No More Rear View Mirror Living

Miracle Morning #4

This girl has never needed an alarm clock; thanks to insomnia. Part of my daily routine this week includes setting an alarm for 4:00, just in case. Imagine my surprise at waking to the ringtone on my phone, after sleeping eight hours. That’s a miracle, in and of itself. 

If you knew how many mornings I was grateful to have slept past 2:30, you would realize what a gift that sleep was to me. By 4:05, I was on the couch, drinking my water, spending a few minutes in silence, making Sami and Bristol wait until I was ready to change gears. They joined me in the living room while I focused on my affirmations and visualizations. I heard Chuck stirring, as I was wrapping up my reading from Job in the Bible. 

By 4:50, all four of us were out the door, getting in a 20 minute brisk walk before breakfast. We enjoyed some quiet time in the family room, while Chuck read the Bible, and I re-read The Miracle Morning. My very own copy arrived yesterday, and today I enjoyed reading with my highlighter. There is something so cool about owning my own book, and being able to mark it up. 

Today I read Chapter 3: The 95% Reality Check, which investigates why 95% of our society settles for less; so many people settle for a life of mediocrity. The concept of “rear view mirror syndrome” struck me as one of my issues. 

Hal Elrod wrote: 

“When presented with adversity, we go back to our trusty rearview mirror for guidance on how to respond. ‘Yep, just my luck. This crap always happens to me. I’m just going to give up; that’s what I’ve always done when things get too difficult.’”

How many times have I started a new fitness plan, energized at first by the possibilities, and then, as soon as I hit a bump in the road, I resorted to my bad habit of numbing myself from any negative feelings I was experiencing by eating myself into oblivion. Then, regret would sweep over me, and I would convince myself I just wasn’t cut out for living a life of moderation. 

Lies. So many lies I have told myself over the years. 

There was a time when I didn’t believe the lies. Of course, I had to hit my own rock bottom before I was willing to consider that I could do anything to which I committed myself. Back in the early 2000’s, I was seriously overweight. I kept telling myself I needed to lose the baby weight after giving birth to my third child, but I was kidding myself, thinking it was baby weight. 

That little boy was three years old the day we were going to the pool, and I had stuffed myself into my matronly one-piece swimsuit. He was standing on the king-size bed which allowed him to pat his little hands on my back. 

“Mama, your back has boobs, too,” he announced. Oh, lordy. How had I let myself go so far? That was my rock bottom moment. 

Thanks to my brother Eric, and Bridger's innocent, but painful comment, I began lifting weights, doing cardio, and eating clean six out of seven days a week. My brother and I were both following Bill Phillips’ plan in his book Body for Life. That was a game changer for me. One of my favorite parts of the program was choosing three people each day to lift and encourage. Living a life of service became an essential part of my life. 

Now it’s 2018, 18 years later. It took me three years to lose 80 pounds. When I started shopping for size 4 clothes, I realized I had lost too much weight, and found that I was most comfortable, and felt stronger, when I was between a size 6 and 8. I maintained my healthier weight for about nine or ten years, and then I began to struggle again. Recently, I found myself precariously close to my obese self.

Right before the holidays of 2017, I knew I had to recommit myself to healthier living. I signed up for Beach Body on Demand, and joined a challenge group. I lost 10 pounds during the holidays, then struggled to keep the momentum going after the new year, and finally I was able to jump back into eating healthier and working out.

Right now, I’ve lost a total of 15 pounds since November. I am committing to living The Miracle Morning lifestyle, and am so excited to be on my way to living my best life, in so many areas of my life. 

My daughter, some of my former students, and several of my girlfriends just started reading the Miracle Morning book. They are feeling energized, and are committing themselves to living up to their potential.

Is anyone else out there trying this? Each day really feels like such a gift. I hope you will check it out, if you are interested in saying goodbye to bad habits, and want to get the most out of every day. You can download two chapters of the book, and many motivational resources HERE to get you started.