Gofitjo – Instagram

Bloggers Empowering Transformation Photos are Beautifully Different in One Inspiring Way!

Fitness blogger Joanne Encarnacion knows more than a thing or two about self-love, it is in her engagement, projection and identity. She is already well known for her bright, uplifting advice promoting the daily practice of affirmations and now, the GoFitJo founder is sharing another inspiring and almost more so empowering message with her thousands of social media followers.

“I am failure for not sticking to consistently training and for not eating as clean as I should have.” This is the story I could be telling myself. This is the opinion that could’ve turn into a fact. I once heard that our reality is largely made up of our perceptions and beliefs, not facts. And that our ideas and theories are based on experiences and opinions, so much so that we start to create stories from these views and judgements. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ So instead of writing a failure story, I chose to look at this set of progress pictures taken a few days ago and tell myself a different story. “Well Jo, you haven’t put as much energy into your fitness commitments and IT’S ??. It doesn’t make you less of an example of a strong woman. Since October of last year you were working on recovering from a shoulder injury, rebuilding a marriage that was close to divorce, raising two young women (including an emotional teenager), creating long lasting friendships with women you once felt unworthy to be around, and most importantly going back to school to start a career in health and life coaching that you’ve been day dreaming about for almost 2 years. Living a HEALTHY LIFE means nourishing all the areas that make you whole. Your fitness is just a part of that. You’re a bad ass Jo and you have what it takes to get your groove back. Other areas in your life needed your energy more than you needed to focus on leaning out.” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The chatter in your head will try to find meaning in it because this obstacle is clearly telling you that your dream isn’t supposed to happen. Remind yourself that society has romanticized a concept of what beauty, fitness, and loving yourself looks like. The power to define what beauty means to you is within you. You are the source of your reality. You are the creator of your story. On this part of #therefinedcollective we’re talking about “Loving Yourself in the Skin You’re In” and on www.gofitjo.com I’ve shared 6 very powerful things to do when you’re beginning to feel the resistance in loving yourself. #linkinbio ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #TheRefinedCollective series was written in collaboration with several incredible women sharing their positivity and light to the ?.

A post shared by JOANNE ENCARNACION (@gofitjo) on Mar 14, 2017 at 2:06pm PDT

Recently the health coach posted before-and-after photos of herself on Instagram. The first was snapped back in October 2016 and the second that was captured in March 2017. But her post is unlike many of the other transformative images flooding our social media. The transformation is beautifully and subtly hidden in the details, while her body image hasn’t differed, her beaming outlook has shifted and is profoundly shining through. In her caption, Joanne explained that even though she hasn’t been consistently training or eating clean the past few months, she refuses to see herself as a “failure.” More so, she is choosing to tell herself a different story. You go girl!

“It doesn’t make you less of an example of a strong woman,” she wrote. Joanne revealed that since October 2016, she had encountered a set back and had been recovering from a shoulder injury, taking time to rebuild her marriage, raising children, and laying the foundation for lifelong friendships. Not only that, she had also gone back to school to launch a career in health and life coaching. Life, love, carreer, family and friendship in a nutshell!

She continued with a powerful reminder that “healthy” doesn’t necessarily equate with being skinny. “Living a HEALTHY LIFE means nourishing all the areas that make you whole,” she wrote. “Your fitness is just a part of that.” The fitness blogger challenged her followers to live up to their own beauty standards. “Remind yourself that society has romanticized a concept of what beauty, fitness, and loving yourself looks like,” she wrote.

“The power to define what beauty means to you is within you. You are the source of your reality. You are the creator of your story.”

What a complex and powerful message simple in its truth and authenticity, we are not defined by image but by happiness and completeness. Finding balance in all elements and facets of life that lift us, that empower us, that bring us joy, thats the sort of diet I whole heartedly embrace. Self love, strong identity and a true sense of self! Thank you, Joanne, for this sharing the love, for encouraging positive body imagery and for reminding us that life, love and happiness are entwined with so many nourishing elements, love and give love to you!

Gofitjo – Instagram