One Thing That Will Make You Succeed In Your Weight Loss

You want to lose weight and just get fit; yet we live in a world where, thanks to the internet, we are bombarded with books, e-books, articles, fitness magazines all selling us their answer to weight loss and fitness. High carb low fat . . no it's low carb high protein . . no it's anything you like but in moderation . . no it's shakes. Fruit is the answer, fruit is bad . . anyone else's head spinning yet? 

Billions of people buy into the pills, potions and quick fixes. Heads up for you people, there is no such thing as a quick fix, unless of course you put the word 'temporary' in front of it. This article is a short and sweet answer to your question "How do I lose weight and get fit forever?" Pour yourself a large glass of cool water, sit back and learn the 1 thing you really need to know. 

WHO IS YOUR STORY ABOUT?

OK, one day you looked at yourself and decide, to pop yourself onto a pair of scales and see how thing are doing . . you screamed/cried/shouted at them, then dragged your bedraggled ego and self image into a room and made up your mind to change things. You may have looked at toned/muscular types on the internet and thought 
"I want to have a body like him/her" 

 NEWSFLASH!! 

You are not going to have a body like theirs because you are not them. You are you. So the very first thing you have done is tell yourself you are someone else! You have right then and their told yourself the only way you are going to look good is by looking like someone who is not you! Ego 0 - Advertising 1 

THINGS TO DO, THINGS TO DO . . 

Right, your mind is made up. You have now plumped your ego/self worth into a positive little ball of energy and you are going to get this shizz done! Let me take a wild swing of a guess at what some of the things on your list may be: 

1. Get up earlier 
2. Drink more water 
3. Exercise at least 2 - 3 times a day 
4. Join a gym
5. Learn yoga 
6. Cut out fats, sugar, fried food, bread, caffeine, sweets, alcohol, fizzy drinks, cakes & pastries 
7. Eat more fruit and vegetables 
8. Go to the gym 8. Do a fitness class 
9. Buy a fitness DVD 
10. Start weight training 

. . .  You may have other things on this list, but I think you get the gist. Is this right so far? WOWZERS, your motivation must be in the sky right now . . go you . . right?

LET ME LOOK INTO MY CHRYSTAL BALL AND PREDICT WHAT HAPPENED NEXT . . . 

Day 1: You made your list, and day one came along  . . you were flying!  You joined a gym, signed yourself up for a couple of classes, went home, made a salad and you are feeling good about yourself.

Day 2:  You are a little hungry, but hey, isn't that to be expected you are cutting down here.  Off to the gym with you. Still feeling good.

Day 4 - 5:  You are absolutely knackered.  You can't figure out why you are in such a bad mood and actually feel a little sad.  Your day at work has been a day from hell and you are late getting home.  You missed your class and, lets face it, you just can't be bothered to go to the gym . . hey you'll go tomorrow.

Day 14:  By now you have had at least 1 - 2 mad binge nights as the craving for bread/something fatty/sugar was driving you round the bend.  You started so well going to the classes but now you are finding it difficult to get the time to go and you are increasingly finding fault with the people in the classes, the way they are taught and how everyone in the gym itself are all doing better than you.

End of the month scenario.  You are now maybe even a little heavier, more depressed and have a little less money.

THE BIG REVEAL

Do you want to know why all of this has been so awful?  Why you have craved so much that depression felt like it was setting in.  Why your list slowly started falling to pieces?

Are you ready for the answer?

Strap yourself in for the big reveal . . as here it is.

You were only meant to start with ONE thing.  Yup . . it really is that simple.

The mistake we all make is to try and do it all at once.  This is a life changing thing you are doing, you can not possibly fix years of body misuse in one week/month/even year.

So, snuffle into your comfy chair and take heart.  It is ALL doable, just not all at once.

What you have to do is start with one thing and stick with it for at least 21 days.  So start with something easy like drinking at least 2 liters of water a day.  Doesn't matter how you do it sips through out the day, 250 ml bottles on the hour for eight hours . . whatever.

Once you have got this as a habit, once you notice that getting up in a morning and checking you have your supply for the day is a natural thing to do then move on to the next thing.

Your New Exercise Plan for the Next Month.  

Find ONE form of exercise to learn and do 15 - 20 minutes high intensity intervals every day for 21 days to a month.  Be it rowing, running, pushups, squats, whatever . . every day set a certain time (for some reason first thing and 7pm are always good times for me) and ensure you do your exercise.  Nothing fancy, not hop skip, jump, pullup pushup blah blah, just something simple that you can do consistently.

