I have so many thoughts I want to share with you today. Buckle up, this might be a long one.
If you’d rather listen to this blog, click here. Please note that this blog will air as episode 362 of the Primal Potential podcast on 7/18/17. I won’t continue to air blogs as podcasts but I wanted to make sure everyone had access to this one as I transition to making the audio available separately here on the blog.
I’ve shared with you that one of my mantras is “travel light” and it has been a game changer for me. This weekend, however, I realized that I’ve really dropped the ball on living that mantra, especially as it relates to my interactions with other people.
First, let me revisit (more for me than for you) what “travel light” means to me.
- I don’t get flustered over the small stuff
- I’m grateful
- I find the good in everything
- I choose to focus on opportunities to move forward
- I am more powerful than my setbacks & circumstances
- I know that joy is a choice & I choose it daily
Essentially, “travel light” reminds me to refuse to be burdened by anything. Let it go. Set it down. Travel light.
I really believe that often times, extra physical weight we carry is a physical manifestation of extra emotional weight we’re carrying.
More than that, most of the emotional baggage we carry with us is optional. We can & should set it down. We only carry it with us because we don’t realize that we can & should let it go.
I will give myself credit where it is due. I’ve been doing better with my application of “travel light”. I’ve been great at applying this to myself and for myself. Just in the last two weeks I’ve found joy in more ways than I probably did in the entire year of 2016.
- I went to one of the best concerts I’ve seen in my whole life
- I went fishing
- I went kayaking & clam digging
- I went hiking
- I found a new ice cream place and drove an hour to try it out
- I got a massage, manicure & pedicure
- I’ve slept in twice
- I’ve redirected my attention away from something that upsets me to all that is wonderful in my life & all that is possible for my future
But then I got an incredible email from a woman in my summer Fat Loss Fast Track. One of my groups had a particular challenge for the week which led her to send me this email. I’ll share part of it with you. She said:
I shall practice being a woman who has a baseline reaction of calm and positivity.
First, I will practice creating a pause
Next, I will practice replacing reactions that are negative or dramatic with
- no reaction
- a solution for the issue/problem/annoyance
- an expression of gratitude for what is NOT happening
That’s so good, right? That email showed me I’ve been less dramatic and reactive with my own circumstances, but not necessarily with others. A couple people in particular.
I’ve reacted to them (not outwardly, but in my thoughts and with my focus) in a negative way.
That, for me, is the opposite of traveling light. Because I’ve chosen to make assumptions about their motives and fixate on my negative interpretation of what they have said & done, I’m weighing myself down and not being the joyful, lighthearted woman I want to be.
The email from my client yesterday was a fantastic reminder. I will practice replacing reactions that are negative or dramatic with
- no reaction
- a solution
- an expression of gratitude
It will take practice for sure but it’s a worthwhile practice because it helps me to travel light.
Another client emailed me recently commenting on episode 355 and the advice I gave a client to “take yourself somewhere else”.
I need to take my own advice in situations where I have a negative or dramatic reaction to something someone says or does, doesn’t say or doesn’t do.
Taking myself somewhere else means focusing on what is right instead of what is wrong.
Taking myself somewhere else means assuming they have good intentions instead of assuming they have bad intentions.
Taking myself somewhere else means choosing joy instead of choosing a negative reaction.
No matter what is going on in my life, joy is a choice and I want to choose it.
When I do this, my entire life improves. I’m more productive in my work & my work quality improves. I’m more motivated to workout. I’m more enthusiastic about eating well. I experience fewer cravings. I have more energy. I sleep better. Everything is better.
On the food front:
I am making a change this week. I’m significantly increasing the amount of vegetables I’m eating and decreasing protein (by just a serving or so). Fat will likely stay the same but I’m emphasizing fruit/vegetable sources of fat like macadamia, avocado & coconut and moderately decreasing animal fat sources (bacon, eggs, salmon, butter).
I’m making this change because…I’m having my eggs frozen. Like, the eggs in my ovaries (not the eggs in my fridge).
I’m sure I’ll share more about this process but I want to focus on strategies that I know balance out estrogen & progesterone and veggies are a big part of that for me.
I’m hoping for all this egg-freezing to be wrapped up within 8-10 weeks but it could last far longer depending on how many eggs are mature and viable with the first procedure.
This does NOT mean that I’m setting aside my fat loss goals. I think the two go hand-in-hand. With that said, you’ll see a large amount of veggies for at least the next several weeks.
Mondays are always lighter food days before me (and today is a Monday) because I eat a little bit more on most weekends) so I didn’t eat until about 2pm today when I had a huge plate of sauteed cabbage with half an avocado and a small piece of grilled chicken.
Then at 6pm I had a veggie stir-fry with broccoli, peppers, onions, mushrooms, chicken, curry & coconut milk.
Oh! And working out! I didn’t get to the gym today but I did workout at home. I did 2-10 minute EMOMs with a 5 minute break in between.
EMOM 1
12 cal airdyne bike
EMOM 2
10 burpees
Here’s to traveling light! Make today a great day!