~ Motivational Monday ~ Be Thankful for your Choices

Every day you have a choice to either

~ be thankful for what you have and where you are and believe that you are there for a reason

- OR -

~ you can be bitter and mad that you don't have this or didn't get that (..or didn't win a contest to work out with Dana Linn Bailey!)

It's a choice.

I've said it a million times.

So I choose.

Granted, at times I have to remind myself more than others - but for the most part, I CHOOSE to be happy about where I am and respect how I got here and the plan that God has laid out for me.

No one has even ASKED me what the big exciting news is that I referred to a week ago.
No one.
Not.  One.  Single.  Person.

That's ok
You don't have to be excited
Because I'm excited enough for me AND you AND for anyone AND everyone else who might stumble upon this blog....

Weeks ago, I applied to win a workout session with Dana Linn Bailey.  (yes - you ALL know that.)   Over 600 people entered and obviously I did not win.  I wasn't upset, that's quite a few people vying for her time.  And not to mention there are LOTS of people out there in much better shape than me and stronger than me.
But it's ok
I didn't let it get me down.
I am, afterall, new to the sport - and REALLY new at being serious about this being what I want to do with any and ALL of my free time!
I'm especially new to the commitment it takes to lift and be good at it.  Not just going through the motions.  Because trust me - I have done plenty of "going through the motions"... not just in weight lifting - but in LIFE in general!
So I'm new to the sport AND the magnitude of the commitment that it takes to be GOOD at this sport!!

But my drive and desire and commitment grow every single day.

It's funny to me to look back at myself.... when I started working out again with B-rad.   We hadn't even talked in some time... and just picked right up where we left off.... the best of friends ;-)  And he coached me right back into the gym.  Where I showed up when I had to... mostly for fear of letting him down or the guilty feeling I would be filled with when I didn't go.  And upon arrival - I would go through the motions... doing what I "had to do" to get through the work out.  Then I would go home and not think a thing about it again.

Then there was his birthday in December.
Where he convinced me that it would be a nice gesture (and FUN??) for me to compete with them at a meet.  HA!   But for fear of letting him down I conceded to go.

And then I got bit

By the iron bug....

And it's been chewing ever since!!!!

And also - my "I'm one of the boys and I can do what they do" competitive INSIDE took over!!!

Now - I read.  I watch videos.  I DESIRE (on my own, mind you) to be better and lift more and look better and LIFT MORE and be healthier.... and, well.... LIFT MORE....
I have new goals... and new people I look up to.

One of which IS Dana Linn - but recently - another girl has come along beside her.
Caitlyn Trout.
Another tiny but ripped little girl that lifts MASSIVE weights!!!
And it is just proof again - that anything is possible.
It just takes the discipline and training and commitment.

So - AGAIN - I have gotten sidetracked....

The big news......

Remember that contest I DIDN'T win???
Well - since I didn't win - I was able to watch and focus on the power lifting meet at the Arnold.  And I met (as I have already told you) Brandon Lilly AND Caitlyn Trout.
Brandon Lilly is the author of "The Cube Method" which is the training program we are currently running.
After the Arnold, I spoke several times via Facebook and twitter, to Brandon Lilly. He is SUCH a super nice guy and has been very helpful with any questions we have had about our workout. And through our chatting I told him we would love to work out with him and his crew. So he invited us in!!!!
There it is!!

The big news!!!!

We are going to work out with Brandon Lilly. 
And hopefully Caitlyn will be there too. 
I won't know how to act with another female in the building!!!!

So I don't get to work out with Dana, but I instead get to work out with one of the strongest men out there!!! AND the author of our current training program. And when we go, we are doing a "mock meet" for them so they can coach and advise on all aspects of our training

I feel so lucky
I feel like things worked out just as they should

I am once again thankful for where I am and the opportunities that present themselves and ALL of the people who have come into my life in one way or another.  Rather than being disappointed at one missed opportunity - I will look at this as the path to a doorway opened into a WHOLE NEW WORLD!!!

I  Can't  Wait!!!

