We Did It!

We did it…The Snowden By Steps Challenge!

We started it off our Sunday morning with a bang, taking on the Scammonden steps with the lovely Manuel @getfit4mentalwellness. He does this every Sunday morning…500 steps up hill! We smashed it not once, but 11 time’s, which is the equivalent to Snowden 9 miles. The thigh burn was real!! I’m shattered now as I write this!

It was so lovely finally meeting Manuel and all the lovely people involved and taking part in his challenge, also the lovely Natalie from Geordie Shore came too and brought us some cakes from Billy’s and Betty’s, which were delicious!

The weather almost held up for us until the very end when we were on the last lap and we got soaked, but we loved it. We enjoyed the whole experience so much- just getting up and getting out accomplishing something on a Sunday has the best feel good factor! I would rather have this kind of buzz than feeling crap and hungover. I am seriously thinking about quitting drinking! I am realising you can get such a high from great natural experiences wild water swimming, climbing mountains…lockdown has made me a changed women!

Manuel runs an incredible charity, helping so many overcome mental illness along with my other friend Shinny, and all the guys over on the Facebook live page (The Shinny Show). Don’t forget to tune in every night of the week at 9pm, as there is different show all about mental health and recovery

Originally we were going to do the challenge on the Saturday and finish with the steps, but I just could not motivate myself on Saturday after boxing training, which I have been doing now for over a month, as well as it being that time of the month! As well as the fact I am still bloated and not lost any weight! I was feeling very blurrrgh!

People always say how positive I am and I really try to be most of the time but I have really crap days sometimes and when I do my whole family know it. The beautiful thing is they always try their best to pick me up but sometimes it doesn’t matter what they say, I just have to stay in my little self pity pit for a bit. But that’s ok, I’m allowed. We all are. What I have learned is awareness is the most amazing tool, because without that I just continue to stay with all those crap emotions that don’t serve me but once I realise where I am and where that train of destruction is headed I can put the breaks on and stop it dead in its tracks.

Thoughts are constantly flowing through our minds and most of the time we don’t pay any attention to them at all and before we know it they have total control over us without our consent. We have the power to control thoughts. Our minds can feel very powerful, but they are only as powerful as we allow them to be! Awareness is step one, saying stop is step two (say it out loud if it helps). Take a deep breath, be still and focus on this moment and tell yourself ‘I am in control’, ‘I am powerful’, ‘I am safe’, ‘I got this!’

This is called thinking on purpose.

Feed your mind with the advice you would give to the most precious people in your life. You would do anything in your power to make someone you love feel good again, so why the hell won’t you show yourself the same love!

Just keep repeating it over again, ‘I am in control, I am powerful, I am safe’. Words carry a vibration and the more positive they are are the higher they will bring your emotions.

Don’t underestimate their power, take back your control.

With Love Leanne xxx