Play the Hand You Have - Your Weekly Motivation

Let's talk about the journey. One of the hardest things I have ever done would have to be the Wildflower 1/2 Ironman. It's a TOUGH course and for most of us, one of our first races of the year (meaning- no warm up race). When I signed up for this, I was completely unprepared. Sure, I had a bike, a couple other races under my belt, an awesome group of friends to train with, an accessible pool, and a loving partner to talk me through it. However, my bike was a hybrid (as in, made for riding around the city and NOT for California mountains) and I had absolutely no idea how hard the run would be (NO ONE tells you about the run!!). I think if I had known how truly grueling the race course was I would have chickened out. At that point in my life I couldn't afford a fancy bike and was busy balancing training with bartending several nights a week until 6am. Early training rides were out of the question, so I had to do most of my training solo or on very little sleep.

I'm SO glad I did it. Yes, it was incredibly hard, but it made me a fighter. When we really truly want something, we have to go for it at all costs. I'm a big fan of goal setting, and this race is my favorite example. A 70.3 mile race is no joke. You have to work hard at it every day, be consistent, and do your research. When I came back from California with sore legs and a renewed sense of self-confidence, I vowed to bring the lessons from the race into everything else I wanted. I quit bartending and got certified as a group fitness instructor (BIG fear of mine... if you can believe it!), created a local food blog, and started auditioning (and booking) again.

When we make a change in one aspect of our lives, it bleeds into everything else we do. Consistency is king, and when we can learn how to adapt our already busy lives to fit some new adventure, all of the unimportant stuff that gets in our way seems to fall out. Friends who don't support us, bad habits that don't serve us, negative thoughts that crowd positive ones, they all pale in comparison to the brighter, better, and more nurturing pilars to our success.

If you want something, set a plan. Maybe it's to quit a stressful job that interferes with your family's well being and look for something new. You could set a goal for January 1 and start taking 30 minutes every day to do some searching. Spend some time on the weekends working on your resume and going to networking events. Make it big, give it a date, and work on it everyday... even if it feels impossible in the beginning.

So go for it.