THE FOOD, OHHH THE FOOD!

Changing what you eat may be the most challenging part of any fitness goal.  Again use the ONE thing rule to start.  Try by cutting out processed sugar (cooked sugars), nothing else, just processed sugar.  Sure cut down your portions of other things if you can but your main aim is cutting out processed sugar.  Again do this for 1 month. 

It may not be easy, but at least you are only dealing with ONE craving.  To stop yourself going insane you can still eat oranges, apples, melon, strawberries etc, natural fruit sugars are NOT processed!

Then the next month, cut out wheat (nasty bloaty, gut annoying stuff that it is) and so on and so forth.

  

WHICH DIET IS THE BEST

I could sit and give you hundreds of links to various sites that claim their way is the best way.  The very simple truth of it is, if you find a way of eating that suits your life, that you can stick with, that helps you lose weight, lower your cholesterol levels, gives you energy and revitalisation and doesn't leave you clawing the walls, THAT is the right one!

Some people absolutely thrive on the 80/10/10 diet and say it is the only way to exist

Others thrive on the Paleo lifestyle and say THAT is the only way to live

The only diet that is good for you is one that you can make into a lifestyle choice. 

A HEADS UP

Right, you have done your ONE thing.  You have made your healthy eating choice but something is just not working.  

A lot of people (millions) have intolerances and even though you have never had an allergic reaction to anything in your life, you body still may not be able to cope with certain foods.  This is far more prevalent the older we get so here are a three foods that your body has just learnt to hate:

• WHEAT
• GLUTEN
• PROCESSED SUGAR

If you are having real difficulty shedding the pounds, try the ONE method with each of these.  I pretty much guarantee that one of them will be the culprit for your struggles.

LAST BUT BY NO MEANS LEAST . . . 

So far we have covered 

Exercise 

Cravings

Diet

Over Planning

What else is there that can cause you to fail?

I have left the biggest ONE till last

YOUR MENTAL ATTITUDE

There is an old saying:

"WHETHER YOU THINK YOU CAN OR WHETHER YOU THINK YOU CAN'T, EITHER WAY YOU ARE RIGHT"

You have taken stock of most things by now, but one HUGE thing is still to be added to your repertoire to ensure you succeed.  This is so simple and yet the most missed piece of necessary advice..You have to believe you are succeeding, you have to believe you can do this as if you don't, you may as well quit whilst your behind.  

Your mind is the thing that says "let's exercise", you mind is the thing that says "let's eat clean" it is also ONLY YOUR mind that can tell you "this is too hard/I can't do this/I am failing/I'm never going to reach my goals . . . " and worst sentence your mind can possibly say "I GIVE UP!!"

OH NO YOU DON'T!! 

NOT ON MY WATCH!!

From this moment on you are going to tell yourself you CAN do this.  Sure you may go awry every now and again, we all do that!  You are going to get right back on track and start again, and again, and if need be again to infinity.  You are never going to give up.  Why?  Because it's simple 

Effort + belief = results

We are not looking at a 90 day transformation miracle, we are looking for a lifetime of getting fitter, healthier and happier!

Try different ways of training.  Learn as much as you can about nutrition (be warned the world of science has not made a definitive ONE way on this, but you have to make your choice) use your noggin, if it sounds like a pile of houey it generally is!  In general terms the simple meal of small amount of meat (obviously if you are vegan, veggie that is not necessary we all know all fruit and veggies contain enough proteins to go at), lots of greens/salad and fruit.  If you have a sugar craving, grab a couple of banana's.

Well, before this turns into a book I should finish.  I hope this opened your eyes and mind to how to be a complete success.  Any questions, just ask . . 

MY LAST SENTENCE . . . 

You can't fail, if you never give up

How To Get Fit Doing Only 15 Minutes Exercise A Day

I will, in the next minute of reading help you to get motivated and get fit. How?  By writing this . . 

• You don't need equipment.  
• It only takes 15 minutes a day.
• You don't need to go out and buy any special clothing.  
• No app is required to do this training.  
• You do not need to be on a special diet*.  
• You do not need hours of spare time.  
• You can do this workout any time of the day.  
• There is no fitness level requirements for this exercise. 
• You can do this exercise in your home, in your garden, in your friends garage, in the greenhouse, on the street, in the middle of a field . . there really is no need to have a special place either. You can do this naked if you wanted! 

* Obviously I am going to assume that you are taking stock of what you eat and have cleaned your diet up too!

