Look at How far You've Come

Not every day is going to be our best day. The other day, I felt very defeated personally, my emotions were controlling my mindset and my decisions and I was a mess. I could barely make it through an hour without holding back tears. But who are we but the combination of our best moments, our worst moments, our successes, our failures, our ups and downs, our experiences and our visions. I cannot let myself be defined by the day or week I couldn't pull myself together, but I can be defined by the combination of my experiences, by looking at how far I've come. 

We can measure our progress in life, in our careers, in our relationships and in the gym by looking at how far we've come. The then vs. the now. 

A little over a year ago, the day I finally cleaned (as in the olympic lift) over 100#, I can now use as a progress point. A year later, I am able to a 10 min EMOM with 120#. In the moment, yes, I wish I could've done that workout with 125, but I have to look how far I've come. Focus on what my hard work has resulted in and keep working towards that continued progress. 

When I first graduated college, I was waitressing, partying every night, with very little thought of my future and very little respect for the person and woman I was and am. Yes, today I want more, I want to be stronger, I want to make more money, I want men to respect me the way I deserve, more and more. Instead of living disappointed that I am not yet exactly where I want to be, I look at how far I've come, how much better off I am, personally and financially.

Where were you 6 months ago, 5 years ago? What have your experiences combined to create, have you let the positives and negatives shape and mold the present moment and person you look at in the mirror every day? 

Take a minute. Look at how far you've come.

Progress starts yesterday, progress starts today, progress starts tomorrow.

Good vs. Great Part II

Writing this post was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Turning your thinking and actions from   

good-->great is not a simple task. It made me reflect on what I'm only just doing "well" and critically think about how I can and want to change that. It's easy to be good, make good decisions, do good things, but what does it really mean to be great, to take everything in your life to the next level? This is what I've got so far and I'm excited to see how I can make this a consistent part of my thinking and my life. 

Good: Showing up at CF every day

Great: Identifying my weaknesses, pushing through the suck and turning them into strengths

Good: Trying to think optimistically

Great: Taking control of every situation and making it a positive

Good: Being honest with myself about my feelings

Great: Becoming more self aware and embracing my good and bad feelings

Good: Planning trips and traveling

Great: Immersing myself in other cultures

Good: Being confident in who I am

Great: Knowing what I deserve, what I'm worth and demanding nothing less

Good: Trying new things

Great: Opening my heart and mind to anything and everything I experience

Good: Doing something nice for someone

Great: Selflessly putting someone's happiness above my own

Good: Facing a fear

Great: Recognizing, digesting and tackling that fear

Mission: BE GREAT

Good vs. Great

The other day I read this amazing post and I felt compelled to share it with you.  (Read her blog, seriously some incredible stuff) Below is my favorite excerpt:

Good: Giving your time, talents or resource to those around you

Great: Giving without expectation

Good: Asking for what you want

Great: Knowing your worth

Good: Being a jack of all trades

Great: Being a master of some

Good: Bouncing back from obstacles

Great: Knowing life is all about riding the waves highs and low

Good: Being happy

Great: Fully leaning into joy

Good: Enjoying the present

Great: Fully participating in every moment of your life

Good: Appreciating the love in your life

Great: Measuring life by the love you have in it

Good: Communicating your feelings

Great: Embracing vulnerability

What is the difference between good and great in your life? I'm gonna work on my list and share tomorrow! 

It's All Meant to Be

I feel like I have had a variation of this conversation multiple times over the past couple of years, today I finally felt compelled to write about it. I wholeheartedly believe that there is no such thing as a coincidence, every single moment, every good thing, every tragedy, happens for a reason. 

The first time I really thought about this was when I was going through a really tough time and my now best friend/guy I used to date told me he didn't think there was a coincidence in us meeting and becoming part of each other's lives. Funny thing is at first I thought he was crazy: like you're telling me all this tough shit is supposed to be happening, I'm supposed to meet shitty people and make bad decisions? To me, he was one of them. In reality, without him I wouldn't have been introduced to Crossfit (most importantly) nor truly learn what it meant to love selflessly. 

Less than a year after starting Crossfit, I had to have knee surgery, of course I thought, "why me?" Now I can look back and see that it gave me an opportunity to reflect: time to improve myself and work through my insecurities without distraction. And now? I feel stronger physically and mentally. In the moment, it may not be easy to see, but every bad and every good thing, little or big, shapes and molds the person you are and the person you will grow to be.

Every person I meet, every lift I fail, every workout I kill, every man I love, every friend I have, every moment I feel happy or sad, every phone call I have...happens for a reason. Sometimes I know that reason, sometimes I guess and sometimes I have no idea, but I am willing to see where every little thing will take me and how their purposes will be revealed. ....and that's where my journey in the gym and in life begins, thrives and grows.

I was supposed to suck at double unders this morning (ugh), but here comes lots of practice...

Being Real

"You want to know what I like? Honesty. I like when people can admit when things in their life aren’t going so hot. I like when they can just come right out and say you know..shit sucks right now but I’m dealing with it,I’ll be good. It’s refreshing. You know what I don’t like? Fake."

I read this in an article tonight and immediately thought, "ME TOO!" Sometimes I feel that when I'm writing this blog I can put off this 'I'm always positive, my outlook on life and the gym are always positive and everything else in my life follows that road too.' I try to be real, to show my vulnerablity, my imperfection and my insecurities. Anyone who knows me outside of my writing knows that I strive to stay positive, to look at everything from and angle that emits hope and faith, but is that possible to sustain every day, in every moment, in every workout? 

This morning I decided I was going to try to do chest to bar pull-ups in a workout, and I did. Every time I jumped up onto the bar I knew I wasn't going to fail. 2 weeks ago, a day I couldn't snatch for my life, I knew every time I picked up the bar, I wasn't going to do it right. I whined and felt shitty and did I come write about it?...no. So here's me being real. Not all my workouts are great (or even good for that matter), sometimes I look in the mirror and all I see is each and every perceived flaw, I can be anxious and emotional and in turn, irrational, I love way too hard and my heart breaks even harder. Shit sucks sometimes. There's no need to pretend like my/your life is perfect. 

But...we CAN make it as close to our idea of perfect as we can. Be real, but be positive. Be optimistic. Your life is what you make it and how you deal with the perfect and imperfect parts of your life truly shape who you are.