Just a little Perspective ...

Last week started off really rough for me. I had a full on melt down early in the week. I was all wrapped up in my frustrations of the day. I shed a lot of tears, couldn’t really explain why I was so emotional but I was. But then I took a step back….I had to re-gain some perspective.

You see I sometimes let the frustrations of today get the best of me, while totally forgetting just how far I’ve come. My frustration last week was in relation to my body not doing what I want it to in the gym. For example, because my spine is curved the wrong way, doing a squat in proper form is really difficult. I am working really hard to getting my spine healthy, aligned properly and out of pain. I’m working with a new trainer to get there – Thank Tosh. What is required in the gym is difficult but not the type of difficult I’m used to – stretching out my muscles, concentrating on getting my spine to curve the right way and so on. The process is well thought out, planned and a slower pace than I’m used to in the gym but it is necessary to get my back in a better place to decrease the pain and I’m seeing huge improvements in my mobility and pain levels.

What I had forgotten about however, is just how far I had come. Last week I shared part 2 in my #LoveBodyJourney discussing getting active. As I wrote the things I’ve done along this journey, I also was taken wayyyyy back to what condition my body was in just 19 months ago.

19 months ago, I couldn’t walk more than 20 minutes without crazy pain. I wasn’t sleeping well. I was in the chiropractor and massage weekly, I didn’t sleep well and the tiniest bit of stress put my neck out for weeks. I had actually totally forgotten where I was not that long ago.

It all made me realize something….sometimes we can get too caught up in where we want to go, the big goals we have that we forget that we’ve already come so far. It’s like we almost loose an appreciation for the humble beginnings. I mean my body is just one example of this. There are so many others. I mean if I look at where I want to go in life, there are so many more things I want to accomplish but what I really learned in this last week is to really be grateful for today, the journey up until this point because it is what has made you who you are and put you where you are at this present moment.

For too long of I used to live life waiting to get to the next moment, the place I wanted to be, the weight I desired to be all while forgetting that I need to be happy today, right where I am. Whether that means being happy with my body or my life situation. I for too long didn’t appreciate the hard work it took to get me to where I am.

I mean, think about my life situation just over 4 years ago….

I was recently separated from my husband who was abusive emotionally, mentally, sexually and cheated on me multiple times
I had lost my job because the company I worked for went bankrupt
I was on EI
I was in so much pain I could not even go to the gym
And I hated who I was, was pretty much mute and inside a shell trying to hide

And then…here I am today. All because I took some small steps daily towards wholeness, my dreams, goals and aspirations. All of these small steps have lead me to where I am today and I am grateful. Grateful that all that pain did not kill me but only made me stronger. Grateful that I had enough fight in me to want something more for my life and started to learn to love WHO I was.

It’s time to take a look at where you are today, love who you are and see how amazing you are. If there are things in life that you don’t like, well, make a decision today to do something about it and start taking small steps to get there. Rome wasn’t built in a day and it will take time but it all starts with the first step of making a decision of what direction you will go in.

Another area that I’ve come pretty far in is my style. I’ve consistently stepped outside of my box trying some new things and this outfit is one that I felt like a BOSS in and it’s so different than what you usually see me wear when it comes to dressing casually.

This hi-low top is from SWAK Designs and is super comfy with a nice neckline perfect for a bold statement necklace from Amadora Jewellery. These jeans you’ve seen before but they’ve quickly become my fav and are from Torrid. To finalize the outfit I added this awesome faux fur vest from Point Zero Curvy and it was just warm enough to get my fav sandals on from Nine West

Hi-Low Top (The Sue) from SWAK
Vest by Point Zero Curvy
Jewllery by Amadora Jewellery
Jeans by Torrid
Shoes by Nine West last season

Photos by Robert Skuja
All photos © 2015 Robert Skuja Photography
Eye Lashes (extensions) by Love Ur Look Beauty my official eyelash specialist
Makeup by Nichole Lukasik