Over thinking

So first of all, completely unrelated to my post, I'm in a great mood because my hubby will be home from his conference in a few hours. He's been gone since Saturday. Thank goodness he has a job that doesn't have him traveling much. Just a few times a year. I enjoy my time alone with the kids when he's gone, but I'm always more than ready to have him back home! So yay for today:).

Moving on.... If you haven't figured it out by now, I typically write about things that I struggle with or notice about myself personally. It helps me, and hopefully it helps you. So this morning I was thinking about how easy it is for me to ruin a good thing by over thinking it. I have to analyze things, think about the consequences or the bottom line, and often I end up thinking in circles. I may have a great idea, get super excited about it, think it through, think it through some more, dissect it, and just pick it apart. Then by the time I get through with all of that, I've ruined a good thing instead of just experiencing something great.

So how does this relate to my "fitness" blog? I think (not liking using that word at the moment) that it is very easy to ruin our efforts by thinking too much. Yes you have to think on it, but I believe (replacing the word think) that we tend to over do it.

So while I pondered (still trying to replace the word think) this, I realized that when it comes to diet and exercise, we need to just relax! If you decide to eat healthy and exercise, then you become obsessed with thinking on it constantly, it can easily ruin the whole thing for you. "I really blew it by eating that handful of potato chips", or "I only have 3 weeks until vacation and I need to get 15 pounds off", or "I burned 800 calories in the gym today, so I can eat a little more tonight"....

Any of that hit home with you? Yesterday I wrote about how we are our own worst critics, and about how that really sabotages our efforts. That is what led me to this. I mentioned that we just need to get out of our own heads. Make a plan and get out of your own way.

I also thought about how the whole purpose for healthy living is to improve your quality of life. But if you're constantly obsessed with your thoughts regarding your appearance, you goals, your efforts, and your every decision, doesn't that really rob you of enjoying the rewards of all that hard work?

I don't want to make it sound like I take healthy living lightly, because that's not true. And if you know me, you know how dedicated I am. I'm not encouraging you to be half hearted about your health. I'm encouraging you to remember why you're doing all of this. I'm encouraging you to do all of this work so that you enjoy spending time at the pool with your kids without feeling self conscious in a bathing suit, and so that you aren't hiding yourself from being in the family pictures, and so that you enjoy buying new clothes, and going on hikes and long walks with your spouse without tuckering out.

I "think" that if we all stop over thinking our every decision, make responsible choices with diet and exercise, and always remember that we do it all for the love of living life to the fullest, we will all be a lot further along, a lot less stressed about the lifestyle, and a lot happier a year from now.