A few years ago, I decided that I was going to take control of my life and get healthy. My eating disorder was toxic and sucked the life out of me. I finally hit rock bottom and the only way out was up.
I knew I had to make a big change in my life, but fear made me resist this change for a very long time.
I started to take baby steps in the right direction, even though I often felt like I was taking one step forward and two steps back. It didn’t matter though because with a determined spirit anything is possible, I just didn’t know it at the time.
One day, as I was chatting with my friend Leah, she said something that struck a cord with me.
She said, ‘Ange, I can tell that you are being good to yourself because you have a real glow now that you didn’t have before.’
She knew that I was trying to beat my ED and her words of encouragement made all the difference. The word glow stuck with me so much that I decided to make it my theme.
From then on, my goal was to do things that made me glow and avoid things that did not.
It was simple and it worked.
Over time, I realized that inner happiness and confidence is more attractive than any number on the scale. I wanted to be a Size Healthy, not a size ‘x’.
Despite my good intentions, I don’t always feel the ‘glow’ in my life…especially during the gloomy Winter! It is easy to fall into a slump and just get discouraged about things in general. Instead of letting negative thoughts get the best of me, I now know that the beauty of life is not in being perfect or happy 100% of the time, but it is overcoming the challenges that we all face.
The good news is we can always take action if we are not content with something in our life. I used to see myself as a product of my environment, but I learned that I am in control of my happiness and no one else.
I don’t just want to be inspired, I want to harness inspiration in my life. I want to grab a big lasso, throw it in the air, and pull inspiration toward my life. Some days, inspiration hits me when I least expect it- a positive thought, idea, or plan of action- and I get all excited about it, only forgetting about it later on as I go about my day. If only I had written it down, I often say.
I have a blog, so why not write it down?
I have always felt like there is a wonderful energy on this blog…all of you. We can channel this energy and use it in a positive way to build each other up and inspire each other to do simple, but great things. My writings and conversations on this blog gave me the courage to leave my unfulfilling career. This is when I really started to realize that great things can happen when you put a group of people together…even virtually!
The Daily Glow feature will be a place to write down inspirations, thoughts, questions, themes of the day, quotes, and the like, as they come. They will be short reflections and inspiring thoughts to hopefully add some joy, reflection, and inspiration into our lives. Daily Glow will not be on a ‘daily’ basis literally (unless I am really feeling inspired that week!), but I hope to include this feature on a regular basis. Most importantly, I will need your help, your ideas, your contributions. I think that we can do some amazing things if we put our heads (and hearts) together.
I will kick it off with a quote that I love.
Life without a purpose is a languid, drifting thing; every day we ought to review our purpose, saying to ourselves, ‘This day let me make a sound beginning’.
-Thomas Kempis
I often find myself going through the motions of life, without taking time to reflect…to stop…to breathe. I catch myself holding my breath or taking very shallow breaths of air when I feel tense about something in my life. This quote reminds me to stop and reflect on my purpose, even if only my daily purpose. It is very easy to lose sight of what is meaningful among the clutter in our lives and in our minds. My goal for today is to reflect on the actions that I take, the thoughts that I make, and to be mindful of my breathing.
What does this quote say to you? What can you do today to live with purpose?
this post is really inspirational to me (and I will do my best to harness it!). Lately I too have been struggling with my weight (that it with lowering it). It feels like I am fighting my body instead of working with my body, and I hate that. I think I was trying so hard to be in total control that I lost sight of how to really be in control. I was so focused on weighing everything, and that combined with the stress of the rest of my life caused me to feel restricted and made me want to snack even more. I love that quote you had at the end. For me my purpose is to find a balance between being healthy and feeling “in control” of my life and my weight without losing the big picture. So thanks for such a lovely post!!
The idea of “self-control” has been something that I often turn to. Over time, I came to realize that true self-control implied a lack of conscious battle with oneself. An example of this would be me and alcohol. I have never struggled with alcohol. One glass of wine, perhaps another, and I am perfectly happy. I have one when I want, and when I don’t, I never have it — even in social settings. Every now and then, I’ll have a bit more than needed, but I never feel like a horrible person for it later.
Enter: food/weight. For years, I was constantly trying to gain “self-control” over food. I was constantly battling eating and excerise habits. I wish I could explain exactly how I came to finally be OK with my weight, eating, etc. . . but suffice to say, I no longer worry about it. I believe that when you are finally “in control” is precisely when the battle has stopped — when an inner peace and general ability to grapple with an issue no longer drains you, but is a normal part of life. So, ultimately, my experience is that when “control” is no longer something you must think about, is the momeont when you have reached the desired state.
