When Things Get Tough

I've been thinking a lot lately about when the going gets tough. The going has gotten tough for me lately. I've been meshed in a lot of transition, and I'm not sure I'm handling it well. I got married at the end of September, which resulted in a lot of unnecessary family drama and has given me pause about some of the people I choose to have in my life.

Immediately after the wedding, my new husband jumped into working nonstop for the past 3.5 weeks, and I transitioned from my old job in corporate marketing to a new gig working in retail for Lululemon. Not all of the transitions are bad – my new job is a great change of pace, and I'm extremely stoked about my new husband – but all of this change has been far from easy.

Unfortunately, my response to that has been to fall away from my routine. I've been forgetting to journal, haven't been investing in this space, haven't gotten enough sleep or sweat in, and goodness I don't even want to talk about the food choices I've been making. Things have certainly gotten better in the past 3 weeks – I even meal prepped last Sunday! But then I gave into bad habits and stress cravings and ate pizza, burgers and fries, and entirely too much caffeine. Now I'm a big believer that we should listen to our cravings and that they always have something to tell us, but I think my cravings were telling me more that I need to slow down, have some water and maybe a nice long meditation, rather than devouring a burger and pizza in the same week. 

One of the most difficult parts of this sort of setback for me is being kind of myself, forgiving myself. My impulse is to beat myself up and tear myself down for 'failing' at being healthy. But where is that going to get me? More upset, more stressed and more likely to continue this unpleasant cycle, right? So instead, I'm trying to be grateful for the healthy choices I have made. I went to yoga twice this week, worked out at home yesterday, brought my water bottle to work everyday and used it, and I have a ton of healthy food prepared in my fridge that I can eat this weekend and into next week. Most of the meals I ate were healthy, and half of the coffee I drank this week was half caffeinated or decaf. 

When the going gets tough, it doesn't mean you have to buckle. It doesn't even mean that you have to act tough and get going, as the old adage might lead you to believe. Most of all, tough times are a reminder to be kind to yourself, to check in with what's happening inside and to forgive yourself first, then look toward getting back to your truth. Living my truth means early to bed and early to rise, meditation daily, journaling, healthy food and lots of water, and finding some way to move and be active every day. 

What's your truth?