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Self-Positivity! Newsletter - July 2005 by Crystal Woods ?  23.07.2005 I passionately believe that each and every one of us has the RIGHT to feel good about ourselves. I also know that there are many things that make this all but impossible in the real world. We feel compelled to prove ourselves to everyone else by what and who we know, our job title, our income, our possessions - none of which really matters in the long run. What matters is who we ARE, and that should simply be enough. How do I know this? I'm an abuse survivor, on multiple occasions. For a long time I felt like I was truly worthless, and just taking up space that someone else could use much better. It seemed to be something tattooed on my forehead somewhere, because I kept falling into situations where I was victimised again. A movie once said it best "when you're so low your chin is dragging on the ground". That was me. Then I finally got angry. I dragged myself back up, and turned my life around. Now I'm sharing my story to help others who feel the same. My goal is to get the message out that there is no need to justify being alive. You just are, and that's a beautiful thing. Nothing more is needed, except that you live true to yourself. Can you imagine a world in which everyone is secure in themselves, feels free to follow their passions without worrying about the status or money it will bring, and live life with joy and collaboration instead of struggle and competition. I can, and I'm committed to do what I can to make it real, one person at a time. ?  Editor's Note ?  Hi and welcome! Hope all's going well for you. It's been a while again, and as always my life has been going full tilt with no brakes, as you'll see below. This issue has my first ever review of a site I've found (and bought every product he's got his stuff's so good) so am sharing with you for anyone else that's interested in learning about health, fitness and weight management. In this Issue: 1. Welcome Message 2. Site Update & what I've been up to 3. Article: Hidden choices that set us free 4. Review: Secret source for health & weight loss info 5. Subscription Information ?  ?  Update I'm online with a blog, finally! You can catch up with what's happening for me on a day to day basis, as well as the successes, failures and learning experiences of my quest (to get a skinny wallet and overlarge waist to CHANGE PLACES). The blog is up at http://www.crystalnwoods.com/blogger/FWSWblog.html - hope you visit and enjoy. I'll be using that more as a forum for my diary stuff than this ezine because it's something that doesn't require me to chase up several other people for programming, formatting and the rest - I can be online, update and go rest my eyes again within 20 minutes. My new site, www.vegetarianslimming.com is also coming along well, and there are only a few more chapters to research for the book. A lot of valuable info was sourced from the products I've included in my editorial below, but supplemented with various other online and offline research to tailor it specifically to developing something that works and informs to vegetarian issues. I spent well over 15 years trying to find all this stuff, and when someone commented that maybe I should write about it and share, this site was born. I've got to admit, I'm not a size 8 Australian yet, but I'm slowly and steadily working my way there, with constant progress on a week to week basis. Self-positivity is across on the new server, so hopefully it will be running smoother and faster for anyone who visits. I'm still sourcing a few things more for the programmer but I expect my new positive postcard service (zero-cost, by the way) will be up and running before the end of October. Watch this space for further announcements... ?  ?  Featured Article ?  Hidden Choices that Set Us Free! Ever felt like you were being victimised by someone, especially someone in a position of power over you? It's a horrible feeling - like your choices are being narrowed and bit by bit taken away. It feels like you have no control anymore, at it's worst, and is fertile ground for stress, anxiety and depression. It's hard under that kind of pressure to remember that you have responsibility for your own life, let alone power over choices you make on a day to day basis. Recently, I came across a situation where someone was placed in a position of authority, and used it to cause problems for a few people that they didn't like. I was one of them. I'm still in the middle of this, and it was getting very, very personal, to the point that I hated having to get up and come in to work - this at a job I used to love, and considering I still have fairly fresh memories of what it used to be like living without any work at all. I found myself sliding into depression, and coming close to tears whenever I spoke to anyone about it. Then one morning, when I was just so tempted to call in sick, not to have to face it anymore, I had to force myself to go in and to help me with that, came to a decision and came up with a plan of what steps I would take that day in my own defence. It helped to have had a couple of people on my side, who kept telling me that "they can't do that", so I had a couple of avenues to pursue. It had got to the point, the day before, where these restrictions were physically hurting - my eyes would ache from an hour or two into the day, and not stop til well after I got home. I took 3 steps that day to turn my situation around, and let me tell you I was so glad I'd made myself do it. That process of starting the ball rolling highlighted several more avenues where the law, as well as company policy, was clearly and obviously on my side. I stopped feeling so helpless. It was a shock to realise how much power I had ended up giving that person over me, and how far I had allowed it to go before I pushed back. If I had started doing that a lot sooner, things may have been a lot diffferent for me (although equally it may also have been a lot harder to clear up, before all the proof of this personal 'vendetta' became obvious for anyone to see). I had to accept that I had allowed it to degenerate that far. At that point, I took back my own position of power and opened my eyes to choices I'd had all along, but hadn't seen because I was busy stuck in the 'victim role'. As I mentioned before, this is not all over yet, but the ball is now rolling and I'm no longer lying down to take it. It's still hard to make myself go in to work (and I've put in some extra work on building a future where that's a choice I'm free to make without financial issues pushing me one way or the other) but it doesn't seem an impossible ask any more. The job that gave that authority has been awarded on a permanent basis to someone else, now, too, so even though there's no date for it, I know that it's a short term wait for that light at the end of the tunnel. My objective now is no longer surviving it, it's back up the scale to damage control, and making sure that my records and reputation have not been sullied because of this person's personal targeting of me. None of these things seemed even like remote options back when I was feeling powerless and victimised. They were always there, but it took fresh eyes and a new perspective to find them. Now I wonder what other areas I've been similarly giving away power and limiting my own options as a result. Are you standing firmly in your own power too? Best Wishes, Crystal ?  ?  Editorial ?  Alternative source for Health & Weight Management Info As you may already know, I've spent many years trying to find information that would help me lose the extra weight I carry. I grew up as a vegetarian, long before it became popular and as a result, there was very little information around about healthy balanced eating for me. Even my searches on the internet got me very little that was targeted to vegetarian diets, the usual practise being for diet information to be aimed at 'normal' diets but with a line or two telling you to substitute tofu for meat or some such - if that. Over time it's become obvious that there are two basic schools of information online. There's the theoretical, which will give you all the background info you need to know (hopefully) for whatever you're researching, and the practical, step by step approach that's light on explanations. It's rare to find a site that offers both. I found one, accidentally, about a month back and I've been poring over the material on offer there ever since - to my delight it's been thorough and practical, perfect for helping me develop my diet that extra step I needed. It actually is aimed at bodybuilding, but don't let that fool you. Every word written is purely and simply about body management - and that includes metabolism control as well as muscle development. Their flagship product is one I have worn thumb marks in, it's been so useful. I'd highly recommend having a look - this guy's the real deal! You can find the link at http://www.crystalnwoods.com/BFFM or click on the book cover on the left. Even if you just sign up for the free ezine, you should quickly see what I mean about how valuable this info is. ?  ?  Information & Credits ?  Subscription information Comments and questions can be sent to crystal@self-positivity.com - please feel free to forward this to friends and family and spread the message! This issue was sent to email@domain.com. To unsubscribe from the Sample Newsletter, click on the link at the bottom of this message. ?