Action!

So – its been a bit since my first post.  I got stuck again.  Yup. Stuck. My Comfort Zone has been chiming in – “Who do I think I am writing about weight loss and health and happiness while being the poster child for all the opposite things”.   In fact, this week I have been bogged down in all areas of my life, getting the housework done has been a challenge, getting off my butt to walk the dog, making phone calls that needed to be made.... just about anything I needed to do this week has been really tough and in many cases I just avoided the tasks I needed to do and did.... nothing.  Netflix has been my regular companion. 

Then, it happened.

Last night, we went to a summer charity hockey game at our local arena as a family.  I was pretty pumped.  In my late teens and twenties I was a hockey fan.  I watched it on t.v. and I went to local games pretty regularly.  Then I met my non-hockey fan husband .  So I got fixed up with a little bit more effort then I normally put in for a night on the town with my loves.  We climbed to our seats and I go to sit and ..... MAN! Was it a tight fit.  I was jammed in there real good.  It was uncomfortable. I was embarrassed but what was worse.... the look on my husband’s face that he was trying to hide from me.  It was a cross between disgust and disappointment and it was fleeting but I saw it, recognized it and pretended it didn’t happen so we could all have fun but it has haunted me since.  My heart has been heavy.  I know I need to take action, I have been avoiding action.  So today I called a personal trainer.  I meet with her... or him next Thursday.  Six days from now, and I am already terrified. But that was step 1.  Its an action.  If I keep taking action each day and keep moving forward I will get there eventually.  I just need to remind myself of this regularly.   

>Do a minimum of one thing each day to move myself forward in this journey. <   

To finish off I will leave with a few memes for inspiration:

{Via}

{Via}

{Via}

Don't Get Too Comfortable

Wow – the first official blog post of Health Happiness and Hiccups.  It’s taken me a couple of days to sit down and tackle this baby.  I have occupied myself with writing the About Me page and the Health and Happiness Plan page.... but was not quite sure what to start with for the first official post. 

Then, it hit me, (other than feeling  briefly uncomfortable, I’m ok) I would write about COMFORT.  Not the soft cozy cuddley jammies kind of comfort , The Comfort Zone (otherwise know as your box.... errr.... as in thinking outside the...can we climb out of the gutter please).

I am sure you have heard about this zone.  From Wikipedia:

  The comfort zone is a psychological state in which a person feels familiar, at ease, in control and experiences low anxiety and stress. In the zone a steady level of performance is possible.^[1]

Well, I've been considering my comfort zone lately.  It has most certainly gotten smaller as I have gotten bigger.  This is neither healthy nor contributing to my happiness.  I have been unsuccessful getting my health in check and weight in order simply because the changes I would have to make are outside my comfort zone.  As soon as I get a little bit outside my zone, I scurry back inside like a squirrel escaping a barking dog. 

I came across this article on Babble today and #14 was my inspiration for this first post. I've taken the liberty of jazzing it up a little with a picture of my daughter:

I do not tolerate feeling awkward or uncomfortable well.  It’s just too... well... uncomfortable.  But as I reflected upon this statement I realised that the comfort zone is basically a virtual (psychological) muscle that will grow and strengthen with exercise.  The more you stretch and flex it the better it will get. But the process might get.... errrr.... uncomfortable . I just need to plough through it head down and fists up.

So here I go, venturing away from my comfort zone and on the Internet none-the-less.  What about you? Are you tucked too tightly inside your own comfort zone?