We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.
T. S. Eliot
Our life’s journey is about self-discovery. It is about bringing our awareness inwards so that we can begin to feel the things that lie under the surface of our ordinary awareness. We need to bring light to the darkest parts of ourselves and learn to love ourselves unconditionally. At some point we start to realize that the choices we make determine our experiences.
As T. S. Eliot says so beautifully, we will “arrive where we started and know the place for the first time,” but with a sense of gratitude and appreciation for where we are and what we went through to get here. Sometimes we have to take the long and winding road to arrive at the place we are meant to be.
Having worked in the field of nutrition and health for 20 years, I’ve seen thousands of clients, students, and family members struggle with food, life experiences, illness, and the death of loved ones. Across all these experiences, I have learned a great deal about the effects of stress on aging.
If there is one thing I’ve come away with, it’s that stress is going to come our way no matter what, but it’s how we weather the storm that makes the difference. We can’t control external events, but we can control how we react to them — and that starts with our relationship with ourselves.
We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.
Anaïs Nin
We all view reality through the filter of the emotional state we are in. If I wake up feeling stressed or overwhelmed, then I become stuck in what I call “problem thinking,” and I end up missing all the blessings and opportunities around me. When we are in that state, we don’t see the bigger picture and how these feelings affect us as a whole.
Sometimes that negative headspace manifests through our diet. When we experience stress, many of us will end up digging ourselves in deeper by eating foods high in sodium, caffeine, fat, and sugar—foods that offer false emotional comfort and end up depleting us by robbing our vital nutrients.
If you have been struggling with weight, health, or goal issues, it may be due to a negative core belief that you hold about yourself. You may even be replaying unhealthy scenarios in your head, becoming your own worst enemy. If you don’t feel as though you are worth it, you will make unhealthy choices.
To make healthy changes, you need to feel good about yourself and become your own cheerleader! What you think, feel, and believe about yourself determines the choices you make. Your attitude is what defines you, not the excess weight or your circumstances.
So, what do you do when you’re caught in that kind of “problem thinking”?
Treat yourself with the same loving compassion and kindness you have for your child or your closest friend. Elevate yourself and give yourself all the encouragement you need to be successful.
Say to yourself, “I know I may not be where I want to be right now, but I am grateful for where I am. The mistakes I made in the past were a necessary part of my journey. I am grateful for what I have gone through in order to bring me to who I am today.”
Finally, here are some specific things you can do to help yourself weather the storm:
- Rest when you need to.
- Say “no” when you need to manage your energy.
- Choose to not react to negative people or events in your life.
- Take time for yourself and the things YOU want to do.
- Don’t take on responsibility for others or their problems. Simply be an ear and listen.
- Spend some time alone; meditate, write, sketch, do some yoga, or simply sit quietly for a few minutes each day and do absolutely nothing.
- Embrace your down time.
- Eat organic fruits and vegetables in abundance, and get plenty of filtered water, sunlight, fresh air, sleep and exercise.
- Tune in and reconnect to the earth’s pulsed electromagnetic frequency (PEMF) by walking barefoot. It has many powerful effects on your wellbeing since we resonate with the earth’s frequency.
- Find joy in your everyday existence and make peace with what is.
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