Dear Me

I was feeling sorry for myself the past couple of weeks. The scale wasn't budging, life was stressful, there was a lot of junk food around the house... you know how it goes. So, I decided to write myself a little letter to remind myself of how far I've come. I hope next time I'm feeling a little down, I can look at this and realize I have no excuses. I just need to keep moving forward.



Dear me,

On Monday, March 12, 2012 you had an accident and fell down a flight of stairs. You couldn’t really walk. You couldn’t bend your back. You couldn’t pick things up. Your doctor told you to give up and lay on the couch with a bottle of narcotics until it healed 100%.

You didn’t listen.

In early April you started walking a little bit each day. It hurt like he11, but you didn’t stop.

In early May you started going to the gym again. Your back injury was agonizing. You could barely move. Your doctor told you to take more drugs. The back injury would only heal with lots of rest and you shouldn’t move around.

You didn’t listen.

Instead, you went back to the gym and hired a trainer. You went for walks almost daily on your own. You ditched the doctor.

Today, you can walk without pain. You cannot only run a mile, but you improved your pre-injury mile time by a minute and a half. You can do a push-up. No wait, you just did 3 sets of 10 push-ups a few hours ago. And your trainer said you have better form than most people who come to the gym. You can do pull-ups with only 40 pounds assisting you. You went for a 6-hour hike on a steep mountain with a pack on your back. You can twist your back, and you can pick things up. You can stretch and touch your toes. You lift weights that are almost as heavy as you. Your trainer tells you daily he is proud of you.

You should tell yourself that you are proud of you.

Those last 5 pounds are frustrating. You had to skip the NYC Marathon this year. You can’t rejoin the cardio kickboxing class that you loved… yet.

Get over it.

You can walk. You are a fighter. And you don’t give up.

You’ve met so many goals already. You’ll meet those others, and you’ll surpass them.