Finding The Smile
Finding The Smile
So there’s this blogger that I follow. His name is Ben Davis (bendoeslife.com) and he has lost 130 pounds after discovering a love for running. He has completed countless races and has even completed an Ironman! He’s badass, super funny and easy on the eyes:)!!! Once in awhile he will write something deep and thought provoking, and yesterday I came across one such post (see below). As I read this post, I felt like I was reading my own life - that Ben has been sneaking into my journal and into my head. These last few months of my life have been filled with sadness and a rollercoaster of emotion. And the saddest thing about all of it is that I gave up on me. I decided that I wasn’t worth fighting for. I let the darkness creep in and take over. I allowed comfort to beat out sacrifice. I decided that being sad was easier than fighting to find the joy. I quit on myself. I lost focus. I decided to settle for comfort because it was safe. It didn’t matter that the comfort was sucking the life out of me. BUT…I’m back! I have rediscovered that fire in me, that fight, that inner badass! And I am learning how to fall in love with myself all over again. I am learning to take care of myself, to drag myself out of bed in the morning to let Erin kick my ass at the gym, to push myself beyond what I think I am capable of. And I know that I will probably slip up again. This isn’t a fight that is won only once. This is a fight I will have to win time and time again. But with every slip comes wisdom and tools to use to fight the fight harder and smarter. And that makes it easier to find the smile…
Finding the smile
It’s no secret that a lot of people in the world are sad. In fact, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to assume that most people have some area of life that is unsatisfactory and, in many cases, it is bleeding through to the rest of their lives in the vicious cycle that has become the cliché of depression and unhappiness.
For some of us, this manifests itself in the form of sitting in front of a screen rotating between our email, blog, Facebook and Twitter. Over and over. We get sad, but we look around and there’s nothing else, so we hit refresh one more time. And again.
The hours don’t fly, they drip like molasses.
Others fill that emptiness with substances. Some use alcohol and drugs. Some find excuses to eat. Others simply sit and stew, waiting for the clock to tell them it’s time to go to sleep again.
The sad things we fill our lives with aren’t important.
What’s important is to understand that if we’re going to fix it—if we’re going to get better, whether it be through our own methods or professional help—we have to find something to replace the bad. That time can’t go unoccupied, because when it does, we allow the habits to creep back in.
I found races. But it doesn’t have to be running. It doesn’t have to be Crossfit or yoga. It doesn’t have to be working out at all. Get creative and make it fun. And make it worthwhile. But, whatever the cost, put a positive force into play where the negative used to be. Life can be exciting. Life can be fun.
Replace the bad with the good. It’s necessary.
So there’s this blogger that I follow. His name is Ben Davis (bendoeslife.com) and he has lost 130 pounds after discovering a love for running. He has completed countless races and has even completed an Ironman! He’s badass, super funny and easy on the eyes:)!!! Once in awhile he will write something deep and thought provoking, and yesterday I came across one such post (see below). As I read this post, I felt like I was reading my own life - that Ben has been sneaking into my journal and into my head. These last few months of my life have been filled with sadness and a rollercoaster of emotion. And the saddest thing about all of it is that I gave up on me. I decided that I wasn’t worth fighting for. I let the darkness creep in and take over. I allowed comfort to beat out sacrifice. I decided that being sad was easier than fighting to find the joy. I quit on myself. I lost focus. I decided to settle for comfort because it was safe. It didn’t matter that the comfort was sucking the life out of me. BUT…I’m back! I have rediscovered that fire in me, that fight, that inner badass! And I am learning how to fall in love with myself all over again. I am learning to take care of myself, to drag myself out of bed in the morning to let Erin kick my ass at the gym, to push myself beyond what I think I am capable of. And I know that I will probably slip up again. This isn’t a fight that is won only once. This is a fight I will have to win time and time again. But with every slip comes wisdom and tools to use to fight the fight harder and smarter. And that makes it easier to find the smile…
Finding the smile
It’s no secret that a lot of people in the world are sad. In fact, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to assume that most people have some area of life that is unsatisfactory and, in many cases, it is bleeding through to the rest of their lives in the vicious cycle that has become the cliché of depression and unhappiness.
For some of us, this manifests itself in the form of sitting in front of a screen rotating between our email, blog, Facebook and Twitter. Over and over. We get sad, but we look around and there’s nothing else, so we hit refresh one more time. And again.
The hours don’t fly, they drip like molasses.
Others fill that emptiness with substances. Some use alcohol and drugs. Some find excuses to eat. Others simply sit and stew, waiting for the clock to tell them it’s time to go to sleep again.
The sad things we fill our lives with aren’t important.
What’s important is to understand that if we’re going to fix it—if we’re going to get better, whether it be through our own methods or professional help—we have to find something to replace the bad. That time can’t go unoccupied, because when it does, we allow the habits to creep back in.
I found races. But it doesn’t have to be running. It doesn’t have to be Crossfit or yoga. It doesn’t have to be working out at all. Get creative and make it fun. And make it worthwhile. But, whatever the cost, put a positive force into play where the negative used to be. Life can be exciting. Life can be fun.
Replace the bad with the good. It’s necessary.
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