“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones” ~ Confucius. The biggest difference between a person who achieves something and the one who dreams to is their attitude. Setting sky-high goals isn’t enough if you’re fearful of taking flight. Small changes, hard work and consistency are your only friends in the long run. When I embarked on my transformation journey it wasn’t just about losing weight or getting fitter. I wanted to be the person I deserved to be by reinventing myself and that started by adjusting my self-deprecating attitude.
Peeling away layer after layer
I’ve never had the skill or patience to apply elaborate makeup. I did give in few times for family functions and hired a professional. While I obviously loved the makeover I constantly reckoned that my real self had temporarily hidden behind a pretty veil. How would it feel after removing the several layers of cake on my face? Would I love looking at my image just as much? Was my face just too perfect to suit the rest of me?
Reinventing myself involved peeling away many knotty and hardened layers formed over the years. And yes, it was indeed lot more time-consuming and complicated than removing makeup. It was about stripping negative thoughts, unlearning ‘genetic’ notions, removing self-doubt and, hopefully, losing some flab along the way. In retrospect, it was worth it!
Choosing the right people and attitude
The rest of us tried to hold our guffaws while the lady grumbled incessantly for being pushed to her limits. She was the newest entrant in our Power Yoga batch, cute and perennially sleepy with teenage kids. Our incensed trainer, seasoned and impassive, held her ground though. “If it doesn’t hurt, you’re not doing it right”, she used to say. She insisted that our hate was her driving force. Apparently, every time we cursed her for the cramps in our muscles, she succeeded in her job.
I haven’t met her in years but her words stuck with me. We often tend to cut ourselves some slack by cooking up imaginary excuses to take a break, or worse, give up. Right attitude and motivation are the two things that have put me back on track every time I’ve faltered. Thanks to her for teaching me more than squats and Yogasans and the lady to remind me what I don’t intend to be.
Surrounding yourself with positivity
While reinventing myself was my call, I was amazed at how others forcefully squirmed their way into my plans. For every one person who applauded me there were ten who were unfairly critical. People who once chuckled at my ill-fitting dresses now maintain that I was ‘cuter’ back then. Also, nobody ever confessed earlier that my chubby cheeks made me pretty. Why bother now?
Aunties are by far the funniest and most vicious lot. I’ve been repeatedly bugged for my diet and workout routine only to end it with “humse to ye nahi hota”. Never mind that their knees have gone bust and their lives are almost entirely dependent on prescription pills. It also saddens me to see women younger than me surrender to an unhealthy lifestyle to appease their in-laws. It’s their life and choices though. I wouldn’t want their influence to affect my goals and neither should you.
If beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder we must mentally be hobnobbing with the apsaras, right? However, one should also contemplate that beauty is skin deep. It reflects from our thoughts, our conduct and the example we make of ourselves. I’m glad that I consciously worked on reinventing myself in time to be a better role model for my kids and becoming the person I feel proud to be.
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Loved your journey and the fact that you choose you and your attitude, doesn’t matter what those char log say about you.
Thank you so much! Those char log can discuss amongst themselves and remain jobless. I have my stuff to do! 😀
i am loving your journey varsh and its so inspiring ! I know we tend to lose heart and give up .. but we should be consistent and not find silly excuses.
Thank you, Ruchi! We cannot let others decide the way we live. Our life, our rules and our decisions matter the most.
Your journey is inspiring, really. And I like the confidence that your post reflects.
You know, I am that aunty who “feels” ‘humse to yeh nahin hota.’ But I am not critical. I really admire people who do yoga and exercise and stay fit. I have tried yoga and aerobics but I always fail to be consistent. I try to maintain a controlled diet. And I enjoy brisk walk (without any interruption), even if it’s inside my house. A myriads of thoughts/ideas whirl inside my head while I am taking a walk. And I have written several short stories and poems inspired by these thoughts.
The fact that you’re doing what you can is enough, Tarang. Not everyone can skip, do squats or run. Walking is one of the best forms of exercise. I’ve often found is very helpful in clearing my head. And yes, many of posts get drafted in my mind when I’m walking too.
This is very inspiring post..Keep it up Varsh.
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Thank you so much!
Varsha, your journey has been so inspiring. Indeed beauty is not just about external looks, but it is deep within!
How true, Jhilmil!
A motivating post 🙂
We need to stay strong to achieve what we want .
Thank you!
Such an inspiring journey! Stripping negative thoughts, and unlearning other people’s opinions is necessary work that we all need to do!
And from time to time too. It’s an ongoing process. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
You are definitely an Inspiring.. Anything done with consistency do give desired results. Thanks for sharing this inspiring story of yours.
Thank you so much, Swati!
