Thoughts on getting healthy (a little break from thoughts on travel...)

As loyal readers know, I've spent a lot of time and energy during this past year focusing on getting healthy, feeling good about myself, finding beauty, and learning to live alone and take care of myself.

I think I've done a pretty good job.


A few things I've come to understand:

• Getting healthy does not mean never feeling bad or making a bad decision or doing something wrong.  Getting healthy DOES mean that whenever I do feel bad or do something hurtful or make a bad decision, I recognize that behavior and do something to fix it.
• Getting healthy means feeling angry when appropriate.  This one is still a little hard for me.  Yesterday I had a pretty difficult situation and I was angry.  Instead of expressing it right away I shut down.  I got anxious.  I felt bad.  (see the first bullet...I talked myself through it and ended up today singing and really enjoying myself)
• Getting healthy means that you see the positive in things.  Not in a forced way but just in general.
• Getting healthy means that you don't need to hang around people who are not good for you.  There may be situation in which is is impossible to avoid people who are bad for you...but you need to be able to recognize that, interact with them only as much as necessary and move on.
• Getting healthy means that you have a major positive influence on people around you.  As humans we draw energy from each other.  If it's positive energy, the vibes in the room become happy and good...and overall things "go up"...Negative energy drives itself into an icky spiral.  Stay away from negative people if you want to get healthy.
• Getting healthy comes with responsibility.  To yourself, to those around you, to your job...but mostly to yourself.  Getting healthy to someone like myself feels selfish sometimes, but it's necessary to be self-focused to be healthy.
• Getting healthy means that people will pay attention to you...they will find inspiration from you (remember that responsibility I mentioned just above!)...they root for you...
• Getting healthy means that people really like to be around you.

Most importantly for me, getting healthy has meant that I am completely comfortable in my own skin.  It feels really good to be healthy and to take care of myself.

AND...finally...getting healthy involves learning, and to learn one must take chances.  I'm taking chances...I'm not ready yet to share what they are, but trust me...I'm taking chances and I don't feel the least bit anxious about it.