LISTEN TO YOUR BODY & STAYING POSITIVE THROUGH TOUGH TIMES

Everything was going fantastically with my training & healthy eating; I got down to 8% body fat & was stronger, healthier & happier than ever. Fitness is my life & I strive to be as fit & healthy as I possibly can. I want it so much that I started to train TOO hard, I didn’t listen to my body & pushed myself more than my body could handle. When you overtrain your immune system gets low & you’re more susceptible to getting sick – can you guess what happened to me?
I have been diagnosed with Pericardial Effusion which means I have fluid around my heart. The doctor thinks it is from a virus I have recently had that has affected my heart. At the same time I got the flu & an infection & was told I couldn’t exercise for a couple of months while my body heals & my heart settles down. This news destroyed me! I was so upset that I wasn’t able to train. I had a lot of fitness campaigns & photo shoots coming up that I had been working hard towards for the past year & I have now had to cancel them all due to my illness.

While this news to me is devastating & I felt really down & felt like simply giving up, I decided that I have 2 choices; to completely throw in the towel & surrender to the depressing “woe is me attitude” OR I could look at the positives of the situation & make the most of the circumstances.

“Optimism is truly measured by circumstance, a person who is truly positive remains positive even when their world seems as though it is falling to bits. It’s easy to be happy & positive when everything is going your way.”

So I decided that I was going to walk the talk so to speak & do what I am constantly preaching!

I ‘m focussing on working towards my other goals (besides my fitness goals), I have started my own Fitness Models Agency, I’m booking in photo shoots (I’m also a photographer & photo editor), I’m creating delicious healthy recipes & continuing to help others with their health & fitness goals.

The massive lesson I learnt is to LISTEN TO YOUR BODY & not to overdo it or you end up going backwards. Don’t let your desire to reach your goals & dreams become so great that you destroy them altogether! Not moving forward is better than 2 steps back!

Don’t let one disappointment knock you right off track, it is up to YOU to make yourself happy & you have to choose to get back up & keep going! If it’s something you really want – you keep going no matter what!

You have to remind yourself everyday what it is you want, why you want it & plan what you need to do to achieve it.

It’s not so much about working HARD, it’s about working SMART!

So whatever it is you want – take control of your life, grab it with both hands & work SMARTLY towards it & NEVER EVER GIVE UP!

It’s important to not only believe in yourself - that you’re capable of achieving your goals, but believe that you DESERVE them!

Appreciation

True happiness can only being achieved by appreciating all the things in your life especially the little things. Focus on all the good things rather than the bad & you’ll attract MORE good things to you AND feel much happier.

Here are some positive affirmations & quotes I made up that have helped me through tough times;

“You may not be able to control things that happen to you but you CAN control how you deal with them! You have the option to either give up or keep going!”

"I show patience in the times of difficulty. I can overcome anthing life throws at me."

"I focus on all the good things in my life giving them power to multiply".

“With every hurdle I come across I become stronger, wiser & one step closer to my dreams... as long as I never give up.”