Thriving! “I reap the benefits of a life spent in health, joy and contribution.”
Happy Thrive-Day, friends! Just a quickie post to keep myself honest and on-task. Per the usual, it’s been a day of catching up and trying to get ahead of the game a bit as we head into the weekend. I started my day bright and early with a double workout — Full Body Cardio HIIT25 from Moms Into Fitness and Day 60: Lean Legs Blend (the final workout!) of Barre Blend. I always feel amazing starting my day (especially Fridays) with a good ol’ fashioned sweat sesh and this one left me with that I’m-so-glad-I-worked-out feeling. *Cue my happy dance.*
I find it ironic that I randomly chose the word thrive today. In complete transparency, I haven’t been feeling like my former-thriving self these last five months or so. I’m not sure if it’s a combination of my recent autoimmune flare (which has gotten so much better with an increase in the dosage of my medication), hormones (hello, early-40s), Seasonal Affective Disorder (cue, “Here comes the sun, do, do, do, do…”) or something I have yet to self-diagnose. But whatever it is, I’m finding that it’s been a bit more of a struggle to motivate myself to do anything — even those things that I love doing (i.e. running, writing, decorating the house for a season/holiday, talking with friends, etc.). That’s why it’s been so important for me to keep up with my fitness routine (with adjustments for my various aches and pains) and try to stay on track with my nutrition. I find that if I keep my body as healthy as possible, my mind follows suit. Sure, I still have those days when I look longingly outside and think about how simple things were when my girls were toddlers and how complicated I feel that life has become, but for the most part, I do my best to keep a positive mindset, as I know that the brain plays such a powerful role in one’s overall health.
I’m hoping that this daily affirmation journal is going to help me dig out from those not-so-good days while allowing me to celebrate those days when the sun shines most brightly in my life. I want this blog to be a place where I can be real, raw and ho
nest about what really goes on behind the sweaty selfies. As a former Communication scholar and professor, I find myself thinking more and more about how those mass media theories that I spent so much time researching have been playing themselves out in my own life. Social Comparison Theory being right there at the top of the list. Thus, I hope to use this blog as a platform to speak about those things that aren’t as apparent in the filtered, smiling photos splayed all over the internet. I’m just as guilty of angling my body a certain way, using the best lighting possible and/or creating a more captivating caption as the rest of the ‘Gram. But in all reality, life is not always as it seems and even when you think someone else has it all or has it all figured out, it may surprise you to learn that they, too, are somehow trying to find a way thrive just as strongly as the rest of us.
Until Day 4, my friends…
Deep Thought Thursdays 