Oh and happy Labor Day!
Triathlon #2 is in 6 days. Less than a week. Has it been 8 weeks already??
Yes. It is time.
And between the workouts and having joined Weight Watchers, I'm starting to actually tone up now! I'm feeling so good and strong and my husband tells me things like, "You look like a badass!" or something cool like that. And he says I've changed a lot and I've lost some weight and it shows but you know what?
I need a confidence makeover.
Seriously. I need a show called "Confidence 9-1-1" or something. Because I feel great. I am seeing smaller sizes in my clothes. But I don't actually see a difference in the mirror. What's the deal? And I think back and think, it has always been like that, too. Large or small, I see the same person. And it's not even that I think I look big in the mirror necessarily, I just see one person, not a fat person, not a skinny person. It's not until I see a picture where I can see a change either way. Why is that?
So I've decided that it doesn't so much matter what I see in the mirror, or even what I see in pictures. What matters is that I'm feeling strong and able and happy. And the negative self-talk really has got to stop.
The questioning. The inability to accept compliments. Making my accomplishments out to be smaller than they are.
I should be proud. We should all be proud. With who we are, where we've come from, what we're doing, where we've been, all of it.
Because we all are, at our very core, proud, passionate women. Who stand tall in making decisions for our families and ourselves. Who constantly take chances and make choices in our every day, make things happen and influence other people. From our jobs to our homes to our children to our marriages to our friends and whether we know it or see it or believe it or not. Each one of us is guided in our principle, our instincts, our gut. It is a basic, innate strength we women possess. That alone should allow us to embrace our confidence.
Right?
I believe that. And it makes my confidence issue seem just a little smaller suddenly. Because in putting all my confidence in my appearance, I'm belittling everything else that I am. And for what? More importantly, for who?
When I put it that way, none of us should have a confidence issue. Because look at who we are as women, as leaders, as sisters, mothers, wives, and friends.
So I leave you with this:
"It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not." ~Author Unknown
I spend a lot of time telling myself who I am not, and instead, I'm going to start focusing on who I am.
May you go forth this week, confidently, in the direction of your dreams.
