Beast Modivation

I know no other way to be then 100% real.  Being a single mom sucks.  Parenting in itself is a challenge, but when a day doesn’t go as planned and there’s only one parent to deal with the immediate changes or obstacles, your level of optimism can quickly plummet from 10 to 1.  

Maybe your alarm was set to get up early for your workout, and it just didn’t happen.  You were too tired from the unexpected late night with the baby.  No matter what you do, you just can’t seem to get the little guy on a schedule.  Your body is beginning to suffer and you just pray for a break.  You try not to reach for unhealthy snacks when the stress overcomes you.  You try not to skip meals.  You try your damn best to just get through the day making sure the kids are taken care of and you aren’t neglecting your own bare necessities in the process.  Like, being so busy in the morning that you forget to brush your own teeth but remind your six year old to brush hers.  Yeah, that’s me sometimes.  Lol.  Guilty as charged.

You love your children.  You can’t look back with regret and what ifs.  They’re here now, but why can’t it be easier?  The tough love answer:  because what doesn’t break you builds a stronger you.  Fitness is the key to your health, your stamina, and the best way possible to handle the stress that single motherhood brings.  Maybe you’re lucky enough to have a support group or even a reliable workout partner, or maybe you’re like me and you just try to squeeze in a little here and a little there whenever you can.  Maybe you hit the gym after the kids are sleep if you have a situation where there’s someone to watch them when you step out.  However, you can squeeze it in your day, SQUEEZE IT IN YOUR DAY!  It is so necessary for your sanity.  

When I walk in the gym at 9 or 10pm at night, I feel like I walked through the gates of heaven.  My gym time is my salvation.  I pump up my iPod volume, and I just fade into the realm of me vs me.  For an hour or two, the gym is my bitch.  Whether I’m going for a PR or just trying to get a quick sweat session in, I give it all I can at that moment.  And on some days, I don’t feel like it’s much.  But I remind myself of all the people who aren’t doing half of what I do on a daily basis and never step foot in a gym, let alone follow a regular exercise routine. 

“A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there.” -unknown

The oddest thing about my journey to date is definitely the amount of people who tell me that I inspire them and then do nothing to change their own lives.  The definition of inspire is “to fill someone with the urge or ability to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.”  Why, then, do those who claim to be inspired not spring into action?  

Do you fear leaving your comfort zone?  Do you fear failure?  Have you been conditioned to believe that what and who you are at this very moment is all you were meant to be?  If you answered or even thought to agree with any of the aforementioned questions, you and I have work to do.  The art of goal setting is a beautiful thing because it motivates change.  I beseech you to get a pen and paper right this minute.  I implore you to pour your heart out for 5 minutes and write down everything you’ve ever dreamed of being or doing.  After the 5 minutes is up, take a deep breath.  No, really, breath damn it!  Ever notice how at the doctor’s office when they tell you to take a deep breath so they can listen to your lungs, somehow you can’t focus on anything else but that.  All questions and concerns momentarily go out the window because you have to hone in on the process of taking a deep breath in and then exhaling.  So, I beg you.  Close your eyes and take 3 deep breaths.  Now, open your eyes and look at your list.  If I have truly inspired you, something on that list falls into the category of being healthier, getting fit, or increasing your amount of daily activity.

Make no mistake, that goal is attainable.  Two things we must all do to survive is eat and move.  The path to your goal can very easily begin by making better choices when you do these two things.  That is the only way in which you and I differ.  I have already made my mistakes, overcome my obstacles, accepted and grown from my failures.  Now, I am here to help you reach your goals with fewer bumps in the road than I had on mine.

Now, think about this.  Whatever else you have written on that list, your health is the driving force behind making that goal come true.  When you are in a state of good health, your mind is clear, your days are more productive, your creative juices are flowing, your tolerance level for daily stress is at it’s highest.  In short, you are a force.  You’re unstoppable!  Are you starting to see why I think they way I think and feel limitless in my possibilities no matter what life throws my way?  Because I prioritize my day so that I make time to focus on maintaining and/or improving my state of health and inevitably my state of mind.  So, lets start setting some goals.  Start small but aim big because, “a goal without a plan is just a wish.” -unknown  I’m no genie.  I’m no ones fairy godmother.  I don’t grant wishes.  I motivate people to reach their goals, but you have to do the work and make a plan.  And then you must follow through.  Inconsistency is at the root of all failures.  You will not fail if you stay the course and trust the process.