Out of Breath & Overwhelmed
I get out of breath when I walk up big hills.
[Always have, always will - even when my body was in bodybuilding condition - so don’t even start with “lose weight” lol]
So when I go for my morning walks and I am faced with this hill every day I almost talk myself out of it because it's hard and I don't like feeling uncomfortable and breathing heavy. When I do keep going, I dread every step and I try to push through it as quick as possible.
But I was reading a book about how, when monks go for their daily mindfulness walk they walk slowly and focus on their footsteps.
Left foot is touching the ground.
Right foot is touching the ground.
Left knee is bending.
Right knee is bending.
Rinse & Repeat.
So, yesterday morning I decided to try this approach. Instead of rushing to get through my walk, I slowed down. I became intentional about every step, my focus on each step in front of me rather than the top of the hill.
Before I knew it - I was at the top.
Not out of breath.
No racing heart.
It was like no time had passed at all, yet so much time had.
And it was a good reminder for me about the impact of intentionality and slow growth.
In this day and age we are so hyper-focused on getting through the hard stuff as quick as possible and finding a solution to make “it all feel better” - I used to think if I just read the right books and took the right courses, THEN I'd avoid hardship. I used to want to zip through personal development, trauma and body image insecurity because I knew it wasn't easy, required some difficulties of looking at my squidginess, and was going to be uncomfortable (and I've already mentioned I hate being uncomfortable, lol) And let's be honest, we live in a society that thrives off of us numbing our discomfort instead of seeking long term solutions.
So, if you feel like you aren't “far enough” on your body image journey or haven't made any progress towards self acceptance, I want to first of remind you to take a look behind you - you are probably further up the mountain than you think. Maybe your negative thoughts are fewer and farther between. Maybe catching a glimpse of yourself under pot lights in the fitting room no longer causes you to derail your shopping experience like it used to. Maybe, like me, you rarely get mad at your body for behaving a certain way and have traded criticism for compassion.
Secondly, I want you to face every day as the next step. Don't focus on the distance from where you are to where you need to go, just start going. Whether that's looking at yourself first thing in the morning and saying “I love you [insert your name]”or perhaps, resting when your body is asking for it even though guilt might be bubbling up. Any action towards self & body acceptance is a good action.
I've gone ahead and compiled a list of 30 different small steps you can take, so feel free to click the button below and download/print the pdf to keep yourself intentionally focused on moving up the mountain that is self & body acceptance.
