EMPOWERED

Who you are and all you are becoming improves your life and inspires others to do the same. When you let your light shine, you light the way for others to follow. This is what being empowered means.

As I mentioned in the blog entitled, Let’s Think Big, this is about more than exercise, clean eating or physical appearance. If you have done the work in this book, you know when you grow in one area of your life, it has an uplifting effect on your entire world. When you care for yourself in an intentional way, not only does your body change, but so does your mind.

This is not the outlandish claim of someone who just wants to sell a diet program or exercise plan. I know from trial, capricious error, more error and a lot of help from my friends, you can’t climb out of the depths, but you can rise. Put another way, the only way to get out of the darkness is to light up the room, so you can find the doorway. 

One More Story

The final story in this book is my own. My intention in sharing this is to let you know there is hope. You are not alone in feeling lost in a maze of confusion about how to create optimal health in your life. If I can set foot on this path, and despite many missteps, still be on the path, I know you can. This is not intended to be a confessional, but an example for you, especially if you struggle with overeating, off-and-on dieting, or the general screwed up way our culture deals with truly caring for ourselves.

I had done it again. A large pizza box, a now-empty chocolate chip cookie bag and a crushed, two-liter bottle of diet soda littered the living room floor. Yeah, I really ate it all. Yeah, I felt like garbage.

Despite feeling bloated and drowsy, I gathered the evidence of my latest binge and hid it at the bottom of the trash can outside. My wife would be home soon and I wanted to be able to pretend I hadn’t skipped class, spent money we didn’t have and wasted all afternoon overeating. “God, this has to stop,” is all I could think.

This is how I spent too much of my 20’s. Running from emotional and fiscal responsibility, jumping from job to job and mindlessly overeating as a way of escaping the shame I felt. Along the way, I destroyed my first marriage.

No, I wasn’t abusing drugs or alcohol, but the attempt to “self-medicate” a blurry emptiness inside of me was much the same. My numbing drug of choice was food. I would binge, but I had to be thin. I worked as an actor and model and had to look a certain way. Besides, I was vain as Hell. So, I exercised to keep off the weight.

Yes, you can call that bulimia, although I didn’t at the time. I was more likely to bounce between labels like pathetic or worthless for myself. This kind of thinking spun the vicious circle of binge – exercise – binge – exercise – binge, etc. I didn’t know how to stop the cycle. I only knew I had to change.

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, please reach out to the National Eating Disorders Association. 

My Journey Begins

As a way to add variety to my frequent exercising, I bought a yoga dvd. I thought it would burn calories and provide me with some of the flexibility I needed because I was working out so much. I got so much more than a workout.

Bryan Kest’s Power Yoga was not only a series of three challenging yoga classes, but a doorway to another way of approaching my life. Throughout the classes, he taught that breath and being in each moment is the priority. The way a certain pose looked did not matter as long as you keep breathing and centered in the moment. The hour-long sessions left me sore, peaceful and wanting more equanimity in my life. 

My introduction to yoga had given me a peek inside a new way of thinking. Could I really be happier with myself if I simply focused on the here and now? Would this approach work if I applied it other areas of my life? It may sound obvious, but it was a true, life-changing revelation for me and put me on the path of optimal health. 

Begin With The End In Mind

When you began this book, you had an end in mind. The questions at the beginning of Empowered were intended to inspire your vision for a better future. One in which you are vibrant, clear minded and in optimal health. This work has been written as a guide for you to make your vision a reality. 

It is time to revisit the questions from the beginning of the book and answer them with greater depth and clarity. Throughout these pages, you’ve delved into your attitudes and beliefs about what good health is to you. Now, dig deeper and dream bigger. 

You have uncovered and diffused many of the obstacles, which appeared to make living a healthy life improbable. You’ve come a long way, but this is a lifelong journey. The great news is you are only starting along the path of optimal health. I am so excited for you!

 So my friend, you get the last word. As always, use a paper and pen while sitting in a quiet place.

1.   When do I feel whole and energized?

2.   Who are the people who help me feel like my best self?

3.   How may I serve in order to make a difference in the world?

4.   What action can I take right now to care for myself or another?