Wednesday, July 27, 2011

The Strength of Body and Mind

I would like to dedicate this post to all those people in my life, who inspire me, believe in me and love me  for who I am.


It is easy to motivate and inspire, when one feels great, both physically and mentally. But the true inspiration is when it comes from a tired body and mind.

Today is such a day. Today I feel the need to motivate and inspire myself more, than on a bright sunny day when everything seems to go your way smoothly. 

I am writing this post in order to not just share a few experiences of mine, thinking it may hit the reader who will realize they are experiencing the same, but also to motivate and remind myself. And hoping to perhaps motivate someone else in need.

I could actually write loads of stories, or even a book on the subject of my life experience of the strength (and weakness) of my own body and mind.
I went from dreaming a dream, to following it, to getting off the path, to finding it again and holding onto it with all I´ve got. I also went from a happy, idealistic myself to a depressed, nerveous breakdown suffering and gaining over 100 pounds not a happy camper, who brought on herself a number of health issues, with a result of one permanent metabolism disorder.

I can talk of the deep dark corners of my mind and shadows over my fragile, optimistic soul, which kept sending the tiny voice to my heart and up my throat, whispering "you can do it".

Tell a body that has over 100 pounds of extra weight, consisting of cumulated stress and pain, to do the things the strong soul and heart tell it to do. It is nearly impossible, or, realisticly said, it is not possible at some moments. 

And that´s where the strength of mind comes in. Without it, one won´t make that first step to move forward with one´s aching body. You are limited. But yet, the mind is limitless. You just have to engage it. And be very patient.

No matter how well trained the body is, without an engaged, strong mind, it will get you nowhere. That is a pure fact, which I am experiencing on a daily basis.

Let me tell you, nothing makes the body more tired, than a tired mind!
 What to do? Actually, many things. One of them is to eliminate those, who make your mind tired, from your life. Sounds cruel? No, it isn´t. Not in my books. I have experienced so many downs, just because I let people drain me out of energy. 
Keep surrounded by those who not only inspire you, but who want to be in your life, who apreciate and respect you. I used to think how hard it would be, but then one day, I realized that I have only one life and if I want to follow my dreams and reach the point where my body and mind will be equally strong, there is no time to waste, surrounded by those who pull you down.

Another thing I am experiencing is not as philosophical. If you can only push yourself over that feeling of exhaustion (which, as explained above, is often caused by tired mind), and actually do something physical, you will again feel that you´re back on track. 
Purely biologically, it of course has a lot to do with the endorfine hormones (called the "hapiness hormones"), that get released after a physical workout. But I like to think that it is once again the strength of the mind (and soul) that wins over.

Just like the jin and jang, it seems to be a closed circle of dependance on each other. The body and the mind (and soul). Hand in hand. 
And although it may evoke the question "what was first - chicken or egg?", I dare to say: Start with the mind. Find the strength of your mind first and the body will follow.

And I believe everyone can find it within themselves. You just need to look deep inside you and be true to yourself. Because if you are, you will set yourself on a journey to explore the other you, the inner you, and you´ll be surprised at that meeting!

And to be true to my words and myself, here´s what I did right after  I wrote this post. Keep smiling (and moving)! :-)

Happy Trails!

4 comments:

HuskyJörgen said...

Keep on the good work :-)

Nar said...

Nice post Kat! I like it! It is very inspirational :-)

I think body and mind complement each other in mutual ways indeed!
You say "nothing makes the body more tired than a tired mind" and I think that is very true, but likewise it is true that "Spirit ain't worth spit without a little exercise" like Clint Eastwood says in Pale rider ;-)

Keep up! & bunch of hugs from us from afar!

Anonymous said...

Nice post Kat! I like it! It is very inspirational :-)

Katerina said...

Thank you guys!

Nardo: I totally love that quote! And even more because it comes from my beloved Clint and the awesome heroes he plays!
Makes me wanna watch it, or any other western with him, too! lol