Showing posts with label writing intent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing intent. Show all posts

Monday, September 15, 2014

September 15th, 2014 My Six Year Blogging Anniversary

September 15th, 2014 My Six Year Blogging Anniversary

It was exactly six years ago today when I started my journey along this road. I'll never forget September 15th, 2008 for as long as I live. It was that very night, six years ago, that I started this weight loss blog. I wasn't writing to gain followers, or for attention--or because I wanted a writing career or to write a book someday.

My intent was purely to help me stay on track--to keep me accountable. If anyone read it or not, it didn't matter. I was writing for me. It was helping me understand myself better--I was learning, I was discovering incredible things about me--and for once, I found consistency in weight loss.

For the first 200 days or so, about a dozen or so people would read on a regular basis. And that was fine. The first 200 days were some of the most powerful to me, so they served their purpose--and yet, they're some of the least read entries in the archives. Readers, comments and all of that--didn't matter. I was writing from the heart, regardless.

In fact, if you have gone back and read the archives, you can't help but notice the lack of comments and activity. This blog was a year and a half old, over 500 days in, when AOL featured it on their homepage--and that's when it started gaining readers.

This is something I try to emphasize to bloggers just starting out. Do it for you. Write from the heart. Even if you feel like not another person is reading your words, do it anyway. Because the most important person is reading every single entry, and that's you. Your writing can have the most profound impact on you, a seriously therapeutic experience, if you allow yourself to achieve a level of realness like no one is watching. Free yourself, my friend.

If you're writing your blog to gain an audience or to collect followers and comments or any other motive, it will affect what you write. Be real. Be genuine and authentic--just be yourself and let all that other stuff unfold as it will.

I can't tell you how many times someone has said to me, "I wrote my blog for a while but then I stopped because it didn't seem like anyone was reading, I felt like I was just talking to myself." And I say, exactly!!! Why stop?? Breakthroughs were coming!! Epiphanies were inevitable--if you just kept writing!

 I'm very grateful for the tremendous support I gain from readers today. I'm touched and often times overwhelmed by the sincere outpouring of support. And even though some have stated how this blog has helped them in some way--I must always remember my original mission to be real and to write for me. Do I sometimes write something other than that? Of course I do. But at the end of the day--when it gets down to the nitty gritty, I'm focused on me and trying to dissect the elements contributing to my success AND the elements contributing to my stumbles along this road.

 Happy Six Year Blogging Anniversary To Me!!!! Okay, enough of that-- On to today: 

I can recall numerous doctor visits in my past where I would go in with an overwhelming feeling of dread. I would only go if absolutely necessary because I knew I would likely get a very negative report. My doctors appointment today was very different. My doc and I laughed, joked--and we were both very happy with the blood pressure reading. He took me off all BP meds three weeks ago and today it was 120/74. He commented, "Perfect. You couldn't have scripted it any better."

What a beautiful relief. As I was approaching my top regain weight, I knew my blood pressure was once again getting out of control. I could literally feel it and that's saying something, since high blood pressure is commonly referred to as the "silent killer." It was getting super bad. Part of my initial stand in starting the turn around was my appointment where we addressed the sleep apnea issue and the blood pressure issue in the same visit.

Speaking of sleep apnea--I realize I'm long overdue for an update. I stopped using my machine well over a month ago. I don't actually remember exactly when, but it was at a point where it was disrupting my sleep, not helping me rest. I tried it without and slept beautifully. Here's the rub: This could be a very temporary reprieve from the sleep apnea. My body is changing--and where I am now seems to be an optimal place for my apnea situation to dramatically improve. Experience tells me it could very well come roaring back sometime within the next 50-80 pounds of weight loss. That's what happened during my initial weight loss.

I had lost the first 100 pounds and my apnea went away--suddenly I could sleep normally, without assistance from any device. And I celebrated!!! Then, I was profoundly disappointed when I realized it was back with a vengeance as I approached goal weight. It didn't make any sense to me at all. The sleep specialist explained it to me several months back--and it has everything to do with body composition.

Perhaps this time, I can get leaner--and maybe, just maybe--I'll continue resting well. It feels amazing to just lay down, get comfy and fall asleep without the machine. But rest assured (pun intended), if I start needing it again, I will be the first to recognize the effects and do something about it. When I'm tired these days, I can tell the difference--it's not a "sleep apnea kind of tired," it's a "I'm choosing not to get enough sleep kind of tired." Why I continue to make that choice is an exhausting debate that is truly pointless to ponder. I'll either start making it important or not. There will be consequences either way. I'd rather not complain about it anymore. I know what I need to do.

Part of what I need to do is stop taking the naps midday. I've enjoyed the naps--and in a way, they're great because when I need the sleep, I really need the sleep!! But I also need to go to bed at a decent hour. When I nap, it keeps me up late, because the quality is so good, I'm rested. And then the cycle repeats itself. The only way to break it is to stop the naps, get stuff done instead and then go to bed like someone who gets up at 4:30am, not like a school kid out for the summer without a care in the world.

I totally napped today. I rocked that nap for all it was worth. I slept soundly for one and half hours. And here it is, after midnight and I'm wide awake and sharp. No complaints--I'm just saying. It doesn't fix the problem simply because it's acknowledged--there must be action. So far I've done a whole lot of acknowledging and very little action in the sleep schedule department.

There was more I wanted to write about--but after all of the sleep talk, I probably should call it a night. Before I do...

If you're reading this blog, perhaps for the first time--please go back and read some of the archives. Things are going great right now and have for some time, but it hasn't always been this way. Diving into the archives on the left hand side bar of this blog will give you some perspective. I want you to know that you can do it too. This can truly be the time you take a stand and experience the transformation of your life. You deserve it. You're worth it. And I promise, no matter how lost you're feeling, there's hope. Please believe this. I've been in that hopeless state along this road--and I remember how it felt. I felt doomed and out of control. I truly believed it wasn't possible to pull out of the dive. And I believed it...until I didn't. I wasn't doomed, and you're not either.

I recently made it very important to reply to all comments made on each post. If you have a question, feel free to share it in the comments. We often have lively discussions in the comments section of this blog. If you want a more private place to send a message or question, you can email me: Transformation.road@gmail.com

My Tweets today:
















Okay--seriously?? It's time for an eyebrow trim again!! I'm starting to look like the late Andy Rooney.


Thank you for reading and your tremendous support,
Strength,
Sean
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