#LoveMe Day Twenty Eight. What Have I Learned During This Challenge

Finally I am writing the last post for this twenty eight day challenge. A challenge that should have taken me exactly twenty eight days, but instead took me nearly two months.

Why? Because I didn’t enjoy it. It made writing, something I absolutely love doing, become a chore. I do not like chores and I have a tendency to procrastinate when it comes to them, so naturally I dragged finishing this challenge out.

It started out fine. The topics were fun, some a little open to interpretation, but all very on point with happiness, positivity and enjoying the life I’ve been given. So what changed?

Honestly, I don’t know. I know I missed getting to choose my own topics. I’m brimming with ideas on what to write about, but felt like I had to finish the challenge first, which is definitely not the right mindset to be in for completing a task.

We are getting to the busy time of the year which automatically stresses me out. I always feel like I’m running out of time around October and November. Christmas and New Year creep up so suddenly, one minute they seem like they are a lifetime away, the next they are just around the corner. It’s around this time of year I start stressing about money, about how many paydays are left and how much needs doing at that time.

It gets busier at work, which means extra hours and while this is something I can cope with, the lesser personal hours certainly takes its toll on me. There is still the same amount of things to be done, but less time to do them in. Subsequently I end up spending my big planned weekends doing nothing, just to make sure that I get enough rest.

I also haven’t been very well of late. Rundown, I’ve had a couple of colds (in November???) And I even managed to get myself a stomach bug last week. I am not good at being ill, never have been. I swear I get manflu.

It also doesn’t help that I’ve completely fallen off the healthy eating wagon. I eat something healthy every single day, but I’ve also been treating myself daily which is showing in my temperament, weight and overall physical wellbeing. I’m definitely not depressed or anxious, but the signs are there.

Thanks to Movember, I’ve managed to keep my exercise on track. I’m evercising for at least 30 minutes a day for the whole of November and raising funds for The Movember Foundation in the process. So far I have raised $145 which is awesome. Most of the people at my workplace are getting amongst it and as a team we have raised over eight grand, which is absolutely amazing.

So it’s not all bad, which is the part I  focusing on. I know that eating too many treats has a negative effect on all aspects of my health, mental, physical and my sleep patterns and I don’t know how I let it get to this point, but the fact is I have. It’s not too late to change it though. Admitting it on my blog is a good start. I haven’t been pretending that I’ve been 100% good for the last few months, more just not admitting it to myself, that way I wouldn’t have to deal with it.

Life is a rollercoaster. We have ups and downs, sometimes more ups and sometimes more downs. I’ve had more ups this year than any other year I’ve been alive, so I’m not berating myself for this couple of months of downs. We all fall off at some stage, from whatever we are trying to achieve, fitness, health, goals, the important thing is to get back on the horse, which is what I intend to do, starting tomorrow.

I’m actually really proud of myself for not over thinking this setback. I could analyze it from every angle for a few more months and sink deeper and deeper in doing so to the point where crawling back up is like starting over again, but somehow this time around I have managed not to do so. It just goes to show that while it is easy enough to fall back into old habits, the further you have come, the easier it is to fight them.

Smiles and Sunshine
Katie