Greetings! I wanted to give an update about my journey so far and share with you the positive and negative effects that I've noticed about myself as I decided to focus more on moving towards a more healthier overall lifestyle. I'm going to break it down by physical effects, mental effects and spiritual effects so here we go:
Physical effects - So since publishing my previous post, I've been more conscious about my diet, which has been beneficial yet challenging. I've definitely noticed that I feel much better when I eat a healthy meal than I do if I'm eating something that isn't very healthy. I honestly did not add much more to my diet. I just cut out things that were not good for me. By doing, my energy has increased, my sleep is getting better, and my digestive system is working more smoothly. I have some stubborn weight that I'd like to lose which has been challenging. I think most of it is water weight though so I want to to try fasting for a week or two to see how that impacts my body. I also want to cut back on alcohol and caffeine. As a person who has inherited hypertension, I know I need to limit the consumption of alcohol and caffeine because it wreaks havoc on the flow of you blood through your body. I also don't like the fact that I'm becoming more and more dependent on coffee. So I'm going to give a good effort to cut out coffee and alcohol..Maybe stick with red wine every now and then and see what happens.
Mental effects - Mentally, I've been struggling to focus like I'd want. As with many people, my mind tends to wander all over the place. So it's difficult for me to focus on one subject for a long period of time without being distracted. I think this is something that we can learn with consistent practice though. I've read that meditation and taking time to self-reflect each day really helps with increasing your focus so I think I'll incorporate meditation into my daily routines. I also find it challenging to stay disciplined. It's so easy to cheat on your diet or sobriety when your with friends or family and your surrounded by tasty food and drinks.. I need to develop more discipline to refrain from giving in to my visual temptations and remind myself that I need to fill my body with food that will optimize my mental performance, not dumb it down. I've been reading and studying a lot of material that helps me stay sharp mentally but I think I need to do more self analysis so that I can recognize what my passions truly are and what I love to do. Whether or not, it seems intimidatingly difficult, no progress is ever made without facing your fears. So I want to continue seeking ways to mentally strengthen my mind and focus as that will help me reach my full potential.
Spiritual effects - I went to church a few weeks ago for Easter and I just want to speak on it. Now whether you celebrate Easter or not, it doesn't matter. What I realized after leaving that church service was that I was spiritual deprived. I was spiritually starving and I didn't even know it. We all need something to believe in. To put our faith in..We all need a way to realign spiritually. It's vital for your life. There's so many people walking around that have become numb to their surroundings and it's sad that it's happening in such a way that we can't even realize it. When you spend hours listening and/or watching media that's filled with negative information, your spirit becomes numb to it. You become engulfed in that negativity and it extends into your life. So then you become that person that always sees the glass as half empty. Your attitude suffers and therefore, you spread and attract negativity all around you. When you nurture your soul and give it some fine tuning, you feel uplifted and feel renewed. It allows you to see hope in the midst of darkness. It allows you to think positive which then manifests into positive outcomes in your reality. I don't want to get too deep but think point I'm making is that your spirit needs to be fed just like your body does. And just like feeding your body with bad food will harm you, feeding your spirit with bad food will harm you as well. So I'm working on my spirit each and everyday. The good thing is that there's always an opportunity to spiritually grow. There's no age limit or time frame..Each day that we are granted life, we are granted a chance to grow spiritually.
Overall, I'm feeling good about my decision and will continue working on myself as I encourage you to continue working on yourself. Your are not alone. We all have insecurities, fears, struggles, and weaknesses. What's good to know is that we also have the choice to face those insecurities, fears and struggles and turn them into strengths. I hope this brings peace and blessings to your world. Until we meet again, take care of yourself.
