Good Morning! How are you doing today? I feel great. Yesterday I had a chance to just relax after I put a good 2 hours of studying for my certification test in. I had intended to do more, however my head was just very tired and cluttered. It's hard work changing bodies! I love it though. I wouldn't do anything else! Thank you!
So I did have to take time for myself in order to be more productive today. It's 9am and I have done 2 chapters already. Many more to come but it's a great start.
This week I want to concentrate on making fitness more than just something on our to do list, or in our appointment book. Let's really focus on having it become part of our lifestyle. Some are at this point, or it's just not that hard for you. Most are standing at the cross road between something to check off on the list and a lifestyle habit. This is a good place to be and relatively common place to stand. It's hard to make exercise a lifestyle. It's hard work to work-out! Even your trainer will admit it's a difficult thing to do, for the more in shape you get the harder it is to maintain and continue to change to see results. Soreness becomes part of your daily feelings, along with fatigue, but once the body begins adapting, this too will become easier. The thing is my friends, if we don't actively make it a lifestyle, then the resistance will always be there. And if resistance is there, then struggle is present, and if struggle is present, then there's a constant stress, a constant "thing" hanging over our head.
Ahh, believe me, this test has been dangling over my head like a mistletoe without the benefits of being kissed!!! :) However yesterday a good friend of mine reminded me that I do know the material and that I am actively studying and that with this preparation will come reward. (Thank you!) With positive thinking and a good work ethic, coupled with behavior and action, success will follow. One just has to put in the effort in order to see results of their work.
So with fitness, it has to become an importance, a part of your lifestyle. We have to actively participate. What does this mean? We have to be consistent with our resistance training, our cardio, our nutrition, our rest and our thoughts. We have to do the work. There is no such thing as wishful thinking producing great results, without effort.
I think it's the time of year right now. It seems like struggle is present in many of my friends, family members, clients, and even in myself. (I have no problem being honest.) The struggle becomes a burden at times, once again, something hanging over our heads. So like my father has always told me, it's not the struggle that defines you, it's how you overcome the struggle. Character and Integrity!
I am right here with you. Changing careers and being away from my comfort zone (home) has become exponentially more difficult in the past few months. Why? Because it's true, without consistent and persistent hard work, I will not succeed. I will not move forward. I will not see results. Hard work is exactly that! It's tiring, it can be frustrating, and it sometimes can make you cry in the locker room. However, if one changes their mindset, their perspective, their attitude, hard work can be rewarding and progressive and satisfying.
So with this great opportunity that I have, I just have to be willing to go to my weakest point in order to be stronger! I have to be willing to sacrifice social downtime to study enough to pass an important test. We have to be willing to push through the fatigue we feel after work or even before work to drive to the gym and workout. We have to be willing to stay away from sugar, alcohol, fried food, and calorie dense meals to see our waist line shrink. We have to be willing to stand on the edge of ourselves to force our body to adapt to the stress of exercise.
I know that this is not easy. I am right here with you!!!!!!!!!! Running is not an easy thing for me. I just love it though. But every day it's about the fight to finish the distance and keeping my goals in perspective.
So this week lets focus on what our lifestyle consists of and our priorities. The beauty of life is that priorities shift with or without our control. So there will be weeks where we workout to change our bodies. There will be weeks where we workout to maintain our bodies. And there will be weeks that we just don't workout. This is okay! This is normal! This is a part of life! The important thing we have to remember is that within these stages and shifts of priorities we just have to keep the end goal in mind and be willing to do what ever it takes to take every road possible to get back to where we want to go.
When our priorities do shift, don't get down on yourself or feel like you are regressing. Just understand the process and the stage that you are at. Know that you will only stay there if you want to or if you don't do the work necessary to progress. This is the hardest thing for me!!!!!!!!! But with experience and my mother's and father's wisdom, I now know that it's your approach and attitude that determines your progression. So with studying for this test and keeping long hours at work, I have had to step back from a few things. My house is not as tidy as I want it to be. My nutrition is not as clean as a six pack would warrant. I haven't kept in touch with my friends as consistently as I beg them to do. My work out has shifted to maintenance if I get one in in the first place. And as far as being social and handing out business cards as much as I want to, well that will just resume in two weeks.
My point is when we do make it a lifestyle, it still will be a process that rises and falls with the stresses of daily life. For me, working out is a time to release the pressure. It's a time to put all the pieces back together. It's a time to find peace within the chaos. But if we don't get to workout, then it will be a few deep breaths and a guilt free understanding of our priorities that reduces the pressure.
So this week, with purpose and a realistic view point, lets make exercise our way to turn the pressure valve to the left and release the hold that the stress of daily life can have on us.
Have a great week to come.
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