All you need is a 15 minute count down, so use your watch, count in your head or just click  >>> HERE for a free online timer that looks like this 

You will need enough space, roughly about the size of a yoga mat (yoga mat is optional!)  

And a pencil and paper/ sticks/ your head or I use one of these tally clickers to keep track of my sets, which I find really useful (cheap as chips to buy too!).  The reason you use one, is to keep track of how many sets you perform and try to improve on that number each subsequent time.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

This workout is for everyone. From the person who gets out of breath climbing their stairs to the super buff wanting to up their endurance or if you just want to tone up.  More effort you put in, the better the results you come away with.

THE WORKOUT 

In your 15 minute workout you will be doing 2 exercises which is 1 set.  Each exercise will be done 5 times in a row (reps/repetitions).  To get the maximum benefit use as much intensity as you can muster.  

First Exercise

The Press Up/Push Up

If you have never done a press up in your life do not fear here is how you can learn. 

WITH BOTH EXERCISES REMEMBER AT ALL TIMES : 

The more explosively you push up, the more energy you use, the quicker you will start to become fitter.

Here are the progressive variations of push up for you.  When the variation you start with becomes easy (it takes only a couple of weeks) move on to the harder version, until you at the full form pushup:

Start by leaning against a wall leaning in (keeping legs straight) and pushing off as powerfully as you can:

#1 Wall Push Ups

Next progress to the flat legged pushup.  Lay on the floor, backs of feet facing the floor and push yourself up (similar to the cobra pose in yoga).  Allow yourself do drop then push up with force.

Flat Legged Push up

Then when this style becomes easy, you progress to push ups from the knee:

Push up from the knee

Finally,  you will be ready to do full form pushups, or if you are fit enough, just start with this.  Ensure to keep elbows close to side, hands by the side of your shoulders.  

Full Form Pushup

T so if you want to test your endurance and strength try doing dive bombers, hindu pushups, diamond pushups, inverted push ups . . there are many, many variations of pushup to be found  click this link >> HERE << for some more ideas!

SECOND EXERCISE

THE SQUAT

As with most things when it comes to bodyweight exercises there are varying difficulty levels, so it is with the squat.

If you have NEVER done a bodyweight squat before I advise you to start with the simple straight forward squat:

When performing the squat always remember to push through your heels NOT the balls of your feet.  A good way to test if you have the right position is to squat down and see if you can lift your toes up.  If not you are leaning too far forward.  Do not allow your knees to go further forward than your toes.

Lower yourself down, power up

If you find these easy try Hindu Squats

How to Do Hindu Squats 

If these are easy, try Pistol squats (this is a brilliant video by Al Kavadlo showing the progression, just click on his name and it will take you to his page where he explains in full how to do pistol squats)

Now you have your repertoire, 5 reps of pushup of choice, 5 reps of squat of choice repeat this (set) for 15 minutes. 

Always keep going for the whole time, it does not matter how slow it ends up being as long as you keep going.  Even if you only manage one set that will be one set more than you have done before. 1 squat and 1 press up . . . doesn't matter as long as you keep trying. It is a no fail workout.

If you are getting to around 40 sets, up the number of reps from 5 to 10 of each, then 10 to 20.  

If you want to ramp it up and use even LESS time try doing this tabata style, see my blog fat burning muscle building workout this will seriously test your metal.  For a bit of an eye opener here is a calculation we worked out of how effective each exercise is.

Good luck and may you find your fitness and endurance increasing at a rate of squats . . . (see what I did there).

Wishing you nothing but complete success.

With thanks and appreciation 

Cathi 

x

RUNNING FOR BEGINNERS, HOW TO STAY IN ONE PIECE, HEAD, SHOULDERS, KNEES AND TOES!

THE BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO RUNNING . . 

BY A BEGINNER!

This is a case of 'if I knew then, what I know now how different it would have been'. Running is one of those things that we all believe we can do, come on, we were hunter gatherers (so they say) who ran after our dinner!  It's natural to us, it is what we were designed to do!! Or is it?

Honesty is the best policy and all that, so to start I will tell you I am a beginner on the running side of things.  I have been trying to become a runner for over 8 months, but, due to following the advice of those in the know . . I have failed (for the record the fault is mine NOT the running sites, they give superb, solid information)  I shall explain myself.

In this article I will explain why there is more to this running lark than meets the eye (and knee), how we allow ourselves to be duped into the belief we can just buy a pair of running shoes and off we go!

