You are worth the read.

If you are reading this blog entry (and not just skimming to find two bullet points), this exact moment justifies a much-deserved pat on the back.   Simply by choosing to read this article, I know you are either an athlete, or a self-driven individual and/or entrepreneur. You care about your health, you are motivated, and you are genuinely interested in personal improvement, whether this be physically or emotionally. I can already promise, just knowing you have read the following few sentences, you are miles ahead of most of my patients.

 

Find your moment when nothing else matters.

 I’ve been a so-called “runner” since the day I received my first pair of running shoes. They were dark blue and green Saucony’s, back in the day it was cool to draw all over your shoes. Yep, mine were a mess, but oh so loved. That same love exists today, and each pair I love for the same reason; they set me free. Running shoes are like magic.  They automatically separate you from your everyday worries, drama, and daily stress. Athletes of any kind can relate. While in “the moment”, nothing else matters.

Most people become athletes and/or “runners” for reasons of health, and choose to stay as such for every reason other than health (this is especially true for my Cross-Fit and running group friends. It’s about community, friendship, and self-improvement). The longer the workout and the longer the run, the more time you allow for yourself to feel free. You realize that challenges can be conquered, and distance is only measured in miles, and weight measured only in pounds.

No one can measure your self-worth. It cannot be contained. It is meant to be challenged, and it is meant to be set free.

 

Self-worth is defined through personal challenge.

I went for a run the other day. The sun was out, the Labrador was by my side, and I was 32 weeks pregnant. Aside from the pain, pregnancy fatigue, work stress (and blah blah blah, etc.), everything existing outside of my running shoes seemed to be in complete chaos. However, somewhere between mile 2 and my turn-around point, my runner’s high took effect and was quite unexplainable. Everything that needed to be fell into place.   For a single moment, there was perfection.  As I reflected on the situation, I had to ask myself why not everyone loved to run as much as I did.  Why didn’t everyone crave those single moments of perfection?

 

 The only two reasons your life is a struggle.

 There are only two reasons not everyone attempts to find something bigger than themselves. There are only two reasons people choose not to make things better and become satisfied with the status quo.   Most people, quite frankly, are not up for the challenge.

Life is not easy, in many of the same ways endurance sports or high-intensity sports such as Cross-Fit are not easy.  Why do most people choose not to challenge themselves (whether in athletics, career, relationships, etc), and yet prefer to settle with comfortable? Most people choose NOT to challenge themselves in life for only two reasons.

In regards to the challenge, these two reasons are:

  • It’s too hard to start.
  • It’s too easy to stop.

 

Only you can define the “It”.

Only you can overcome IT.

 

 

Get off the couch. Do something.

Whether it’s weight loss, exercise, a career change, relationship status, or finances, you must want to make a change, and you must follow it through. Nothing worthwhile comes easy in life. Nothing. So get off the couch, quit feeling sorry for yourself and stop making excuses. Your life will change when you decide to change it. Nothing will ever be given or gifted to you. You must define your own challenge, embrace it, and make it your own.

 

Make life worth it, and never (ever) give up.