I’ve been following your posts on SM Varsh and I must say you inspire. Such a motivating post this is.
Thank you, Sonia! Feels good. 🙂
Inspiring post.
Reinventing by peeling away hardened layers, this is beautiful.
Beauty for sure is skin deep when you feel good and happy about yourself.
Glad to find the proud and happy you.
Such a lovely comment, thank you! We have to unlearn old things to learn new things, don’t we? 🙂
Truly amazing! I cant wait to read the next one now
Thank you!
With positive thoughts and right attitude I agree we can achieve anything and you proved this !! Loved your dedication!!
Thank you, Ruchi!
Our attitude can make us or break us. With a positive attitude, we are ready to embark on any tough journey. Sometimes the path might be tough and full of difficulties but with positive attitude, things don’t seem that complicated.
That’s so true, Alpana. Our attitude plays a big role in what we do or don’t do.
Such an inspirational post Varsha. I agree in life when there is no pain there is no gain. If we want to succeed in any aspect of life and achieve desired goal, we have to work hard with constant determination.
Thank you, Surbhi. No pain no gain, indeed!
I love your transformational and inspirational journey of fitness Varsha, wearing the right attitude is the best thing that very rare can hold it confidentially and that is more inspiring than any weight loss.
Confidence is the biggest makeup! Wear it and nothing can stop you. 🙂
Thanks for your kind words, Archana. 🙂
Indeed, the first and foremost rule to make a positive change is to change your attitude, reactions to external factors and then surround yourself with positivity. Good to know about your journey. Have a greater and better journey ahead.
Thank you so much for your kind words. 🙂
Really loved reading your journey… how amazingly you wrote about the attitude! Great work!!
Thank you, Ninu! 🙂
Loved the quote on which you have written this post and the reinvention of the self is always blissful for one self and a problem for others as far as I have experienced. Thank you for sharing your journey. It indicates that I am on a right track.
Problem for others…LOL, yes! I’ve experienced it too. Keep up your good work, Paresh. Kuch to log kahenge. Ignore!
Train your mind and the body will follow. Discipline is what most of us lack. Love your journey! Kudos to you!
The mind is fickle and needs some gentle reminders. Rest follows. Thanks for your kind words. 🙂
So happy to read the positve side of you,
Thank you! 🙂
You are important! Everything else comes second… Attitude is something which cant be sacrificed.. else the journey gets very hard…
That’s so true, Srikanth. Thanks for stopping by.
I liked to know more about your journey and loved your attritude.
Thank you, Manisha! 🙂
Forget the rest of the world, your body needs your positivity and your attitude. Keep going and succeed.
How true. Thank you, Cindy!
Attitude matters a lot. And you have set the perfect example of how things shift once you change the attitude. Kudos!
Thank you so much, Pragnya!
Your words are so inspiring like your journey. There are many time when I feel low and think to give up all these . But we need to be consistent to the work to see the success.
That’s true. Consistency is the key!
I am loving it posts and your attitude towards your life and goals. Its true world will try to sway u one way or the other but you got to do what you got to do.
Glad you liked my post!
What others say shld never matter and it’s good that you have carried your attitude with poise and not given up. More power to you.
Thank you!
I’m in awe of your writing style. You package content so well. Besides, your blogs are selfless, engaging and personify you, the real YOU! Continue to do fab job and keep sharing.
Such a lovely comment, thank you so much! I’ve written every post by deriving my real life experiences and am glad it shows. 🙂
Very well said Varsha. You and Roma set an example to be work hard and be disciplined in their fitness journey. It’s a long time, I saw your efforts, how you maintained your food and fitness journey. Inspiring!
Thanks a lot, Deepika!
What a positive thought and attitude girl. This is the way to go forward. Loved reading every bit of your article. All the very best dear.
Thank you so much! 🙂
Your journey is so inspiring Varsha. Love your weightl oss journey too. Positivity around helps us a lot.
Thank you, Tina!
While exercising it is said no pain no gain. Here gaining is the positivity towards self and you have very well said that we need to be consistent with our workouts and try best to keep ourselves fit.
Indeed. There’s a lot to gain with hard work. 🙂
A very powerful post and seems like a fulfilling journey. But on a different note, tell me how much does losing flab contribute to that body positivity? Can’t one be body positive without doing anything about losing their extra pounds?
Body positivity comes in different forms and losing flab has nothing to do with it. It’s just healthy to keep your weight in check. In my older pics I look just as happy and pleased with myself as I do now. 🙂
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Absloutely loved what I read, love you website as well. Completely true about reinvention, and attitude and cutting those negative thoughts. I think we need to consider changing constantly, we get so comfortable that we dont realise we have become redundant and then play the blame game.