It all has to start with a basic understanding, we all, more or less,  fall into two very general categories; those that have always been into sport from childhood, in the team both track and field, loving every minute of it, kept it up for their whole lives, some even going on to become professional athletes.  Then there are the other category (I'm waving) the ones that were never picked for the team, that could never hit the rounders ball, win the race or jump very high.  We may have happily enjoyed ourselves, we may have even given it our all, but, we were just crap at sport and as soon as we left school happily uncoupled ourselves from the fitness train and got on with life.

The first group will have very few, to no problems, they may over run, they may even stuff up nutritionally but generally speaking, they will have no worries picking up the baton again and setting off.

Then there is my group.  We reach a certain age and reality gently strokes our hair (or blatantly throttles us) and explains that if we don't get fit, we are going to have a lot of problems in our dotage.  So, what better thing to do than re-start doing what our bodies (allegedly) are built for?  It's the best way to get lean and toned . . isn't it?  So we put on our old trainers, read some articles by the experts and off we go. . . here is the absolute kicker, all articles I have read miss out one very important paragraph at the beginning.  don't get me wrong the training schedules they give you like couch to 5k are superb and yes they do work, but there is a lurking undertow that is going to suck you under unless you take heed to my next paragraph.

If you have never done running/exercise before there is a slim to huge chance that you are going to bugger up your knees/ankles/hips within about a year UNLESS you do some, preferably ALL, of the following things.

DO YOU HAVE A PAST INJURY?

If you have ever had an injury in the past, it doesn't need to be a huge one, and you believe it has stopped hurting/bothering you a sport like running may soon tell you otherwise.  DO NOT get me wrong here, running is GREAT especially at letting you know exactly how many problems you need to address.

FROM HEAD TO TOE

A huge misnomer is that a sore shoulder is a problem just with the shoulder . . NOooooooo, a sore shoulder can be a problem with your hips, knees, ankles or all three.  Think of this simply, we are bones covered in joiny together bits that are moved by contracting and releasing fibres.  These bits are all interconnected like a woolly jumper, and if a bit of thread goes at the top, the whole thing may unravel unless mended quickly.

Putting it simply we need to balance our bodies before we begin.

HOW ONE THING ALWAYS LEADS TO ANOTHER IN YOUR BODY?

In the dark and distant past I had suffered for years with my leg that would give out under me without any warning, at the time and over about 3 years I was told I had sciatica and a plethora of other things and there was nothing to be done.  BOO.  Luckily I happened upon a knowing physiotherapist where I used to live who got me to lay down, as I did so he just laughed and said

"Have you ever noticed that when you lay down one leg is longer than the other?"

I had not, in fact at that time I would not have even thought about looking at my feet when I was laying down.  It turned out this 'sciatica' was in fact an imbalance in how I walked ie I favoured one leg over the other and strode out on it, thus causing the imbalance.  After only 1 month of little exercises  CURED!

Then last year I was at my new physiotherapists after having enormous pain in my shoulder . . .funnily enough I had just started learning to run (coincidence . . not), it turned out that an old injury from a car crash a couple of years before was showing it's ugly head and my spine had to be re-adjusted.

Move on a month and a bit, and everything has settled down, I have done my exercises and once again set off to learn how to run . . then the big one . . I started getting pain in my left knee, I put this down to being a beginner and looked it up on pro running sites to read it was normal to get little niggles, aches and pains when you first start.  So I carried on running.  Then one morning whilst doing my beloved Hindu Squats a pain shot through my leg that quite literally brought me to my knees in tears.  Went to the doctors who told me I had a broken patella, was taken to hospital for an x-ray to be told that I didn't need one and the last doctor was an idiot, I had not broken my patella but I needed . . PHYSIO.  So I phoned the department up and they emailed me some re-hab exercises.  I was a bit taken aback they didn't actually need to see me to assess me, but hey ho.  Whilst I was on the phone to the physio man I asked a serious question (so I thought)

"Are my injuries connected in any way and is there a set of exercises that I should do to prevent/treat them as one?"

Ohhhh how he laughed and told me not to be daft, of course there were not such a thing!

On putting the phone down, my mind told me, in no uncertain terms, not to believe the piece of information I had just received.  So started digging about, reading other articles and watching YouTube videos.  Turns out its Physio bloke 0 Me 1.  Yes all my injuries were indeed because of an imbalance in my body, and running had brought it all to the fore.

So how do you address all your body?  