Good luck with your journey!! Do not give up!
Wow I couldn’t have put it better myself! I am definitely working to get to that place. I am not there yet but I know that as long as I keep trying and learning I will find it. Thanks so much for your encouragement!
This literally gave me shivers it resonates so much with my own experiences, ‘I believe that when you are finally “in control” is precisely when the battle has stopped.’
YES. hell yes
Wonderful idea, inspiration is always needed. To me the quote says we should review our goals and how we want to affect others before each day. And today I can be a nice, patient and a more tolerant person to try and bring a little sunshine into other peoples day.
Absolutely beautiful post and idea!
i think that’s a beautiful idea!
Hi Angela,
I can’t answer your questions in regards to your quote right now, but I have added the quote to my journal as I am going through my own personal difficulties right now; trying to find my purpose in life and the such. I have to say that this is a fabulous post and reading about your difficulties with an eating disorder, something that I went through myself and thought I had overcome, comforts me. In fact, I find your blog in itself so inspirational.
I hope you don’t mind, but I thought that I’d share one of my favourite quotes. It’s nothing spectacular, but it was one of those things that just struck a cord with me at the time and has stuck with me. It’s from the new Karate Kid movie:
“Life can knock you down, but you can choose to get back up.”
I look forward to reading your Daily glow. Thank you!
I love that quote, thanks for sharing it. :) I hope everything works out with your current challenges…you have a real positive spirit!
This was seriously so beautiful! I was reading some comments people were writing, and it’s amazing the network and discussion you brought about =] When you read things like this, you realize that everybody has trying times, and life lessons. The quote was beautiful and just what I needed to hear. Thanks angela!
I really like the idea of the daily glow. I had a bad day a couple of days ago and I know you just need to push through it. Today was great! Sometimes all you need is to read a quote to make you think and get you inspired to push past whatever you’re struggling with that day. Thanks.
This is SUCH a beautiful post! I’m loving this idea and I can’t wait to see it in action. I was just thinking of you today. A friend has always described me as “the girl with the glow” and it makes me really try to live up to the each and every day.
Absolutely love this post! I never knew the story of your blog name before and I can appreciate it so much more now. That quote tells me to do whatever it takes to make sure my life is spent doing work that I love.
To me, it means to remember that every day is a new day, and to start each day with a positive outlook. :)
You are such an inspiration to me! The glow you have lights the darkness. Thank you for all of the effort you put into your blog – it has changed me for the better. :)
WOW ~ WOW ~ WOW! I’ve been a follower of your blog for a very long time. I don’t even know if I’ve ever left a comment. But this post spoke to me like never before. Thanks for being so transparent and sharing you. I feel like I know the most beautiful side of you. Keep on glowing!
What a beautiful quote, we have a choice each day to make the most of it. This reminded me of my day and I blogged just a little snippet about being choosing happiness no matter what happens.
Blessings to you – Debbie
Loved this post! <3 <3
I love this and can’t wait to add my thoughts as well as read everyones advice, encouragement and suportiive words :) You are such a beautiful person!
so beautiful. I love the daily glow! You are so great to us all. :)
That quote immediately made me think of Jason and I working so hard to get our finances in order — paying off debt, saving, etc. We made it a point to focus every single day on getting that done. Every purchase had to reflect that goal: do we “need” this or do we just want it? If we need it, lets get it, if not, forget it.
Same with treating ourselves better and finding our purpose — why not spend our time finding our purpose and pursuing our dreams? This quote is all about getting your priorities in order!
Beautiful post!!! I have to remind myself every so often to be mindful and appreciate each moment!
Winter gloom always gets me down. If the sun isn’t out, I need to figure out a way to make the sun shine inside. :-)
It’s a beautiful quote. To me it means that we have to control our focus, because otherwise life will pass us by. We all have a purpose but we can only follow it if we focus on it and remember what it is.
Thank you for this! Love the idea of the daily glow. Have to say your blog is so inspiring!
I don’t normally post but I read your blog everyday and this one struck me. What a great idea and it totally put a smile on my face on this wintry day. And reminded me of a quote that I liked to think of if my day had started off in a negative way. “You can chose to be negative or you can chose to be positive, whatever you chose just remember its your choice.”
Seriously I can’t spell…lol. I meant choose not chose!