Weights and Words

Today’s video covers the third of the five areas that are critical for getting back to badass. I’m talking about exercise and the importance of building our strength – inside and out.

I believe success in this area doesn’t begin with having a yoga mat, or the right set of weights, or even the most supportive sports bra.

It begins with words.

In the video on eating healthy, I talked about the lies I believe that sabotage my progress. When it comes to exercise, I can sabotage myself by the way I talk to myself. Words.

If we were cheering a friend up THE HILL from the video, what type of words would we use? Encouraging? Judgmental? I suspect we are more encouraging to others than we are to ourselves.

Exercise builds muscle and tenacity. As we exercise we grow strong inside and out. The words we feed our inner muscles are the equivalent to the protein shakes we drink after a workout.

Words are powerful, especially the ones we speak to ourselves.

Action points:

Look at your options for exercise. It can be as basic as taking a walk, or an involved as a Zumba class. Find something you are interested in or something that challenges you.

Make it fun. If it’s drudgery, you won’t want to do it. I enjoy the resources offered by Beachbody.com. Beachbody on Demand gives me access to workout programs on Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Levels. I love this because of the variety and because I can work out in my own home.

Focus on getting stronger and feeling your best. I love the way I feel after a workout. I try not  to focus on weight loss, because I get discouraged when the numbers on the scale go up and down and up and…. When I focus on getting stronger, I am able to track my progress and that encourages me to keep on going!

Exercise keeps me off the sidelines in my own life. I want to LIVE my life, not watch it as a spectator. Exercise helps me physically and mentally as I live life with courage, strength and resolve.

You are worth the time, energy, and effort it takes to do this, my friend.

I’d love to know what you plan to do to incorporate this step of getting back to badass into your life.

What words or phrases will you use to encourage yourself? If you need ideas, I have a Pintrest board that might help – Fitness Quotes to Get Me Moving. I’d love to add to it.  Drop your favorite phrase in the comments below.

What will you do today to begin getting stronger? Taking a walk? Take a picture! Tackling a workout? Drink water and take an after workout picture! Be sure to use #bk2ba so we can keep up with each other.

 

 

What Does Fighting For Hope Look Like?

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When I go running, this hill is my nemesis.  It really shouldn’t be called a hill, because “hill” is a pleasant word. This land feature is a specimen of suffering, whose purpose is to inflict pain. It steadily inclines and curves so that when I think I’ve reached the top, I’ve really just hit the bottom of the next incline.

Sometimes I hit this hill with gusto. I lean into the incline and focus on making it to the top. Sometimes I walk up the hill, enduring the incline and reminding myself that I can make it to the top. If I  sprained my ankle on the way up the hill, I would painfully hurple up the hill. As long as I keep moving forward I know I will make it to the top.

The way I tackle this hill looks a lot like the way I fight for hope. Sometimes I fight for hope by pushing back the darkness, strong and  warrior-like, with a victorious war cry. Sometimes I move slowly forward, whispering against the darkness, enduring the battle, hoping it will end soon. And many times I hurple. Last week I hope-hurpled as I ate a container of chocolate icing while writing about hope. Speaking truth to myself is good. Stress-eating on chocolate… yeah, that’s a hurple.

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But no matter how I fight, with the war cry or the whisper, and even with a chocolate covered spoon in my hand, I am still fighting.

Each time you and I choose truth over the lies of the darkness, we are fighting for hope.

We fight for hope when:

We order a salad at Wendy’s instead of the #1 Combo super sized with everything fried.

We speak truth.

We file for divorce after years of manipulation, affairs, abuse.

We do something that scares us, like audition for a musical, or run a 5K.

We set a goal of losing weight and move toward that goal one meal at a time.

We don’t give in to despair as we walk with a loved one through cancer.

We believe God can bring beauty into hopeless circumstances.

These are just a few of the ways I’ve seen Hope Warriors in my life fight for hope. These are all completely different, but three truths form the foundation of each decision:

I am worth fighting for.  

I don’t want to live numb anymore. 

This battle will change my life and the lives of those around me for good.

Fighting for hope looks different for everyone. It can also look different for the same person in different moments. That’s why the guest posts in this series are so important.

Sharing our stories is powerful. Sharing our stories awakens the courage, compassion, and hope that is inside each one of us. Seeing someone else fight for hope shows us that the fight is possible for us as well.