A special thank you to Brandon Lilly for inviting us to his realm.   It means the world to me.  And I KNOW it means sooooo much to all the guys I work out with.

Can't wait.
It amazes me every day how things work out!

And I am THANKFUL!

Motivational Monday ...this is how we (should) roll

"I believe that the definition of definition is reinvention.  To not be like your parents.  To not be like your friends.  To be yourself.   Completely."  Henry Rollins

I read something recently, at the recommendation of a friend. 

(NO - not 50 shades of gray... I already read that.... no one needed to recommend THAT!  ha)

Anyway - it's called The Iron  by Henry Rollins.  (feel free to click that link and read it yourself!)
When I read it - it sent my head into a tailspin!!!  I felt every single word written there!!!

Don't you remember being a teenager.... and gosh there were SOOOOO many expectations... you had to dress a certain way, and talk a certain way, and attend certain parties, and go to certain places, and have certain friends....  I mean the EPITOME of high school was being "just like everyone else!"   So you fit in!!!  My oh MY how high school warps us for real life!!

I tell people all the time, the older I have gotten, the less I care what people think.  And it's true.  I don't NEED to be like anyone else.... I don't need to do anything but be ME!  Now don't get me wrong.  I don't walk around intentionally stepping on people or intentionally hurting people's feelings for the sport of it.  But I HAVE learned as I've gotten older that accidentally hurting someones feelings is the least of my worries!  Now don't get me wrong - we all want to be liked and accepted.  And I'm not telling you to be a hateful old prude with no feelings.....  I'm just saying - be you and be comfortable enough to be that... be at ease with who you are!
Remember.... #1 - no one is gonna take care of me, but ME!  If the bills need to be paid, well I need to keep a job making enough money to PAY the bills.  DUH!!  It is no one else's responsibility but mine.  If someone likes me or doesn't, I still have to take care of me.  And the irony is - I don't have to work at a certain place, or dress a certain way, or go to certain places in order to get that done.  I don't "need" someone else's approval.  It's on me.  Period.
This isn't high school people.
This is real life.

Your best friend isn't gonna be waiting at your locker to remind you how AWESOME you are (chances are the ones in high school that did that were likely talking about you behind your back!)

The reality of life is this - "nothing good comes without work and a certain amount of pain" (Rollins).  Whether it be what you want out of life, what you want in your job, what you want in a relationship, what you want in your family, or what you want out of your mind body and soul.....  good doesn't just appear.  You must work for it.  Sometimes you learn from the BAD in order to work for the good.
It's the circle of life!
And those hard times, those trials, those learning experiences.... the times that push you to the edge and you have NO choice but to keep going...  it is out of THOSE times that you TRULY find WHO you are... WHAT you are made of.... the person that you are deep down inside.  THOSE are the times to be thankful for.....
"I have never met a truly strong person who didn't have self-respect."  (Rollins)
Out of those times, we look back and reflect.... look what you just survived... look what you just came through... and your still standing.  You may have war wounds... there may be scars that stick around forever - but they only serve to remind you just how strong and resilient the human body and HEART truly are!!!!

.... and others will see THAT.   Not who you dress like or who you act like or what you drive.... It doesn't work like that....  when people look at you - they should see the extra pep in your step... the way that you carry yourself... the pride in discovering who you truly are!!
"Strength reveals itself through character"  (Rollins)

As adults, love who you are.... and love what made you who you are.  Don't spend so much time trying to please everyone else...... who cares?!  Hurt someones feelings (not on purpose... that's not what I'm saying)  but stop running around trying to prove something to someone.... stop worrying that you aren't who someone thinks you are.
JUST.  DO.  YOU.
After all - God doesn't make mistakes...... he made you just as you are.
BE.  YOU!!!
and be PROUD of it!!!!

She's the girl that believes what comes around, goes around.  

The one that hopes for a better day.  The one who won't give up on you.  

She's the girl that's unlike the rest.  

The one that spent her days smiling and her nights crying.  

She's the girl that would love to be loved.  

The one that looks so dang strong, but feels so dang weak.  

She's the girl that picks herself up every time she falls.....