Back to School, Back to Life

I was listening to a great coach call this morning and Carl Daikler, the CEO of Beachbody, said something that particularly smacked me upside the head. In regards to all of the back to school hubbub and sales going on, he asked how many adults out there needed a "back to life" sale. We're all so intent on making sure our kids are going back prepared with the right clothes, the right pink erasers, and the right amount of #2 pencils We expect them to learn, to pay attention, and to reach for their dreams. Well, we are all in school right now and it's the school of life. We all have potential and it's time to look at those dreams we put on hold, or those careers we thought we could never do...that lifestyle that we thought was beyond our reach. Personally, I have had a lot of things happen in my life that weren't planned or expected and I've allowed a lot of those circumstances to alter my dreams. I have lost sight of previous goals and desires due to thinking that, "Oh, I'm too old" or "Oh, I don't have enough money/time to do that" or ...the list goes on and they are just excuses...yes that's what they really are..excuses. I've let my circumstances turn me into a victim. But I am not a victim. I'm strong and I have overcome many obstacles. So take that excuses. You are dead to me. HA!

It seems I'm just running away with this now. My point is, we all have amazing potential. It's never the time to shelve our dreams. And I KNOW! I shelved mine when I went off to college and got a degree that I didn't really care for, when I got married the first time, when I had babies, when my husband's job came first...More than just shelving my dreams, I stuck them in a box and buried them. The potential that we all have is so amazing but a lot of us seem to just be walking around in a mind numbing daze. We're asleep at the school of life, head on the desk with that little pile of drool forming. (The one that you wipe up with your sleeve and hope the cute guy didn't see two rows over and one desk back. Not to mention the sleeve cuff that is imprinted into the side of your face. )

Back to my point...This kind of potential can be applied to soooo many different areas of life whether it's fitness, or health, going back to "real" school, changing careers, etc. The sky really is the limit! What circumstance(s) in your life have you allowed to push your dreams back further on to the shelf? I think it's high time we grab that step stool, pull those dreams down, dust them off and set them out on the coffee table and make them a top priority.

One last thing...I'm not suggesting that you will be able to take that dream and just run with it and tomorrow you'll be sitting pretty in your new career or fancy car, but take those dreams and write them down. Now you gotcha some goals! What are some small steps you can take towards achieving those goals?

Me? Well one of my goals now has me set for running a marathon in October. And I'm on track to becoming a fitness instructor in October. What's after that for me? Maybe become a certified personal trainer? I know for certain that I will be making a comfy enough living to have the freedom I desire to spend with my family. Please share with me. What are your goals?

I'm doing it right now. What is it you ask? I'm spinning around in circles, (figuratively of course since I'm actually sitting down)trying to figure out what to say, where to start, and all that jazz. IT is perfectionism. I am going to conquer this character flaw someday...scratch that, I AM conquering this character flaw, today as a matter of fact! I'm tired of wasting time. I've allowed too many todays to go by because I was waiting for the weather to be right, the day of the week to be right, the season of life to be right...I can keep going, but I'll spare you just this once. My challenge to you through this blog is that you will stop waiting for someday. Don't wait until Monday! We all like to do that. Don't wait until school starts, until the holidays are over, until January 1st, until your vacation comes and goes...stop waiting! Today is the perfect time to start and it's quickly going to turn into yesterday. Quite simply, you are wasting time!

I look back to the periods of my life where I was wasting time and I wasn't really even conscious at the time. I was just making it by, one day at a time. Goals for the future? "Just get me through this day, this week, this season." That's what I was thinking. Then one day, the wind must have been blowing in a different direction, and I stopped myself and asked "Why not now?" I had been having a conversation with myself "Self, one day, you're gunna lose the weight. One day you're going to see if you can be that girl with the six pack abs, who's curves are from muscles and well, ya just wouldn't want to mess with her. That girl!" And then this little voice inside of me said, "Why not now? What are you waiting for? What have you got to lose?" I have no clue what I was waiting for. Perfectionism had gotten the best of me. It still tries to win from time to time and it is a work in progress. So I invite you to join me. Join me on my journey of losing weight, getting healthy, conquering fears, getting insanely ripped and in the best shape of your life. So you should have started when you were a teen, or in your 20s, or 30s, or 40's ...keep going? What in the world are you waiting for?! Let's go kick it's butt!