Basketball, Music, & Enjoying Life

I have to stop second guessing myself.

I have to stop doubting myself.

I have to start believing in myself.

I have to start encouraging myself.

I have to start loving myself.

1. Remind yourself that, in time, things will change and we all get bogged down at different periods in life.

2. Try to make sure that you do some exercise – as that brightens our mood and boosts our mental energy.

3. Be aware of the tendency to isolate yourself. Being around other people can give you more support, and can help you to keep going when you feel like giving up.

4. Try changing your routine. Just changing a few things can help you feel more in control, and less at the whim of external circumstances.

5. Set some small goals for yourself and take some steps to make them happen – again, you’ll feel less trapped as you will feel that you have options.

6. Make sure you treat yourself well so you know that you have value … Buy some clothes … or take time out … or do whatever makes you happy.

When Guardians of the Galaxy was pitched to me, I said, “I don’t think so.” I just didn’t picture myself getting the role. I didn’t want to go and embarrass myself like I did when I auditioned for G.I. Joe a couple of years previously. I went in there, and halfway through I saw the director’s eyes just glaze over. It made sense—I was a little heavy and out of shape. I was not gonna play someone from G.I. Joe. I did not look like a G.I. Joe action figure come to life.

It’s a thing when it becomes three peoples’ job to mop sweat off of you. The hair person, the makeup person, an assistant. When their primary job becomes stopping you from sweating? But I sweat less now that I’m in better shape. When I was fat, it could be ice cold in a room and I would sweat.

It was getting to the point where I would wake up in the middle of the night and I wasn’t breathing. A little bit of sleep apnea. My neck was pushing down on my throat, so my sleep felt like it was panicked all night.

I like clothes now. I have more energy. I sleep better. My sex drive is up. Blood’s flowing. I’m less susceptible to impulse. I’m in a different mode. When I was way out of shape, the idea of using whitening strips on my teeth seemed terrible. I have to do that every day? I’ll never do it. What you want is instant results when you’re out of shape. You want your teeth whitened in 45 minutes with the use of lasers. But when you’re in shape, you know it’s the result of doing a little bit every day. Moments aren’t just moments. A moment might be a week or a month. So instead of Boy, I’d love to eat this hamburger right now, I’m considering a little further into the future. I’m thinking, I eat that hamburger and that’s 1,200 calories, and I’m gonna work out tomorrow and lose 800 calories. I may as well eat a salad here, still do that workout, and then I’m actually making progress.

You have to eat protein. You can’t have hashbrowns, or burgers, or anything fried. You can’t have carbs. You have to work out five times a week.

But I can do 40-inch box jumps now. Action-hero physical stuff. Jumping that high feels really good. You see a giant hillside, and you think, I wanna get up that. You see a building, you think, I could climb that. When you get in shape, the world around you becomes things you wanna jump on and climb up.

Indiyah Rush, 12, faces up to 30 days at an alternative school for lending classmate Alexis Kyle—who was given the same punishment—an inhaler after Alexis suffered an asthma attack. 

Now they both face an automatic punishment for sharing a controlled substance, a category that includes prescription drugs, like an inhaler.

“The little girl saved her life. And the reason we say that [is] because we have been to situations where she has been to ICU, so we know how bad her asthma is,” Alexis’ stepfather.

Fav selfies of 2015 for BlackOut

Tagged by @acupoftheo