Beauty

    

      I hope you had a wonderful Wednesday! It was definitely an interesting day! I always love ending the day visiting with my boys and my love. As much as I love my alone time, I must say I miss having everyone home. Not seeing my kids for the summer is hard, I miss them so very much! This is partly why I decided to start selling It Works! It keeps me busy and provides some extra spending money ( who doesn't love a that)!
     As hard as this is to type, last summer was a rough one! It was my first summer without my kids and I worked all week, while my boyfriend worked nights every weekend. I was sad, lonely and angry. It took me having a huge life change to realize I had to change. Have you ever felt like you were so angry and you know it's wrong, but you can't stop? That was me a year ago. I never want to feel that way again!  Does it make me a weaker person- no. I had to admit to myself I needed to change and like all things you really have to want it! I now take Zoloft everyday and I don't feel ashamed. I spent many years feeling that way off and on, and now I can rationalize without getting upset.
     Fast forward to now and life has changed 100%. I had to fix my internal me before I could focus on my external self. We always find flaws with ourselves when we look in the mirror or wish we looked different in pictures. I know I am not the only one. I am woke up every morning with a " good morning beautiful". Do I feel that way? He makes me feel loved but I see 100 things I wish I could change every time I look in the mirror.  So in addition to losing weight I am going to work on feeling more beautiful!

From http://www.wikihow.com/Feel-Beautiful---- read more at this link! Great advice!
The greatest beauty tip of all is knowing that you are already beautiful as you are! Sometimes, though, it's hard to acknowledge your own beauty when you just don't feel beautiful. Here are some things you can do to remind yourself that you're already beautiful and that everyone is beautiful in some way or another. I love this!!

Journal about your positive attributes.^[1] Start a gratitude journal that highlights your appreciation for what you love about yourself the most. By staying grounded in your good qualities, both your inner and outer beauty, you will keep these things more present in your mind. This way, each time you have a moment of self-doubt or face an rude remark from someone else, the things you cherish most about yourself will be ready at hand.

Take a look at your relationships. If you have steady doses of fondness and acceptance, you will always be able to see yourself in the positive light that your loved ones do. Similarly, if you spend lots of time with overly harsh or judgmental people, you will learn to view yourself according to their rigid, critical standards. If you are filled with the notion that you are unattractive or unworthy, question whether or not someone in your life bolsters this idea.^[3]

• Make sure that you have a good support system of friends and loved ones. There’s nothing more effective than social support to make you feel strong, capable, and beautiful.

Get active. In addition to benefits like weight loss, exercise has also been linked to fewer depressive symptoms and a lowered risk of heart disease.^[8] This means that keeping a regular exercise routine will keep you feeling uplifted, energized, and secure in your good health. If you find it difficult to find the motivation to begin, try starting small by adding brisk walks to your week. Then, you can gradually increase the amount of cardiovascular or strength training exercise to the degree that your lifestyle permits.

• Try to exercise in ways that increase your flexibility. This way you will learn to see your body as something that is always evolving and changing.

So here is my challenge----I want each one of you to post one thing about yourself in the comments that you find beautiful about yourself! Let's get positive!

Why do we judge?

     Why are we always the first to judge our own decisions? Or judge someone else's decisions? I don't mean just about our looks, we judge each other on race, religion, skin color, and sexual preference. This weekend we watched Free State of Jones, this movie is incredible. One man stood up and helped change history, and he didn't let anyone stop him. I don't know how many times I cried while watching this. I firmly believe it isn't our place to judge others for their decisions.
    
     I don't understand the attraction to another woman but I have many friends who are in same sex marriages. They are completely happy and that makes me happy. Do I have to understand their attraction to the same sex? No, I see two people in love and that is what matters. This applies to all things that the world seems to be fighting about. We are all unique but we have one thing in common; we all bleed red. We are all fathers, mothers, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends, and family.

     My picture says " look in the mirror, that's your competition." This is so very true. My challenge from now on is to be a better version of me. If you start judging yourself or someone else, stop and look in the mirror! How do you see yourself?  We all have our own battles, there is no reason to add to anyone else's battle.

     I found another blog today that inspired me for when I am doubting myself, great advice! Check out the whole blog at the link below!

---Blogger Lynn Newman http://tinybuddha.com/blog/5-immediate-and-easy-ways-to-silence-your-inner-critic/
     "If you’re working on something and all of a sudden you start questioning yourself, if you feel your energy decreasing, if you’re getting stuck, bored, or tired, recognize the judge is speaking to you.
     Listen, but don’t take his words to heart. See him so that he doesn’t hang out in a distant corner manipulating you from above.
     Identify him with presence rather than pushing him way. Because what we resist will persist!
     Once you see him, here are 5 immediate and easy ways to respond to your inner critic. It’s so simple that it may seem unrealistic, but it works. Memorize it and keep it close like a mantra.




When your inner critic acts out, say:

1. So what?

So what if you think that? That doesn’t mean it’s true.

2. Who cares?

You think your judgments means something to me? They don’t!

3. Big deal!

Oh seriously, big deal! Really, big f’n deal!

4. Why not?

Why shouldn’t I do this? You’re telling me I can’t? I won’t? I’m not worthy of it? Why not? I’m going to continue doing this anyway, because I can! No matter what you say, I’m going to just keep diving in.

5. What if it doesn’t matter if I am __________________ or not?

     Fill in the critic’s judgment here. For example, what if it doesn’t matter if it’s good enough or not? If it’s weird and people might find me strange?
     What if it doesn’t matter if it shows my talent and I will be recognized by others for it or not?
And even, “What if it doesn’t matter if it’s beautiful or not, because I’m going to keep giving myself permission to keep on painting anyway no matter what you say!”
     Feel how these questions empower you, and whatever you are doing, keep doing it anyway. Keep meeting the dream, the project, your creative expression.
     Keep going, forging ahead, building one block at a time.
The inner judge rarely goes away. As long as we have minds, he will continue to find ways to torture us. But we can identify him and say: “I see you, judge!”
When we identify the inner critic like this, we take away his power and regain our own."