, that would cause me to cease in working toward becoming better. I am learning how to set goals and accomplish more! 

I am a leader that has others looking up to me for guidance and inspiration. It is surreal at times when I receive messages about how I inspire others. I didn't intend on that when I started, but found that helping and inspiring others actually DRIVES me to become better because I don't want to let them down. 

Does it mean I am perfect? No. Does it mean I am done? Surely not.

I know what it feels like to lose over 70 pounds. I also know what it feels like to convince myself that 70 pounds is "good enough" and then fall back into old habits. It's a good thing that I know how to pick myself back up and get back on track. Instead of giving up completely, I get up, brush off the dust, and make a u-turn back in the right direction. And my faithful friends and followers are so uplifting and supportive. 

So here I am trying to get back on track after a summer of indulging in old habits. 

70 pounds lost, but some gained back and ground to make up! But does that mean I am doomed to fail, and that I should just give up? No. I restarted my journey in October 2013 and committed to 21 days of clean eating and finished strong!

Click here to see pictures of my meals during this 21-day reset

This helped me to gain back some traction that I felt I had lost. Now that I am back on track, my body is once again craving healthy foods and exercise. It's a great feeling to know that I can progress no matter what happened in the past.

REMEMBER:

It's not about where you have been, but more about where you are GOING!!! 

And guess what?

YOU HAVE COMPLETE CONTROL OF THAT!

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Making CHANGES

Think about something in your life that you continually wish were different...  Have something (or MANY things) in mind? Yeah, me too.... and here's the thing I have learned: Positive change takes THOUGHT. Positive change takes EFFORT. Positive change takes TIME. Positive change takes a change of MIND.That means:1st) You must REALIZE that something needs to change. This decision can come from an awareness that may have suddenly crossed your mind or through an event that occurred that made you realize a change needs to be made. 2nd) You DECIDE that the change is necessary. Whether it be for health, for comfort, for peace-of-mind, for spiritual well-being, or for whatever reason you have determined.3rd) Think about WHY you want the change. Seriously, envision the outcome that will result if you were to make the change happen. This reason needs to be something BIG enough to drive you through the challenge. Dig down to the emotion of what this change could mean to you, your life, your health, your loved ones, your finances, whatever the issue is. WHAT DIFFERENCE WILL IT MAKE?4th) Choose to take ACTION! It will work best if you have a PLAN of action. A plan is like a map that will direct you which way to go so you aren't wandering around aimlessly. 5th) Don't LET yourself get overwhelmed. Yes, I think being overwhelmed is a choice. If you find yourself overwhelmed, it's okay. Just go back to step one and rethink why you started and what it will mean. Rethink your plan of action and take smaller steps that will help you achieve your goal. Change is never easy. It is meant to be challenging, because when it challenges you, you LEARN more and prove to yourself that you are capable of doing challenging things! I'd appreciate any feedback you have about this process! Here's to your HAPPINESS and a LIFE that you LOVE!

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