Appreciation Is The Real Starting Point

Hey there. I spent much of my young adult years thinking that changing my body would finally make me feel good enough. If I lost the weight, built the routine, and hit the goals that everyone else said mattered, then maybe I would feel lighter in my own mind. What I eventually learned is that none of that matters if I am tearing myself down from the inside. Loving and appreciating the body I have at every stage is the foundation of everything. That truth applies to fitness, work, relationships, creativity, and the way I move through the world as a whole.

I chased change out of insecurity. I did not like what I saw in the mirror and I believed that changing my appearance would fix the way I felt. I lost weight, built muscle, leaned out, bulked up, and pushed myself in every direction. It was never enough. Even with the progress, I still felt like I was falling short because the voice in my head did not change. I was living from the outside in, trying to earn confidence instead of cultivating it.

Living with cerebral palsy makes this even clearer for me. No matter how much weight I lose or how much muscle I build, my CP will always be part of my life and it affects most of my body. If I am not connected to myself, if I do not appreciate who I am, then no amount of external change will ever fill that gap. Once I shifted my focus to appreciation and connection, everything changed. My workouts became more consistent. My writing became more confident. My productivity increased. I stopped fixating on whether something was perfect and started focusing on showing up.

Consistency builds momentum. I post here five days a week. I could do seven, but the structure I have now keeps me grounded and allows my message to stay clear. I workout more than 60 times a month because it supports my long term goals and because I enjoy feeling strong and capable. These habits did not come from chasing perfection or obsessing over results. They came from choosing to love the body I have and reinforcing that choice every single day.

This mindset goes far beyond fitness. When I stopped judging myself so harshly, I became more present in my relationships. I became more creative in my work. I felt calmer and more grounded even when life got unpredictable. Peace in my mind became something I actively pursued instead of something I hoped I would stumble into. That peace makes me more productive and more driven, not less. People assume that loving yourself means lowering your standards. It does not. It means you build your standards on stability instead of insecurity.

I want you to see what is possible when you choose a connected, appreciative approach to your goals. You can still push yourself. You can still pursue every ambition you have. But you can do it from a place that feels peaceful and strong instead of frantic and pressured. When you build your life from the inside/out, you stop chasing worthiness and start living it.

If you are ready to build consistency, confidence, and clarity in your own process, I would love for you to join me inside The YLF Experience.