{"id":5816,"date":"2015-09-07T10:43:14","date_gmt":"2015-09-07T17:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.arizonafoothillsmagazine.com\/fitness\/?p=5816"},"modified":"2015-09-07T10:43:14","modified_gmt":"2015-09-07T17:43:14","slug":"self-acceptance-i-woke-up-like-this","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arizonafoothillsmagazine.com\/health-and-fitness\/workout\/self-acceptance-i-woke-up-like-this\/","title":{"rendered":"Self Acceptance-I Woke Up Like This"},"content":{"rendered":"

I woke up like this\u2026<\/p>\n

The quote , \u201cI woke up like this\u201d, made popular by Beyonce , can possess different meanings to so many. From someone that has spent years fighting for her health and happiness\u2026..this term #iwokeuplikethis has a tremendous amount of meaning and backstory.<\/p>\n

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Nine years. I start out with 9 years because that is how long I competed. Nine years of being subject to comparison, extreme behaviors and trying to reach this unattainable goal that was unequivocally unreachable. I was the kind of person that if you told me to eat dirt I would have eaten dirt. If you told me to do 3 hours of cardio , without a question I was going to do that and have done that. I wanted so badly to do well (whether It be by my placing, pressure or to please others) that I was blind to what I was actually doing to my health and most importantly my mind.<\/p>\n

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Where did I lose my way? When did I stop loving myself? When did I start caring about what others thought? I do not blame competing for my struggles, I can own up to my choices because they were \u201cmy choices\u201d at the end of the day. But I do know\u2026.I had lost my way\u2026..my perspective and I had stopped loving myself.<\/p>\n

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To live your life by your standards is not easy for some. To speak your truth even if your voice shakes is difficult for many to fathom.<\/p>\n

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But, to finally \u201cwake up\u201d free from judgment, ridicule, bullying and negativity is taking a stand and finally opening your eyes to the realization that we only live this life once.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"felicia<\/a><\/p>\n

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Many people out there do not know what it feels like to \u201cwakeup\u201d in the morning, take a look at themselves in the mirror and truly love themselves. Negativity seeps in and takes over our thoughts. It wasn\u2019t until my health was at it\u2019s worse that I would wake up and pray to feel healthy, normal, to have a life without depression and anxiety. It took hitting my worse to \u201cwake up\u201d and not focus on my physical health but more so my mental and inner health.<\/p>\n

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From spending so many years trying to attain physical perfection to finally letting go of all of that and focusing on my inner health is truly \u201cwaking up\u201d and accepting your body as is.<\/p>\n

\"1S6A3748\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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