CLIENT: Hey! How are you?
ME: I’m good thanks 😄 How are you?
CLIENT: You’re always good!!!
……………………………..HANG ON………………………………….
I want to clarify right now, I am NOT always good.
I have bad days.
Low days.
Days where I feel (to name a few);
😔 Miserable
😔 Depressed
😔 Lonely
😔 Ashamed of my body
😔 A failure
😔 Sick
😔 Overworked
😔 Anxious
😔 Overwhelmed
😔 Nervous
😔 Scared
The list could go on…..
So why do I give the impression that I am always ‘good’?
I certainly don’t try to fake an appearance.
The people closest to me know when I am having a bad day. They know if I am feeling a little low or a little insecure.
In fact, it’s happened one day this week.
A day where I was focusing on the potential negatives (of nobody joining the Path to Happiness program this month) instead of the more likely positives of a new and lovely community all working together to improve their health.
I needed some kind words and a little reality check from people close to me. A reality check that pointed out I was focusing on a future that hasn’t happened yet.
I had no reason to feel low. I should have been focusing on the great things happening in my life, not manifesting a negative future!
Sometimes, we all need a pep talk! 😄
Another moment that has recently come up for me is body shame.
Maybe you don’t think of men having body shame so much?
Well, in January I realised that I had let my physical training slip for nearly 12 months.
That was a conscious decision I had made as I needed to make time to focus on my business re-brand, my mental state and changes in my personal life, moving house etc.
I left out my training sessions so I didn’t burn myself out, but it was not my best decision in hindsight!
So in January I decided to take part in my own program!
I exercised as I had instructed others (just 20 minutes a day) and eat the food I was advising.
I took before and after pictures that clearly showed the physical change in my body but I am so scared to share the pictures because of the ‘before’ picture!
Because I had let my usually toned shape disappear under a layer of fat.
Shame, Disgust and Anger for letting myself get consumed in the wrong areas and not focusing on my own physical health.
So please don’t think you are the only one who has bad days and that others find life really easy.
Because nobody does. I definitely don’t!
Life can be very tough at times and it gets to us all!!!
The only reason why I might always seem so happy and positive is because over the years I have collected tools and practices that allow me to step out of these darker moments and back into the light very quickly.
The darker moments are always there, we just find ways to minimise the effect of them and the amount of time they take hold of us.
Tools that I use and practice daily that, on their own, might not seem like much of a game changer, but collectively that serve to keep me happy, focused and pleasant to be around – most of the time 😄 (Don’t be near me after Tottenham lose a game though!)
Practicing gratitude on a constant basis is one of the greatest tools any of us can learn.
This allows me to see the positive in every moment in my life. It takes away negative thoughts, resentment and fear and it allows me to enjoy life and all the good that life has to bring.
Of course, there are still negatives in life and bad days, but I give them no energy. No time. No focus.
I focus on the good, happy and the positives in life.
And on days like Monday this week when I struggled to do this, I get help from the people close to me rather than bottle up my feelings and letting the low mood drag on for days, weeks, months or years.
I wish I had this technique when I was being bullied at school instead of hiding away and not sharing my feelings with my parents. Instead I let the feelings poison me from inside for years.
We are all human.
We will all suffer from time to time, we just need to find ways to thrive in every situation.
Not just cope, not just ‘get through the day’ but actually come out on top, happy and abundant in every joy life has to offer.
💓 Practice gratitude
💓 Connect with amazing people
💓 Meditate daily
💓 Move daily
💓 Nourish your body and soul with great food
💓 Clean up your environment
💓 De-clutter your life
💓 Do several things every day that make you smile
