I recently made a post on social media that received a decent amount of attention from my friends. I had been really hard on myself for the last few weeks because I lost sight of my personal goals. I had a couple small injuries in the gym that caused me to slow down on my fitness, I wasn’t eating the way I should, and I was consuming way more beer that I was okay with. I think it’s important to point out with that last comment that I am not an alcoholic and I do not have a problem with over consumption. I personally feel that if I am going to be successful in my weight, strength, and overall body composition goals I should drink almost no alcohol. This is a tough thing for me as I am THE definition of a beer lover, some may even say a snob, but I prefer connoisseur. I was doing a lot of self talk that was very counterproductive. If I stepped on the scale and saw a number 3 lbs heavier than I liked I really beat myself up about it.
This Wednesday, everything changed…
I decided to grab a mocha on the way in to work that morning. One of my favorite local coffee shops is on my way in, and there is a muffin there that I am complete sucker for. The amount of people waiting to get their drinks almost made me turn around and get back in the car but I came all this way, so I was getting that damn mocha!
Lately, in a situation like this I would grab my phone and waste some time browsing social media or something equally deplorable. This day though, like many others over the last week, I decided to observe my surroundings and be in the moment instead of burying my face in my phone. As I people watched I overheard the barista say, “Ahhh shoot, well at least I made it into something.”. The other barista said, “Oh my gosh, that is so cute!”. A few seconds later my drink was called out and I walked over to the bar. This is what I found.
This little smiley face completely flipped the script on my attitude. For some reason, this little tiny act made me realize how hyper focused I was on negativity. I’ve been so wrapped up in things like, should I date, stuff with my ex-wife, missing my daughter when she’s gone for five days, not saving enough money, etc…
NO MORE! It is time for me to slow down and enjoy the little moments. It’s time for me to love myself. I need to relax more often. I need to refocus on taking care of me again. I MUST work on making myself happy because I’m the only one responsible for it.
One part of this story that’s missing is I had been course correcting over the past few weeks. I have told many people about my plans, because accountability is huge. I was taking my lunch to work more often, because the food I bring is healthy and it saves me a TON of money. I also booked a trip to visit my friends that live in Amsterdam. They’ve been in Europe for a few years, and while part of the blame for not ever visiting lies in my failed marriage, I could have gone and visited if I really felt strongly enough about it.
So… here is to putting yourself first, to trying to live the fullest life you can as often as possible, to slowing down and taking stock of all the little things! I hate to put something like YOLO here, but it’s true… You only live once.
❤ Chris
Original social media post below…
I’ve been really hard on myself lately. I’ve been doing this fitness thing for a year and a half, and I’m still not where I want to be.
I’ve lost sight of my goals. I don’t see what I’ve already achieved. I’ve half way fallen off the wagon on my diet lately, and I’ve honestly been doing a lot of negative self talk lately…
I was reminded today that if you don’t pay attention to the little things it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the big negative things.
It’s time to renew my focus on myself.
I am responsible for making me happy.
No more negativity!
I will recognize my progress, and remember that I’m never done improving!
All of this because someone took a second to put a little smiley face in my coffee this morning. It is indeed the little things in life that matter.
I am going to crush Wednesday!
Chudson.org 