Fitlosophy W3D3

Two challengers texted the speaker with reasons why they couldn't stick to their fitness goals. One had her mother's birthday party and the other had a family tragedy. The speaker reflects on how life is like a book with different chapters, some good and some difficult. They emphasize that even when life gets tough, we are still in control of our fitness journey. Emotions and circumstances can come along, but we decide the outcome. It's important to exercise the muscles of resilience and remain in charge of our whole lives. Last week, within an hour of each other, I had two challengers text me. The first let me know that it was her mother's 70th birthday. She was having a party and she wanted me to know that she wasn't going to log for that day. After all, there would be barbecue and drinks and of course cake. Shortly thereafter, I got another text from a challenger advising me that it was the anniversary of a tragedy for her family and they were leaving town and she expected to eat poorly. She asked if I still wanted her to log. I know that we often refer to fitness as a journey and I use that term every day, but recently Mel Robbins referred to life as a book. Some chapters glorious, we can't get enough, and some are hard, a churning looking for relief and resolution. These two almost simultaneous texts made me think of that, both with similar struggles amid very different themes. Here's the thing, when we are on a fitness journey or in a fitness novel, we will have moments of ease and those that are simply unmanageable. Those moments do not cease to exist because we have decided to focus on fitness for eight weeks, but our fitness goals do not cease because life is still happening. So how do we manage this? When life's emotions are heavy with joy or grief, we get to decide that we are in charge, that we are ultimately in charge of the result and outside circumstances do not decide our destination. Joy can come with me, but it cannot drive. Grief can come with me, but it cannot drive. Busyness can come with me, but it cannot drive. Stress and sickness and vacation and love and loss, they can all come, but I will be driving. The decision that I have made to care for myself and for you, yourself, or at least these eight weeks, is driving. When you allow the feelings to tag along, but not take ownership of the entire challenge or fitness journey, you are exercising the muscles that you need to remain in charge of your whole life. You are the one driving. Go somewhere fabulous.