Trigger Point Therapy using
Trigger Point Massage Ball

Answer?  Yoga and I also found out about trigger point manipulation ie using a hard rubber ball to ease tension in muscles (see link at the bottom for more info).  Find a yoga book like The Complete Yoga Book and make out a routine that stretches and manipulates every set of muscles in your body.  You don't have to do it all at once you could have a day  concentrating on stretching your hands (very overlooked part of the body, yet the one we use the most), arms and shoulders, then another day concentration on the back and hips, and another on stretching out the butt and legs.

When you ask people which muscles and joints you use in running, the obvious answer always comes back as  your leg muscles.  It is not however the case.  You are using ALL your muscles and joints, powering from the feet through the ankles the calves, upper leg muscles, which use the butt muscles, which are connected to the lower back muscles, all the time pushing through with your arms that are connected to your shoulder muscles that, join to your lats.  Move it all round to the front and still it carries on, through your delts, the movement of running using your abs and external obliques . . you are just going to be using EVERYTHING!

Of course, by the nature of the beast you are not going to become huge and muscular through running, but that is not what this article is addressing.  What I am saying is that if you have not exercised in a long while, or have never done running then just donning the running shoes and setting off may be the worse mistake you will make.

SO HOW SHOULD YOU REALLY BEGIN?

• Find your weak points through stretching and yoga exercises, and before you even look at a fluorescent jacket get your flexibility up.  Even if you don't have any imbalances, I would suggest to get stretching first.

• Walk before you can run.  If you already walk regularly, try picking up the pace a bit and see how your body copes with this.  If you don't, start by getting a couple of walks in a day.  If you are carrying a lot of excess weight I would strongly recommend walking and not running as the weight will also impact on your joints harming rather than healing.  

• Get a member of your local running club, or someone who REALLY knows what they are talking about to watch you run on a treadmill.  They will INSTANTLY tell you whether your feet are landing properly,  a bad foot strike WILL lead to injury.

• NEVER start running in an old pair of trainers!!  Get yourself either properly fitted for by a reputable running shop or, if that is not an option at least ensure you buy yourself a decent pair of running shoes.
• 
  
• Start on the treadmill.  If you can, get your body used to running on the soft and forgiving surface of a treadmill, this way you get in the exercise, reduce the impact injury risk and can get your form and foot landing to a tee before you start hitting the hard unforgiving surface of the road.

• LEAVE YOUR EGO AT HOME AT ALL TIMES!  As a beginner, you should not be going to the fastest, farthest or longest times.  You SHOULD be going slowly, for short distances, then, over a period of MONTHS not days, be working up how long you run for.  As we are each different being that one is going to have to be between you and your running programme.

• Running Programmes are NOT set in stone.  If you do start with something like Couch to 5K remember this are guidelines, not rigid, needs must or fail, chiseled in granite laws.  Go at your own pace.  If you find it easy . . good, stick with the program till you find it hard, do not skip a few steps . .that is the path to injury.  If it is too hard too soon, just stay at the pace you are comfortable with for longer!  You are doing this to aid your health not break it!

• Ladies out there, do yourselves a favour and buy a proper running bra, as otherwise you are going to be in pain.  I use, and highly recommend the Shock Absorber sports bra brand.  There are plenty of others out there, this one just works best for me as I am rather ample in that area.

• IF YOU FEEL ANY PAIN IN YOUR KNEE STOP!!!  Stop immediately.  You have either just injured yourself and are about to make it ten times worse by continuing, or your body is telling you loud and clear you are doing too much too soon.  I have read way too many times (and from people who have been running a long ol' time) how they 'pushed through even though the knee was hurting'. Then BAM move on two weeks later and you are reading how they are now laid up unable to move and have been told not to run for at least 3 months plus!

• Join an online running site like Daily Mile as the advice you can gleen from people that have been doing this shizz for years is excellent.
• 
  

So, to conclude . . . 

If you want to start running, be honest with yourself.  If you are not fit, you need to put some work in to get yourself more supple, strengthen your joints and balancing your body.  
If you have any old injuries ensure you are on a good regime to keep them clear.  Once you are given physio instruction, keep it up for life!

Going headlong onto a 5 miler down the road in your old trainers is not going to do you any favours, plus the fact that after one minute there is a strong chance you are going to have a rude awakening on your fitness levels. Treadmill before tarmac.

Go at your own pace, don't push yourself to breaking point.

Most importantly LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!  If it says it hurts, there is something wrong.  It may be as easy to fix as an ice pack but don't turn it into surgery.

As with everything fitness wise keep hydrated.

