#ThursdayThoughts – HOW TO GET YOUR HAPPY BACK

How to get your happy back can be an instructional statement as well as a question. Well if you replace YOUR with MY it then turns into both a question and statement. Let’s examine both of them.

HOW TO GET MY HAPPY BACK?
As you can tell by some of my last posts I have been in quite a funk lately. I’ve tried to shake it off. Some days are better than others we all go through it. One thing I never asked myself was what was I doing before I got i started feeling this way? What kind of routine was I in? What was I eating? How often was I exercising? What time was I exercising? Who was in my circle? Who wasn’t in my circle?

GOING BACK TO YOUR ROOTS
Once I start asking myself these questions I am able to formulate an answer that can help me. When I initially lost majority of my weight my workout schedule was 8 AM to 10 AM five days a week. Before I knew what fasted cardio was, that’s what I was doing. I would go to the gym after drinking two bottles of water or sometimes just 16 ounces of green tea. I would do about 45 to 60 minutes of cardio. I would then move to weights after I went to my locker to drink a 32 ounce bottle of juice that I brought with me. Personally I seen my best results working that system. When my schedule at work changed my workout schedule changed as well. I was not able to get to the gym until the afternoon. By then had already eaten and was tired from being up so early. It took a while to adjust but I made the most out of it. I reduced my cardio then increased my weight lifting regiment.

Weightlifting causes me to eat more. I had to make sure I ate the right amount of food. That wasn’t always the case. Making the best dietary choices after a workout, let’s just face it your muscles are craving to be replenished after a beat down. I am a creature of habit once I get into a routine I stick to it. Once that routine breaks then it takes while for me to adjust.

So fast forward to May 2017 when I got my job at River city the gym that I work at right now. Switching jobs I had to try to find my routine of working out again. Majority of my clients are in the morning in the afternoon so I had to work out midday. At the same time I am an Uber driver. The earlier I can get out to drive the more money I can make. The busy times are in the morning and in the evening but those are the times that I have clients.

It took until recently to buckle down and tell myself you have to go back to your roots. Now you don’t have to wake up at 4 AM like you used to but you have to start getting up early to get yourself to the gym like you used to. You have to start getting your two bottles of water in a soon as you wake up to start your day. You have to start making time out in the week to juice. You have to do what makes you happy again.

For a while there I was down. Things haven’t been going the way I thought they would. I checked out mentally a few months ago. I had been irritated, frustrated, confused about choices I made. Eventually I was like, ok dude, you gotta pick yourself up and “do-you”. Nothing is going to change unless you do. With that being said, I began to ask myself the questions of HOW TO GET MY HAPPY BACK?

WHAT ARE YOU MISSING?
A lot of things. We have to start with one. JUICING! I have not been in the regular routine of intaking juice. I was on a streak of almost 3 years of going every day with at least a fresh pressed juice or smoothie. I fell off. No matter why I stopped, the important part is making sure I pick back up. I missed the energy the nutrients from the fresh pressed juices made me feel. I know for a fact that once I go too long without one, I do feel mentally hazy. The fact that I went a few weeks without juicing, shows that I was off my game. Step 1, lets go back to juicing. CHECK. Step 2, make sure to get back to drinking 1 gallon of water a day. Start again by 2 bottles first thing in the morning. Make sure you have it on hand at all times! GET FOCUSED CHRISTIAN!

GO BACK TO CARDIO FIRST THING IN THE MORNING
This past week I have been working out first thing in the morning. I have to start getting myself together before I deal with people. As I’ve gotten older I have to realize self preservation is key. I need to be one with myself before anything else. I know when I go too late in the day without working out, the chances of me snapping out getting bummed out after my mind start wondering increases. Getting those endorphins released during after my workout makes the day better. The elliptical and I are becoming friends again. Now that The Flash and Arrow is back on, that’s what I watch on my phone while on the elliptical. I’ve been working in some jogging and stair climber in my routine as well. My overall day has gotten better since I’ve been working out in the morning again.

SOCIAL MEDIA
I wasn’t on social media as much when I initially lost weight. I was at my happiest then. This week I’ve deleted all my social media apps, except youtube. There’s always something good on there. I’ve been checking my Facebook and twitter from my home computer. I check for messages, make a few tweets, then I close it out. The need to be concerned of who’s checking or who’s not checking for me was getting bad these past few weeks. I will have a separate blog post delving into this in the next few days. I can say since I no longer have the apps on my phone I can process life a lot better. I know what I need to do.

BLOGGING
My #SundayConfession post LIFE AS A BLOGGER gave you a little insight what it’s like being in my head. It took a few days to write that post. Not that it was hard to tell you how I felt, it was the fact that I started 4 or 5 different posts as I was writing that. My creativity was coming back. My brain is moving faster than I can jot down the words. There are so many things I want to get off my chest. I have to piece it all together the right way. The thing is, just getting what I feel off my chest has been a great turnaround. More and more ideas have been coming to me. Since I’m not scrolling on social media, I have time to formulate my thoughts into words, making my life a lot easier. So getting back into the swing of things with that.

WORKING ON A NEW PROJECT
Steel is forged in fire. You have to go through some heat to see what you’re really made of. I kept asking myself what else can I do? What more can I give? Then the idea came to me. I started working on that Uber project I told you about in my last post. I’m getting the artwork designed as you read this. Once it’s finalized, I’ll show it to you.

SPEND TIME WITH YOU
Thank God for the right people in your corner when you go thru a tough time. It’s all about having loving people in your circle. These people can help you deal with yourself. They made me realize, I’ve been giving so much of myself, that I haven’t spent anytime with myself. I have to start spending quality time with myself in my thoughts, re-learning who I am as of today. Not being so worried about what the next post is going to be, the next video, how many likes I get on social media, etc. What about what I generally want. Is there any situation in my life that needs to be addressed so I can move forward? Am I happy what I see in the mirror? Am I happy with what I see in my checking account? Those are the questions I had to answer. A lot of the many questions along with that, I wasn’t too happy with the answer or outcome but they had to be addressed. They would have never came if I didn’t slow down to spend time with myself to be honest.

IT’S ALL ABOUT YOU
After read this, I hope you now understand the statement of HOW TO GET YOUR HAPPY BACK, as well as answer the question of HOW TO GET MY HAPPY BACK? It’s introspective. I feel all of us go through times in our lives where nothing makes sense. You’re trying to figure it all out. Situations may not have panned out the way you hoped. You question how you even got to this point. The most important part is, YOU-ARE-HERE! You have to make a stance for yourself, and say, “At this moment, “I will..” Make sure it’s something positive after that. During your fitness journey, mental health is so important. While you’re going through whatever, if you are, just know time is the great equalizer. Pray for grace, peace, understanding, and know that whatever it is, there’s a lesson to be learned.