Written by Amanda Green
At the end of 2012, I was a complete mess.
I was dumped. I had put on a lot of weight. I was antisocial.
I had always been a little overweight (pushing 240 lbs at 6ft tall so it still showed quite a bit). This put a crunch on my self-esteem so I countered it by remaining indoors, playing video games, watching movies, and browsing the Web. How I managed to get a girlfriend was beyond my understanding but I had that going for me … until it ended, of course.
Now I was a fork in the road.
At first the only thing that helped me get out of this funk was reaching out to my friends because they provided the comfort I needed. But I knew I had to make bigger lifestyle changes. I couldn’t just sit around, continue to be the way I was, because I’d be in the same boat.
What Instigated the change?
After spending a great deal of time sulking and reading blogs, forums, and talking with people about my problems I realized I really had to do it for myself – I had to start the healing from within.
I formed an idea for wellness:
· Body
· Mind
· Spirit
It was my belief that doing just one good thing in each of these categories would help form a better person. I saw them a circle diagram, which overlapped and in the center was “the self”. This was me – who I should be – and the way to obtain it is to challenge myself in these three categories.
The Start of the Change
I knew this would be an uphill battle because I had developed many bad habits over the years.
What I did …
Body
I started an exercise routine and a major shift in my diet.
Workout videos were too hard and jogging hurt my legs so I opted to cycling. I did some research and found affordable bikes for sale. The little bit of money I had to the side went toward one. Then I began cycling. The first few days were tough because I barely exercised. Then it progressively got easier.
Along with a shift in my diet (well, actually the whole lifestyle) I was eating right and cycling every day. In two months’ time I had dropped nearly twenty pounds and the last bit of it shed off from basic body weight exercises I’d do before call it a night.
Mind
All that time I put toward those wasted activities had put me in a bad mood.
I had to do something with my time and something with my mind. I started a regiment of education. I used online courses to begin learning new skills (mostly computer related to match my work) but also ones on hobbies and nutrition.
Before long, I was out of the funk and working on passionate projects. My mind was stimulated.
Spirit
I’m not a spiritual person but I do feel there is something deep down inside everyone that yearns for fulfillment.
The funny thing is that dropping the weight and having a new direction from learning new skills already helped with much of this fulfillment. The remaining equation was solved by reaching back out to friends and family. I brought them closer than ever before.
I had let so much of my focus go into my (now broken) relationship that I neglected those around me. I said my apologies and began to rebuild. I redeveloped a positive relationship with my parents and put all I could into spending time with friends. Sure enough, I felt fulfilled – as if I were a complete person again.
Final Words
We all get into slumps. A lot of the times it’s because we allowed our actions to take us there. But just like getting there – you can reverse those actions to get out. No matter how low you go it simply means there’s more room to aspire.
I made it out from the rut and I believe you can too. Focus on the body, mind, and spirit. Challenge yourself and become the person you want to be.
