Take yourself out of the box…

Did you know that I’ve been a vegan? I’ve been a raw foodist (for a day – it was really hard!) I’ve been a tomboy, a horse rider, a singer, an artist, a runner – the list goes on and on.

Until recently I’ve always thought that I had to give myself a label or be good at one particular thing in order to have any self-worth, that I had to be the funny one or the pretty one or the clever one. I dabbled in various things whether it be a new hobby or a type of diet that looked interesting or a new idea and each time I felt a little let down that I didn’t feel more like I’d found my place…

And then one day it dawned on me. I am not just one thing – I am several. And the label that I had been trying to give myself for so long was staring me straight in the face. It was called “Emma”.

I am Emma. I love animals, dancing like an idiot, laughing so hard at absolutely nothing, being a geek, wearing no makeup and trackies, dressing up to go out, high shoes, wearing no shoes, eating food with my hands, having a night in alone, watching funny videos on You Tube, singing in the car, the sunshine, the rain, the snow, early mornings and lay ins. I am made up of a million things that allow me to be one thing – me.

And the same goes for what I now eat and how I life my daily life. If I want to eat raw foods one day, I will. If I want to go easy on the meat another day, helloooo “Meat Free Monday”. If I’ve cut out all dairy but one day a Nutella jar is looking up at me screaming “EAT ME!” then chances are I’m going to nose dive in head first and you won’t see me for several hours.

I now make decisions on what I want and how I want to feel and I take away all of the pressure that’s involved in conforming to be one particular thing. Because let’s face it, life is forever changing and on some levels you have to just kind of go with it.

And to be quite honest, having this kind of balanced approach seems to be working for me. Nothing is off limits. If I want to eat ice cream for a whole day and nothing else, I will. If I want to go out and drink tequila and throw some t rex shapes on the dance floor, I’m doing it!

Making healthy and clever decisions seems to come more naturally now I don’t restrict or ban or class myself as one thing or another. Life is about having fun with friends and family and living in the moment! I want to eat well and workout most of the time because this is what keeps my body healthy and carries me to that next fun moment so it makes sense for me to do this. But drinking cocktails and sharing a bag of malteesers occasionally with my girls is what’s good for my soul and isn’t that just as important…?