“Our inner wisdom is persistent, but quiet. It will always whisper, but it will never stop knocking at your door.” ~ Vironika Tugaleva
I’m a big Wizard of Oz fan because of its message that we don’t have to search for or depend on the false ‘magic’ of the external. We can tap into our own inner power and fly! Click! Click!
“You’ve always had the power, my dear. You’ve had it all along.” ~ Glenda Good Witch in the Wizard of Oz
A little over a year ago, I decided to seriously walk the path of entrepreneurship. I knew success would require personal change and my big and persistent Knock Knock has been to change my sleeping habits. Inner wisdom has consistently whispered this and this lifelong night owl has consistently resisted.
I’m wired to be a night owl. My best thinking happens after 10pm. It’s fun t.v. bingeing with my hubby. Isn’t retirement supposed to be about doing what I want to do when I want to do it??
Well, Yes. It. Is. And it was the genius of BARE that helped me FINALLY click into what freedom really means.
BARE is the weight loss method I’m certified to coach and the reason I love it is because it teaches how to LIVE yourself to health NOT die(to)it! By doing what feels like self-love, you transition to behaviors that support optimal health. And joyful living!
My BIG AHA is that I was confusing ‘doing what I love’ with ‘doing what truly feels like self-love’!
One of my favorite scriptures is “Everything is permissible, but not everything is helpful. Everything is permissible, but not everything builds up.” 1 Corinthians 10:23
Yes, I love staying up all night reading or vegging out on the sofa in a Netflix coma and I CAN do those things, but does doing those things on the regular feel like self-love?? Ummm…No. Do they build me up? NADA!
Freedom ain’t free.
I’m clear on what my Best Life looks like:
Coaching fabulous women, spending time with my hubby, friends, and family, traveling the globe, and being flexible enough to do whatever comes up that strikes my fancy. And for me that requires self-care practices that keep me in the healthy/happy space I crave…
5:00am – 5:30… Morning ritual: Express gratitude/devotion w/hubby/morning snack
5:30am – 8:30am… Werk Werk Werk Werk Werk!
8:30am – 9:00am… Breakfast
9:00am – 11:00… Move My Body Classes!
2:30pm – 3:30pm… 20 minute nap(I used to hate naps. Now I can take one anywhere.)
Afternoon walk with hubby
Dinner/tv time w/hubby/reading
10:00pm…Wind Down Ritual
10:30pm… The #1 self-care habit that supports this life: Taking my behind to bed! My days flow better and I get more done.
Doing what I love in the moment must support doing what loves me for a lifetime. And that’s NOT about deprivation. It’s about knowing the difference between self-sabotage and self-love. It’s about grand, BIG picture living instead of the short term high of the less than optimal decision. I’ve seen former addicts talk about how much they enjoyed their drug of choice…how much fun they had…even how much creativity they experienced. Until it wasn’t. Until they didn’t.
Our poor habits may not have the extreme negative impact of drug addiction. I could argue though, that continuing to do what keeps us from living the life we want when it’s completely within our power to do differently can be an extremely negative choice.
“When you know better, do better.” ~ Maya Angelou
The BARE 80/20 practice is eating power/pleasure foods 80% of the time and strictly pleasure foods 20% of the time. It works across your life. Every now and again, I’ll enjoy a late night or a chicken and waffles lunch(have mercy!) and I’ll enjoy them even more now that the decision comes from a place of TRUE CHOICE instead of that ‘I can’t help myself.’ narrative.
That’s what real self-love feels like! My ‘I’m wired to be a night owl’ may have been true, but what’s also true is that it’s simply a story I’m telling myself because my body is telling me a new story: Get yo rest, chile! Click Click
Don’t ignore that persistent knock knock. Listen. Do. You’ve got the power, my dears. Own it!!
P.S. The pic is the late great, Annie Lee’s Blue Monday and was my ‘look’ every morning during the last few years of my previous life. So, why am I recreating it when I don’t have to?? Done! And if this ‘look’ resonates with you, we need to talk!