Saturday, January 31, 2015

Attitude Adjustment


Today’s brain weather is foggy with a chance of unintentional grammar mistakes and an 80% chance of sentences making no sense. Let’s all just play fair and roll with it, shall we?

After seeing a specialist last Tuesday, I am feeling overwhelmingly more at ease with my health situation and what it will look like for me in the future. My doctor was a woman that could easily be cast in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. She was fashionable, witty, but most importantly, I knew right away that when she spoke all medical to me (advice: that’s when you just nod your head and say “okay”), she was, like her title, a specialist in her field; very knowledgeable and skilled in dealing with other patients who have had my problem.

Throughout our conversation, it was like she was literally pulling the words right out of my mouth. How comforting, for me as a patient, to know that I’m not the first woman to go through this and that there is a solution. After all, there better be…it’s 2015! Alright, let’s cut to the chase. I am now on meds and will have a follow-up appointment on Valentine’s Day. Awe, how sweet (insert eye roll). In the meantime, she told me I had to drastically cut back on exercise and find ways to de-stress myself. Stress is one of the leading factors of all this so she suggested yoga, meditation, bi-weekly massages, etc.

I’m an active person, so this did not resonate well with me. How was I supposed to cut back on working out when working out was my primary way of de-stressing? I’m a natural-born stubborn person but knew that if I wanted to get my body back to balance, I needed to take this month to really focus on giving it what it needs vs. giving it more trips to the doctor. It was time to game plan what the next couple weeks would look like so I reached out to friends for suggestions.

Laura, co-creator of WorkItOut100, highly recommended the book Yogalosophy: 28 Days to the Ultimate Mind-Body Makeover by Mandy Ingber. She said it positively changed her life and I’m all about that right now! Along with the bass. Yoga book? Check. What else did I need? Oh yeah, a little more faith and a lot more God. I can’t control what is going on health-wise so I had a self-talk and told myself to just let go and trust. Trust that things within me will get realigned and that I will begin to feel like myself again.


While standing in Barnes and Noble in the “Journal” aisle, I couldn’t pick between two similar ones. Both had the same bible verse but with different cover illustrations. Then, it hit me. 


See that little red bird on the cover and see that little red bird ornament? That ornament was given to me by Vicky and has since been a symbol of our friendship. When small glimpses of God happen, it leaves me in said aisle of Barnes and Noble tearing up and thanking Him for helping me make a decision because God knows (literally) I can’t make one for the life of me! I also bought It Was Me All Along by Andie Mitchell after reading review after review about how fantastic of a book it was. I'm two chapters in and already agree! 

The past few days I have seen a drastic turn around in the way I do things. My attitude and outlook towards friends, co-workers, students, awful drivers, has taken a complete 180. I have been more intentional in all things and it is coming back to fill my heart up with the joyous moments that it craves and needs. I began Leadership Group on Thursday night and met amazing people who, like me, are still trying to find where they belong in this world and how we can lead and walk alongside others during the way. Community. Love it. I have been more interactive with K. Talking with her more about pre-teen drama at school, her body and how it’s changing, and how last night we decided Olaf needed a makeover. Every night this week she has begged for me not leave. Last night, she hid my keys, hugged and held onto me, and said it’s ok if I sleepover. 


 I learned early on, thanks to my oldest brother, that your attitude can completely make or break a situation and this week put a big stamp of approval on that. Big changes are coming later this year and so I am soaking up every little thing my present day happenings have to offer.

Comment below - I would love to hear from you! 

What is on your current book list? 
How do you de-stress? 


Other Places to Find Me!

Email: carrie.stavenger@me.com
Facebook: Carrie Stavenger
Twitter: p_s_wywh
Instagram: carriestav
Pinterest: p_s_wywh





No comments:

Post a Comment