Change in weight (7/21/20 – 7/27/20): -0.4 LBS
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How well do you know yourself? I’m talking about knowing yourself and how you deal with adversity, how you deal with challenges, and how you deal with disappointment. I don’t know about you, but I find that I learn new things about myself every day. Because I constantly learn more and more about myself, I recognize that I do not know myself as well as I may have thought.
I had a pretty solid week with one big emotional curveball thrown in. So check out the goals at the bottom to see how I did.
I want to spend this post speaking on the importance of taking the time to know ourselves. This is very important, especially when working towards goals. For me, I have weight loss goals and overall wellbeing goals (mental health, reduced stress, reduced feelings of depression, etc.). Do you have any personal goals? Think about them now, and we can move on.
What keeps us on track with our goals? Discipline, commitment, focus, accountability partners, motivation, fear, etc. Many of these are internal. They dwell within our being and require our own abilities to let them flourish (or with fear, control them) and help us to succeed. What are some of the things that can derail us and help us get off track with our goals? I could put ‘lack of’ in front of many of those first things that keep us on. I could also say stress, time constraints, distractions, or others. Outside influences hurt our ability to work towards our goals.
It seems that the outside factors, the exogenous factors of life, will always have an ability to derail our goals, especially if we do not have command over the internal aspects of our being that keep up on track. I could be moving in the right direction, but something could happen that totally distracts my focus and I can lose it. So learning about ourselves is knowing our own strengths and our own weaknesses. What am I consistently good at? Do any parts of me easily falter under the pressure of outside variables?
Some outside, emotional events happened recently which have forced me to take a good look at myself. Which of my personal attributes are at the most risk of faltering? Can I rely on some of my attributes to help gain control? I learned this week that my commitment to my goals and my discipline has grown greatly. When my emotions are blindsided, I easily lose focus and can step back from my goals to retreat to a place of ‘comfort’. I noticed that I did not retreat as far back as I could have before, so my discipline and months of effort helped me. It helped carry me to a week with weight loss, even though I did not feel like caring for the effort. It also helped me realize that I need to take care of myself and spend more time learning myself
Another area is simply having those people in your life to help you. It is okay to not know what to do. It is okay to be self-aware enough to know you may not have the best handle on how you deal with some of these random events. It is good to recognize that and allow yourself to then rely on some of the support you have outside of yourself.
We escaped to New Hampshire this weekend. This afforded me the opportunity to reflect… to slow down my brain and really think about myself and how my being deals with adversity. It was an important step and one that is helping me. I still have goals and I still have dreams. Once you understand how your personality and mind responds to adversity, you can prescribe the actions needed to help you overcome it. I am trying to do that now. Getting to this takes a little humility, seeking, and realization that you may not know yourself as well as you think you do. I wish I knew Ben better, but I am aware that I still have much to learn. I can accept that.
Take the time for yourself. I am trying to and need to take more for me. You probably have things that require some time as well. Let me know if I can be of any help to you.
Do you need to get to know yourself better? Do you know how you might respond to life’s curveballs? You don’t have to give me details, but let me know if you plan on working on this.
If you know anybody who you think might benefit from reading my blog, please share it with them. I would love to reach more people because the success I am currently experiencing comes after years of struggle and frustration that I know many others face. If I can help myself through this, wonderful. If I can help others, even better! I am here to cheer on your effort and work, to whatever goal you are aspiring towards.
Please leave a like or a comment!
How did I do on last weeks action plan?:
- 5 Cardio workouts. 1 45 min ride, 1 HIIT Ride, 1 Low Impact ride, 2 runs. Attained
- 2 Strength Sessions (Tues/Sat) Not attained
- Plan out my meals, stick to them, and portion snacks. Attained.
- 2 additional outdoor activities. This can include walks with my daughter, disc golfing, skiing, etc. Attained
- 3 dedicated stretch sessions. 2 10-min lower body and 1 10 min full body (Mon/Wed/Fri). Attained
- 20-30 minute midday walk on work days. Attained
- Track every bite. Attained
- Drink 10 glasses of water per day. Attained
- Find some quiet time to calm my thoughts and mind. 2 5-10 minute sessions. Attained
Action Plan
- 5 Cardio workouts. 1 45 min ride, 1 HIIT Ride, 1 Low Impact ride, 1 misc ride, 1 run.
- 2 Strength Sessions (Tues/Sat)
- Plan out my meals, stick to them, and portion snacks
- 2 additional outdoor activities. This can include walks with my daughter, disc golfing, skiing, etc
- 3 dedicated stretch sessions. 2 10-min lower body and 1 10 min full body (Mon/Wed/Fri)
- 20-30 minute midday walk on work days
- Track every bite
- Drink 10 glasses of water per day
- Find some quiet time to calm my thoughts and mind. 2 5-10 minute sessions
Please stay tuned for more updates. If you have been enjoying this, please become an email follower or a wordpress follower. Having this public audience has been a positive motivation for me to continue working towards my goals and so I really am thankful for all of you!
| Date | Change in Weight |
| 12/1* | – |
| 12/2* | -5.4 lbs |
| 12/9 | -5.4 lbs |
| 12/16 | -3.4 lbs |
| 12/23 | +2.8 lbs |
| 12/29 | -1.2 lbs |
| 1/6 | -1.4 lbs |
| 1/13 | -1.6 lbs |
| 1/20 | -1.4 lbs |
| 1/27 | +0.4 lbs |
| 2/3 | -1.2 lbs |
| 2/10 | -4.6 lbs |
| 2/17 | +0.4 lbs |
| 2/24 | -1.6 lbs |
| 3/2 | -3.2 lbs |
| 3/9 | +1.8 lbs |
| 3/16 | -3.2 lbs |
| 3/23 | -0.6 lbs |
| 3/30 | +0.4 lbs |
| 4/6 | -1.6 lbs |
| 4/13 | +0.8 lbs |
| 4/20 | -1.8 lbs |
| 4/27 | 0 lbs |
| 5/4 | +2.4 lbs |
| 5/11 | -5.2 lbs |
| 5/18 | 0 lbs |
| 5/25 | -1.0 lbs |
| 6/1 | -1.2 lbs |
| 6/8 | -0.4 lbs |
| 6/15 | -0.8 lbs |
| 6/22 | +0.8 lbs |
| 6/29 | -1.4 lbs |
| 7/6 | -2.4 lbs |
| 7/13 | +2.4 lbs |
| 7/20 | -1.6 lbs |
| 7/27 | -0.4 lbs |
* I first weighed myself on a Sunday night and began the regular weigh-ins the following morning
-Ben
a better ben 
Great job on your action plan this week overall. I looked at that photo and said, “Oh beautiful, looks like NH!” I can’t believe I was right. What lake? (My parents live there). I like that we are constantly learning about ourselves, and I appreciate your reflections. Thank you for the motivation!
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Thank you! This was at Lake Winnipesaukee. Thanks for reading!
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