Have you ever wanted to improve your life, but it seems like you get stuck along the way? Or, you make a decision to commit to change (save a certain amount of money, lose 10 pounds, get a better job or career), and then you try for a bit and get frustrated that you aren’t making good progress so you stop? Then you circle back the next time you are frustrated and make the whole commitment over again, only to experience the same frustrating cycle? If your answer to this is YES, then you know where I’m coming from. We are creatures of pleasure, and we want to see immediate results. When we don’t see the change we want fast enough, we usually give up. Status Quo. Or, are you not even sure what you want, what goals to set, or what you want your life to look like in 5-10 years? Again, we halt in working for something for lack of not knowing where to go. Status Quo.
I truly think that injuries are the most common frustration of people who make exercise a part of their daily routine. First of all, I don’t know ONE person who hasn’t had an injury - so you can empathize with this post. I’ve certainly had my share of them, and when they show up, I agonize over them. The emotional aspects of injuries are the worst part. But how do we deal with this? Should we rest, and how long? Is our body in fact telling us to stop, or should we be trying to maintain a semblance of routine, especially since it takes so much effort to build it? There are many answers to these questions, and each one depends on the person, the injury and the circumstance. But I think there are some very valuable lessons and wisdom to be learned from injuries. To illustrate my point, I’m going to paint a picture (which might sound familiar)…
This is one of my favorite topics - but one of the most challenging parts of coaching people. The comfort zone is where we live when we don’t feel challenged or stressed, but also where we feel lazy. Routine is the comfort zone. Status quo is the comfort zone.
Now don’t get me wrong - sometimes we need the comfort zone. There are times when we need to stop pushing ourselves, to recover, or restore. I argue though, that some people spend too much time in the comfort zone, and this can really hold you back from your goals. It holds you back from your BEST LIFE. It holds you back from being the BEST person you can be. These are my motivations, because one of my values is constant growth as a person. ..
There are many opinions about “New Year”, resolutions, etc. Whatever people say, I’m actually a big fan of celebrating the coming New Year. I know it’s just a constructed concept really, but it really feels like a reset to me, so I treat it as such! Taking time off from the day to day routine, work, and spending extra time with those we love really feels like an event in itself, and therefore, I like to use it to reflect on my past year, and figure out what I want to carve out in the coming year (and I LOVE Change, so this is my time to create it). I’ve reflected a lot about what to focus on this year. Yes I have “goals”, but I’ve been thinking more about how I want to be in 2019. How do I want to behave differently? How do I continue to challenge myself, to grow and to stretch, and ensure that I don’t lose sight and attention to the things I mentioned above that I’m grateful for? My past has been a strong pendulum of change, where I swing one way, and then when it becomes too much, I swing the opposite. How do I dampen these swings so that I take care of the people I love, and nurture my need for change and growth? Goals can take any form, and I recommend having some goals around your health and fitness
Read here for my shortlist of key behaviours to focus on!
Kindness is overarching, and more complex and layered than it seems at face value. A simple, true act of kindness (or lack of one) is so deeply meaningful, and has the power to completely turn a horrible day around. For that matter an instance where someone neglects kindness has the potential to derail a perfectly good day for someone. It’s easy to be kind when things are going well for us. It’s easy to be pleasant, easy to give, easy to smile. But what about on our worst days, or days we are distracted with our own world? When we are feeling stressed, lonely, tired? When we’ve exhausted our emotional energy for the day? I’m learning that kindness is a practice that does become easier over time, but what does practicing it look like, and what does it take?
Warning! This advice is NOT sexy, and you will be disappointed. I deal in TRUTHs and not in telling you what you think you want to hear. There are no quick fixes and easy ways to achieving what we want - especially ones that are worth having (and those that relate to a billion dollar weight loss industry for that matter).
I just read a really interesting book called “Looking Out for Number 1” (which by the way has been around FOREVER, but was re-written to be relevant this decade). I can hear the judgemental thoughts about the title already, but hold up - this book is not about being selfish. It’s actually a business book about what’s really holding you back from focusing on getting what you want…
I know this sounds obvious, but things that are obvious often get overlooked in our day to day lives - so I’m going to be very blunt. Procrastination is one of those “silent killers”. It kills motivation. it kills momentum. It kills potential. We all have unbelievable potential within us, but that doesn’t mean anything without action tied to it. Procrastination causes the death of meaningful “intentions” or hopes… click to read more
It's been just over three years since my back injury (omg, does time fly), and I wrote a first blog regarding my personal struggle with healing about a year and a half ago (You can re-read it here). Reading it reminds me of how incredibly difficult that time was for me. It shines through and I was afraid to be honest because I hated how sad i was. I had very real fears that it would never improve, that I would never again be able to hike, run, surf, let alone lift weights or even do anything physical without pain. I remember having months of feeling no improvement, and having very little hope and belief that things would change. The ups and downs were endless, when I had hope and a good attitude, it would be equally opposed a day or two later with sadness, frustration and depression. I mourned the loss of control I had over my body and fitness. I mourned my perceived future "fit" self. I mourned the loss of years of hard work to get to a place where I finally confidence about my body.
I've been trying to write this blog for a while. Actually it's been over a year (15 months to be exact, but who's counting), and I've probably drafted and thrown away 5 different attempts. I always write it out of frustration, in an effort to vent or release the pent-up emotions. And then I talk myself out of posting it, either because it's too negative, or un-inspiring, or I fear that the readers wouldn't understand it and then judge me, or I just convince myself that it's too trivial in comparison to people with real problems. Honestly, it wasn't until I read a blog by a friend and fellow local fitness and health guru that I was inspired to write this. She hit the nail on the head with her blog post about her own personal struggle. She reminded me that "no matter how big or small your battle may be, everyone is going through one, and to them, it’s important, regardless of what it may look like to you".
So I was inspired to share my struggle…
![Working [out] with Injuries](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53879570e4b0422ca6697db1/1553571695886-FW6XG96YCM4Z8954HW7L/Screen+Shot+2019-03-25+at+9.41.17+PM.png)
![A Token New Year Post [2019]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53879570e4b0422ca6697db1/1551241288217-KL1E8GZZFLO3HUZCV9R9/image-asset.jpeg)
