Invest In Yourself….

Posted on July 26, 2012 by tootallfritz

I keep seeing the same photo of a woman being posted on Facebook. A photo of a woman who I have known for a very long time. A lovely photo. She looks beautiful but she isn’t the same person I once knew ~~and I was thankful the photo was tagged so that I could identify her~~. At some point, surgery happened. Now the smile that shines comes from a nice tight face which looks full and perfectly defined. Her body which was once petite and thin has become quite voluptuous with time ~~and money~~. She looks lovely, yet it makes me sad.

These photos represent the same path of so many women who are unhappy inside and out. They can’t accept what life and time has given them. I always encourage people to invest in themselves but this is not the type of investment I personally recommend. I refuse to judge anyone who makes this choice but wish other steps could have been taken to foster self-esteem. I certainly understand the “look better, feel better” motto but nobody is perfect. Please embrace your imperfections. For example, I was fortunate enough to inherit the Fritz nose. It’s not lovely. It’s not even straight. It’s not ~~even close to being~~ small and petite. People constantly ask me if it has been broken. No, not broken, I was born this way!

In order to feel better on the inside and out, invest in yourself. Make a time investment. Everyone deserves a little “me” time away from the chaos. Find something that helps you feel better about you and fosters self-worth and self-confidence. This doesn’t mean hitting the bar with your friends for drinks. Who feels better about themselves after that? Who is better prepared to dive right back into family life after cocktail hour? Not me! Hit the gym, go for a walk, run, ride your bike, connect with nature. Do something to clear your mind and suddenly you will be a lot more appreciative of life as it is even with all those little bumps in the road.

Focus on building your confidence. If you feel good about yourself, just the way that you are, you will be more productive and be a better mom, wife, employee and athlete. Be confident! Here are a few tips from eHow to help you get the job done, please take the time to read thru these tips as they can help you in so many aspects of your ~~running~~ life.

Confidence is one of the most important factors to building self esteem. In order to be confident, one must become very positive. Love yourself no matter what people say about you, and always keep your head up high.
When building self esteem, it is very important to include positive self talk. This may be a very silly skill to you, but to some people, this can help a lot. When you use the self talk method it reduces your stress. Also, sending a good message to your brain can improve your self esteem.
Choosing good and supporting friends is also one of the most important ways to improve your self esteem. Make sure to choose friends that will not criticize you, or make fun of you in any way. Having supportive friends can boost you self esteem magnificently. Anyways, why would you want to have a friend that makes fun of you?
Volunteering for any city or services builds self esteem also. When you volunteer for an organization, you make yourself feel better, in return, building your self esteem. Not only do you help yourself, but you also help others. When the people you help say thank you, you become very confident and proud of yourself.
If you are struggling with building self esteem, try something new. When you try something new, make sure that it is a little out of your comfort zone. When you accomplish something out of your comfort zone, it makes you feel like you are the king of the world.
Setting healthy goals is a very important method. When you set out to accomplish something new, and achieve it, it makes you feel very confident. Also, setting goals helps you to accomplish new tasks.
Having fun may be the most important factor when it comes to building self esteem. Sometimes, people are not confident with themselves, so they do not go out and have fun. Having fun and laughing makes you feel better, and relieves a lot of stress you may have.

So according to tip #7, drinks with friends is ~~sometimes~~ acceptable, after you hit the trail and get your workout in for the day! 🙂 Just remember to take the time to get out and reconnect with you so that you can be thankful for the blessings in your life. The poorest attitude will be corrected within the first mile of a run. I promise. Things always look better when the blood gets flowing! Use the eHow tips above for life, running/triathlon, dealing with boss & family. Be confident, stay calm, cool and collected and know that you are AWESOME!

** Love Yourself ** Amanda – TooTallFritz ** amanda@tootallfritz.com

Enthusiam & Confidence…..

Posted on April 18, 2012 by tootallfritz

I must say that my enthusiasm for “life” was a little low this morning after a long night of bed hopping, a grumpy lil man & a pre-teen who knows everything except how to be confident in herself. It isn’t easy dealing with our different personalities, needs and motivating everyone to get started in their day and BE HAPPY about it!

I sometimes do the “let’s think of one happy thing about today” routine but that has gotten a little old with Aby as she is constantly moaning and groaning that she doesn’t want to think about “happy” things. Of course, our mornings aren’t as happy as I would like because we aren’t the kind of household that gets to wake up on our own and leisurely start our day, plus Aby isn’t a morning person so her mornings are decidedly less happy than those that Michael and I experience.

I want/need to be better able to motivate Aby (10 years old), help her be enthusiastic about life, and foster a sense of confidence that she can carry thru her daily life. We are struggling with her confidence issue ~~A LOT~~, negative thoughts and self demoralizing comments. I ~~hope~~ assume it is more about her age than anything else but she also has a very soft, non-competitive personality which doesn’t foster confidence. Hubby and I are on a mission to “help” her be more confident. We know that success comes from within and confidence is the key.

Do you think I should replace my “let’s think one happy thought about today” to “tell me one positive thing about yourself?” She is very sensitive and I ~~try to~~ respect that but we need to toughen her up a bit. I know that I too was sensitive at one time but over the last ~~decade~~ few years, I know that my sensitivity has diminished. I am more of a “suck it up” type motivator rather than a hand holder. I know that I need to be “sensitive” towards Aby and I know that “suck it up”, “get yourself together” and “make it happen” are not appropriate here but I’m not really sure what is for this particular age group. Of course, we give loads of hugs, love and encouragement but I am just not sure that is enough, it certainly doesn’t appear to be or we wouldn’t be worrying about her self-esteem, right? Of course, she LOOKS just fine. 🙂 It’s the words we hear that concern us.

How do you motivate others? Do you have a preteen that is also struggling with confidence? Any advice for Hubby and I on how to be sensitive and help Aby be enthusiastic and confident about herself and life in general? Help!

Distressed Mom on the Run, Amanda – TooTallFritz

Strong Enough!

Posted on April 5, 2012 by tootallfritz

You probably have a friend, or maybe you are THE friend who has self-esteem issues. Confidence just isn’t their thing. They are tentative about life, question their actions OR inactions and are just always unsure if they are good enough. I am here to tell you that they are good enough, just the way they are, uncertainties and all! As adults, life isn’t easy ~~for most of us~~ and coping is difficult. You have no idea what has happened to them in the past or is happening to them now to make them feel insecure. Avoid judgment.

It is difficult for those of us with ~~an abundance of~~ confidence to understand some insecurities but that really isn’t our place. Our place is to reassure, try to help them shine and ~~actually give a crap~~ care about their feelings. Let them know that NO MATTER WHAT……. they are:

Strong Enough
Tall Enough
Smart Enough
Thin Enough
Pretty Enough
Fast Enough
Good Enough
Tough Enough
Witty Enough
ENOUGH

to tackle anything they do so desire. This is part of your responsiblity to humankind. Help people step up, don’t knock them down to try to better yourself or feel better about yourself because it just doesn’t work like that. Karma will bite you in the ass for all of those little “nasties” which you think that nobody knows about. Karma knows. God knows. Do the right thing. Help somebody up rather than pushing them down. Avoid pettiness and selfishness and you will be better for it in the end.

Go now and tell somebody, or look in the mirror and tell yourself, that they/you are Strong Enough and Good Enough just the way they/you are today, now, right here in this moment. Nobody is perfect but own the fact that you are enough.