Well, that is my advice and as with everything in life, you can either take it or leave it. Trust me on one thing, everything I have learned is from stuffing up myself, injuring myself, going head long into a sport I had no idea about and not listening to my body.  I am now happier and wiser for my cock ups and infact, stronger.  I have written this as I would like people to be able to avoid the middle man ie breaking and causing yourself pain and hey, if you have got dodgy knees just have a go on a rowing machine instead . .. . I'll write another heads up on that one later (I have slightly fallen in love with my rowing machine!).

Be safe, be aware, research EVERYTHING, and good luck!

With love and hugs.

Cathi x

Some sites to look up:

If you want to find out about using Yoga Balls for muscle release/trigger point therapy check out the Yoga Tune Up site on YouTube.  I cannot recommend them enough.

Rebekah Borucki who teaches yoga, meditation and does some brilliant fitness workouts.

My Yoga Online an online yoga class, includes free downloads and you can also become a paid subscriber.

Elliott Hulse although it is generally about strength training he also has superb, well researched advice about balancing your body, dealing with old injuries and a plethora of videos explaining and helping you understand the inter connectivity of your body and how to treat it.

Are You In Control Or Are Your Demons Controlling You?

WHO CONTROLS YOU?

As I sat at my computer yesterday reading posts on the brain fart encyclopedia that is Facebook, I realised I was becoming very angry, wound up by what someone was typing about. I was getting really riled by their ignorance and how they were spouting bull to the nation, so . . I turned off my computer, went out with my dog and carried on being annoyed, to the point of having an imaginary sit down debate with the person.  As the evening wore on I went to do my meditation, only to have my mind fill with all the things 'I could have said/should have said'.

Demons in my head by akairisu deviantart

This morning I sat and thought to myself 'Cathi, you are an arse!'  Am I so arrogant that my opinions and beliefs are more valid than theirs? Has that person who you are slowly winding yourself up like coiled cobra about, had half a day of head turmoil thinking 'I bet this annoyed Cathi' . . no, they didn't. 

I allowed myself to find something annoying, I told my head to get into a real rumpus about it.  In other words I had a sleeping demon, who, rather than letting  her sleep, I prodded her with a pointy stick and woke her.  As we know anyone woken by being poiked with a pointy stick isn't going to wake up happy!

I allowed my ego a trip out, and by hell had I given her all the arms and ammunition to start a war in my own noggin.

As I sat and pondered this, I thought about all the posts I read that are annoyed with the government, annoyed by pop singers behaviour, annoyed by an argument from the past, annoyed by how someone trains, what diet someone is on, annoyed, angry, angry, negative, negative.  My question is

"How is this all serving me?  How is reading this stuff making my life better or my desires come to fruition?"

Answer:  it isn't.  I can not control other people's thoughts, emotions, actions, beliefs, doctrines, opinions and moreover why on earth would I want to?

I normally live a life of 'live and let live'.  One afternoon not living by MY OWN doctrine I totally stuffed up more than half a day of MY LIFE.  The person that typed it didn't do that, they are completely blameless in all this.  The only victim and perpetrator was me.

We, as a world, have a propensity to allow ourselves anger over peace.  Think about it.  How

many times have you become enraged at the words that have come out of someone else's mouth?  If I was walking  past you and sneered under my breath said "Jeesh, you are one hideous pig" . .how would you react?  Punch me? Shout at me?  Swear at me?  Spend AT LEAST half a day coming up with brilliant retorts in your head? Cry?  Look for a place that does plastic surgery? Or would you just carry on and not let it bother you?

Now ask yourself which way of reacting would make your life a healthier, happier, more positive place?  Dragging round a bag of anger or allowing others to be.

by DoiDuh

If you keep dragging round your bag of anger it is because you are not a peace with yourself.  You have not accepted yourself.  You have issues around certain parts of your being, whether it be your weight, your size, you features, your intelligence, your beliefs etc.  So many wars about religion, about land that people believe to be theirs.  If we all just took a deep breath, and started allowing people to be, what does it matter where a border is, why not completely dissolve all borders, allow anyone on this planet to go where ever they want?  If they want to believe that all carrots are gods and sacred, what business is it of yours to tell them otherwise?  I know, it's my Utopian dream, and so many people will already be putting up mind barriers, arguing how it can't be rather than smiling thinking 'that would be lovely'.

It is time for each and every one of us to learn self acceptance, to pay more attention to how WE behave, how WE think, what makes US happy and leave everyone else the fuck alone.  We all have sleeping demons, very few of us have managed to slay them and like anything within us, it is up to us to learn how we work, what makes us tick and figure out what is holding us back, then to don our coats of armour go out there and slay our demons.