It may seem like I have a passion for fitness and that it comes easily to me based on my social media posts and our website, but nothing could be further from the truth. I have always been a girl who HATES working out and sweating. I was active in other ways, like, dance, cheerleading, hiking, and horseback riding. However, anything that involved the use of weights or cardio for the sake of sweating was a hard pass for me. I never understood those people who worked out because it made them feel good. I just couldn't relate.
If you are at all like me, you find it hard to make time and get motivated to work out. I get it...working out sucks. But these reasons are excuses we make up to "prove" to ourselves that we just couldn't possibly add exercise to our schedule. I've done that my whole life, but especially the last 4ish years. Ryan was always pushing me (in a nice way) to work out with him and get healthy. I think it's super important to realize that you will NOT see success unless YOU want it. Don't work out or get healthy just for the sake of other people. Yes, wanting to get healthy to be there for your children and family is a very great motivator, but it may not keep you going. I tried that...it didn't work for me. I would work out with Ryan to help him with his business and to make him happy, but it never stuck. Like ever! I would eventually quit and find excuses as to why I couldn't work out. Most importantly, I would say I didn't have time because of work. I have a full time job and work two 12 hr shifts at the beginning of every week. It is incredibly hard to work out when you get home around 10pm some days. I struggled with the daunting task of working out and would constantly fall back on the idea that it was too much on top of my work schedule.
It wasn't until this year really that my mindset shifted. I was finally ready to make a difference in my life that had nothing to do with Ryan. It was about me and my health journey. I was unhappy with most aspects of my life. Our relationship was strained because I was constantly nagging and grouchy. I was stressed from work and I was eating to try to help me feel better....clearly that made things worse as the weight started to pack on. I initially started working out because Ryan and I were going on a Beachbody cruise and I didn't want to go if I couldn't comfortably wear a bathing suit. That was my initial motivator, but I continued my journey, even with a two week hiatus (cruise and then a week of struggling to get back on track), because my ATTITUDE changed. I wanted and NEEDED to keep doing this, even though I hated to work out.
I went to a Beachbody Super Saturday event recently and the top coach, Melanie Mitro, was a presenter. She helped me see that my excuses to not work out and not strive for success were my own doing. She is a full time mom and she had time to work out. She had 3 hrs a day for her own personal time. She chose to work the business and work on her health. I thought, if she can do that, what's stopping me? I have a full time job, but I can make myself change. I just had to change how I view working out and change my habits.
Habits are hard wired in us, developed over time, and are difficult to change. Aristole said "we are what we repeatedly do." Well that rung true with me. I had hard wired myself, due to my huge distaste for sweating and exercise, to avoid all things fitness. I thought to myself, if I can just change my attitude and start small maybe this will stick. I started to get up early in the mornings. Those of you who know me, know I am not a morning person. I love me some sleep. But I made a commitment to myself to try for 2 weeks to get up at 6am and work out BEFORE I went to work. It has been life changing for me. My attitude towards work, Ryan, and working out has drastically improved. I am happier, more alert, and have more time after work, just from getting up 2 hrs earlier! I am still a hater of working out, but I have an appreciation for it now because of how I feel during the day (not while I'm working out). I am no longer stressed at work from thinking that I have to get home and work out. I have more time with Ryan and our fur babies, both of whom are positively responding to these new changes in me. I'm trying to make small changes in my life to eventually change my old habit of not working out, to a new habit of working out and being healthy.
A friend posted a quote recently and it has helped motivate me to continue getting up in the morning to work out: "It can be difficult to predict or control what will show up in the middle of your day, but you can almost always control how your day starts and ends." -Darren Hardy. This quote is printed and taped above my computer so I am reminded of why I am making this small change for me. I get up in the morning because it is my choice. I have control over how I start my day and I choose to work out so I don't have to do it later. I still hate the act of exercising and sweating. I will never like it. That's a promise, but I choose to do it to live a better life for me.
The most important message I can tell you is that ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING. If you think you can't achieve something, you won't. If you hate something and don't change how you look at it, you will always hate it. Everyone can make a small change in their lives to improve it. Change something, that doesn't overtly complicate or inconvenience you, that will have a long term positive effect on your life. I changed how I looked at exercise. I saw it as a terrible way to spend your time. Now I see it as a way to help me stay positive, happy, and healthy. I still swear and complain during the workout, but because of the long term benefits I'm seeing, I have continued working out. If you change your attitude, you can accomplish anything!