How Do I Begin?

I bet the title to this post had you thinking I was going to explain the steps to metabolic efficiency training? Not so fast! Let’s hold that thought for a minute and back track a bit.

I have been struggling to come up with how to “kick-off” my new blog and what to post. I have plenty of ideas but it seems as I sit down and begin writing them, after the first paragraph or two I discard the topic and think “no, that’s not what I want to say,” or “I have another idea that is certainly more relevant and interesting,” or “just no way in heck I can write about this or that,” for a whole host of reasons.

What to do?

This is a blog so I am going to have to write about something pertinent and meaningful in regards to my subject matter, right? I started trolling around the web looking for inspiration and I ended up at the TED talks. Of course… I will use someone else’s talk to inspire me and then surely I will be able to write my first blog post.

What I discovered was a TED talk by a woman named Susan Cain and her topic titled “The Power of Introverts.” The titled intrigued me as I tend to flow in and out of introvertedness (I don’t think this is a word but you know what I mean). Sometimes I think I am an extrovert and take real pride in those moments. But mostly, I gain strength, creativity and energy from my stretches of time where I am quietly working or out riding my bike and I forget what my mind and body are doing and somehow I feel free to be me. I gain energy from these moments and stretches of time and feel most inspired from this somehow serene place. I don’t think of myself as shy but in terms of how mainstream thinking defines shyness maybe I am that. My first grade teacher felt surely I was and to my chagrin I have a report card that says so. I was so upset when I read the comment as I did not deem the remark as a positive. I literally ran home after school and quickly blacked out the word “shy” with number 2 pencil scratchings. This made me flawed in some way so I must destroy the evidence was my thought. I had supposed at the time and since I am writing about it now as an adult surely there is something wrong with being an introvert.

What I have come to realize is, introvert or extrovert and all the transfigurations in between which most of us fall into, are neither good nor bad, right nor wrong. Sometimes we fit in and other times we do not. We are each a unique blend, multifaceted shade of grey and all of those tints in between have meaning and purpose.

How does this fit into nutrition? We are feeding our souls are we not? There is a connection here for sure. We all know when we have eaten foods that don’t “sit well” as our bodies tell us so in some way or another. We eat or drink the “wrong” things when we are stressed or tired or maybe just looking to feel better even if just for a moment as we chew and swallow… ahhhhh, I feel better! We are human and all of us do it, some more often than others. It’s how we cope, right?

I was inspired by Susan’s talk and feel compelled to share:

http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts

Whoever you are and whatever you have may been labeled is neither good nor bad. Susan’s talk helped me to remember this about myself. You are not defined by those words. They are just words. I think we can achieve whatever we set out to do. Nothing is impossible. I have found that how I feel inside tends to show up on my outsides. We define ourselves.

My hope is that Susan’s talk inspires you as it did me to take the first step, whatever that may be for you.

As my first blog post (besides a recipe) I think I broke the ice. I look forward to sharing more.