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Here's what I see all too often. Women (men, too, but around here it's mostly women) come onboard for a program and, inspired by their new-found confidence, enthusiasm and another "fresh start", they do quite well for themselves. A few pounds drop, insights are gained and then hope and possibility shine through the clouds again. But then the program comes to an end; the husband yells, the dog barks, the boss refuses a promotion and something comes creeping out from the cupboards of life to kick her in the butt. Then she crumbles and caves to old patterns anchored into the very core of who she is. Here are some things to think on (more can be found in our course on Overcoming Cravings and Emotional Eating): 1. You can't change anything you're not willing to confront. One of the most chronic conditions I encounter is women who hide their eating habits. Get out of the closet! You can't change what you can't confront. The number of women stuffing their faces while no one is watching is sad. We can run and hide from everyone but not ourselves, so why hide? When you hide your habits, then not only are you carrying the weight of some pretty damaging eating behaviours, you're also keeping secrets. I know this so well only because I have been there. Please do not hear or interpret any judgements, for there are none. There is only direct communication designed to shake up those of you who may be trying to keep secrets from yourselves. You can't. If you really want to change your habits you've got to come out about them. Confront them! See them for what they are! As long as you alter, avoid, hide or deny the reality of your situation, you're stuck in it. Get honest with yourself, your family, loved ones and if that doesn't feel safe, possible or easy, well, contact me through www.therawdivas.com. You've got to start somewhere to reverse the patterns that are keeping you prisoner to yourself. A lot of people use The Powder Room for that, and anyone who has purchased one of our programs has private access where your confessionals will only be read by other members of your community/program. If you can't look your pile of taxes in the eye, will they ever get done? If you cannot look at the clutter in your cupboards will it ever go away? If you try and pretend it's not there, does it organize itself? No, no, and no. You've got to see things for what they are if you really want to change them. So, once the crime has been committed how does feeling shameful serve you? It doesn't! Shame and guilt are ugly sticks that someone imposed on you a long time ago, but they are not designed to make you a better person or empower you with strength to change your habits. Their sole purpose at the time they were dished out was to beat you up and likely the person using them didn't have a great deal of confidence themselves to begin with. So, ditch the guilt stick, and reach for some courage instead. We have no room here for shame, regret or guilt. Get them out of your way and own the learning in your painful experiences so you can find the courage to persist in spite of the odds against you. Buck up! Get tough! Acknowledge the fact that you created that mess, but there areworse messes out there and worse crimes against humanity. We always punish ourselves ten times harder than anyone else would ever punish us for the things we do. Punishment does not serve the world. Courage to change does. 2. Change Takes Place On A Gradient. If you can control one small area of something consistently, you will gain control of the entire area over time. Don't try to be a "raw foodist". Get those cultish sounding words out of your head! Just try to be healthy, balanced and in love with yourself again. That is something worth achieving. Strive to feel good again in your own skin–to love and adore your shapes and curves for what they are and how they have served you. Your body is working hardto handle life as we know it and to balance a whole history of experiences and emotions that even you may no longer recall very easily. Rather than punish yourself for the one cooked meal you ate, celebrate the 10 raw ones, instead. If you were running a marathon, would you stop at the 3rd mile and beat yourself up for not being at the finish line? If you were climbing a mountain would you get half way up and get angry because you weren't at the top? No way! You'd just keep pushing and trying and running and eventually you arrive exhausted but victorious. From there you've set new limits of what is possible for yourself! If you were climbing you'd take a break, rest your legs and look out at the view from where you are. This is the journey. Enjoy the process. It's not the attainment of the goal that drives us, it's the thrill of the chase. Please don't forget that you're engaged in a journey–a process, and there is no change in life that doesn't happen on a gradient. So allow yourself to grow like a flower, not some genetically mutated variety of superhuman. Be vulnerable, fragile and weak sometimes. That's your humanness and it's absolutely charming and beautiful about you. Allow yourself to flow like the oceans and change like the seasons, too. We live so disconnected from nature that we impose on ourselves these rigid expectations and rules for our lives. Lighten up! Live and flow in love with a desire to improve not meet someone else's guidelines for what your life should look like. 3. We will turn things around when we validate what we want to create more of. When our children make mistakes, we don't bark, yell and shout at them. We do our best to validate the positive things they do, instead. Put your attention on what you want to create more of in the world. Wherever you are, you can pull yourself out by thinking of fresh water, colorful fruit and loving thoughts. Use these images as your anchors to a place of power, confidence and strength. You will get there in time but be persistent, keep no secrets and let your crutch be the knowledge that there is someone who believes without a doubt that you can and will succeed. 4. The only other thing you need is the assurance that someone else believes in you. I've seen too many women turn their lives around permanently. I've seen too many overnight miracles in my life to ever, ever give up on anyone. Sometimes my unyielding and persistent belief in someone has been THE key factor in turning that person's life around. Sometimes just the assurance that someone else believes you can do it is all you need. Why? Because we punish ourselves enormously for the things we do "wrong". We beat ourselves up for our "failures" rather than see them as opportunities for learning. If the potato chips attack you from the cupboard, please don't beat yourself up. This used to happen all the time. Find the courage to persist in spite of the odds against you, and if you think it's too hard, think again. This is your life. Own it for its crazy beautifulness and celebrate the struggles, too. When you get through this, you will empower the others around you to do the same thing. Validate what is good and more will come. People perform miracles every day. You can too. Just have the courage and persistence to believe that you are worth it. In the meantime, I'll keep holding up the fort out here, creating the possibility that you step up to taste the sweetness of victory and experience the peacefulness that comes with owning your life and your choices in a powerful way, and finally loving your beautiful body.
Article Source: http://worthyarticles.com
Tera Warner is a writer and online entrepreneur, and co-creator of "The Raw Divas," the only online raw food resource especially for women. Visit the website today at www.therawdivas.com>www.TheRawDivas.com for inspiration, recipes, and support for women who are passionate about health and LIFE.Related keywords: raw foods, living foods, health, weight loss, empowerment, nutrition, eating disorders
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