Talk the Talk. No: Walk the Walk. If I am going to talk self-esteem, then I better walk self-esteem.
“I was 45 pounds overweight, and wasn’t taking care of my body or mind. Why? Well, life sometimes gets the best of us, and “taking care of me” was at the bottom of my priority list.”
I had been building The JNP Project for many years. Working endlessly. The JNP Project was my second priority, and my first priority was my Mother–sick, and her body slowly disintegrating as she became less and less able to care for herself–I was her only kin, and the one person she depended on to be there for her. I would not let her down.
In doing so, I was not focusing on myself. In order to give her the approximate 20 hours a week in care and monitoring, and be able to contribute most of my available time to The JNP Project AND still care for family at home and the responsibilities of marriage and homemaking, I consumed sugar foods, ate at the wrong times, and did not get proper rest or any exercise at all–well, where some people with stress thin down, my body got bigger in trying to save itself. Over the course of five years of caring for my mother (…into a long-term-care-facility, and 39 straight months on Hospice care) it was all I could do to try to focus on business and personal responsibilities.
I looked bad. I felt bad. And I was not at all confident about the Me others saw, and most importantly, the Me “I” wanted to be again.
Okay. “Time to Walk The Walk!,” I told myself a few weeks after my mother’s passing. My experience of losing her was devastating. Still is, and I am sure will always be. BUT, I will will not allow grief to take me to a negative mental state–she would not be proud of me if I did.
So I decided it was time for me first, and then business and family–in that order! Is that selfish, yes. If I don’t take care of me first, I can’t help anybody. If I don’t take care of business, then I have no income, and can not take care of me and family. I have been caring for family for over twenty years, and they are pretty much set. So, back to me first.
I had set goals for myself: physical, mental and emotional.
– Physical: I planned to lose the 45 pounds I gained. Slowly, over 9 months. Eating well, sleeping more, and most definitely, exercising. A life-long healthy pattern–not any fad-anything. All good. Ongoing.
– Mental: I planned to be proud of myself. Losing weight first, and next bringing The JNP Project to global awareness. All this would inspire family, associates and friends to recognize that I am not talking the talk, but walking the walk.
– Emotional: Joy. Confidence. Esteem. Each day’s plan was to be emotionally grounded. Building on each day, with pride of what I had accomplished the day before. Continuing to work on reaching my goals has been, and IS, a really good feeling.
My plan is working and my personal goals are being reached! As of today, I am half way to loosing my weight gain (lost 23 pounds!! Wooohooo!) I exercise daily, walking a minimum of five miles. I am working JNP much sharper as I am getting rest (regenerating those creative brain cells), am much more focused, and have more energy to do all that is required to build this global brand.
I am proud of my accomplishments because I “AM” WALKING THE WALK.
If I can do it, so can you.
Join Jane, Jake and all their friends on the adventures to discover your inner awesome, together!
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Note: This Blog is a chronological diary of a start-up-company—The JNP Project’s Journey—reading it from the start, will broaden your understanding of the path we are on, together, and hopefully, positively influence you in some way!
FYI Tip: I love tools that nurture (hence, creating JNP tools nurturing kids esteem)– so I went out and got a FitBit™ to track my walking, heart rate, calories intake, and sleep patterns. It is a fantastic tool, IF you put the time into tracking yourself.
This is where I got mine: http://www.fitbit.com/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=NA%20-%20Fitbit%20-%20Brand%20-%20Alpha-Beta%20-%20Search&utm_term=rechargeable%20fit%20bit
-Hello Healthy has great articles on nutrition--here is one about just eating right, all the time:
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