Another year is quickly approaching its end! I can hardly believe it. But I think I say that every year. The more I enjoy my life and everything in it, the faster time seems to go.
I was sitting with a cup of coffee in hand the other day thinking back on this year. As with most folks in California, we’ve had some changes that have now become part of everyday lives. Hello face masks 🙃 But besides the chain of events that is Covid-19, I was looking back on my life this past year. As many “aha moments” as I had, tears that I’ve shed, and messes I’ve cleaned up, what is the biggest lesson to take away?
Being kind to myself has made the greatest impact on my emotional life. What I am referring to is: doing, saying, or thinking something I later regret and NOT beating myself for it afterwards. It could be as small as raising my voice at my daughter when I really didn’t mean to. And rather than punishing myself after while loathing with regret, I would approach it with curiosity. I’d ask myself questions with kindness being the main intention. By doing it this way, has really helped me make an impact on my emotional well being.
I have learned that if I truly want to change something in my life, it will have to be from a place of self compassion. Negative talk to myself has never led me to change a behavior for the better. Asking myself degrading, low quality questions was not the solution. I struggled with this for years with unwanted weight I struggled to lose. I would say things like: “Why is it so hard to lose weight for me? I’m never gonna reach the dream body I want. I’m such a pig, I’m never gonna change.”
Negative thoughts never lead to positive results.
What has been made very clear to me, is to ask myself better questions. Questions that will spark an emotion, that then leads me to take appropriate action(s) in order to create the results I want.
Doing this work on improving my emotional life is not a one and done deal. This work is what the gym/working out does for our bodies. We can’t expect the results to last if we’re not actively working towards it. We must continue with it to continually create our results. We don’t need to “be better” we just need to keep growing in order to evolve into the next versions of ourselves.
I hope you have an amazing Holiday Season and until next time. You got this Mami!
