Motivation Monday: Just Try

I think this pretty much speaks for itself.  Most of the time getting started on anything is half the battle ... so just try!  Trying takes gumption!

Transformed

Exactly one year ago today I met someone who completely changed my life ... my unbelievably amazing trainer and now friend, Adam.  I really cannot even describe how much his presence in my life has resulted in a complete transformation, not just physically but mentally as well.

Before meeting Adam, exercise and fitness were put on the back burner.  Although that is probably an understatement - they were not even on the stove!  Fitness was something I thought about when I had a few seconds and it was a fleeting thought of "hmmm I should start going to the gym" or "I really wish I could look like that."  It had absolutely never been a priority.

Oh how the times have changed ... now fitness and health are a HUGE part of my life.  I go to the gym 6 days a week, often twice a day.  I eat much, much, much, healthier.  I do yoga once a week.  I practically live in gym clothes when I am not at work.  I actually enjoy outdoor activities like hiking now.  Fitness has become a part of me.  And I owe a lot of that to Adam.

When I met Adam a year ago, I was significantly overweight at 288lbs.  (Yes, it is hard to admit exactly how much I weighed knowing how many people will read this, but at the same time, most of you know me or have seen me or pictures of me so you could have guessed I weighed that much.  That is the thing about weight ... its not really a secret you can keep.)  I weighed nearly 300 pounds which was completely unacceptable.  I knew things had to change, and I was finally open to that change.

Adam started me off slow.  A few sets of squats with long rests in between.  Some lunges.  A few presses. Nothing fancy, no machines.  Every session was different and every session built on the one before.  Each week I felt a little lighter and a little stronger.

He gave me basic nutritional advice which I have now expanded on with my health coach.  He taught me how to listen to my body more - when I needed to rest, when I needed more water, when I needed more protein or more sugar.  I slowly became more introspective and aware of my own needs that are so often forgotten or disregarded.

Now, a year from when Adam and I first met, I am a totally different person.  I am 77lbs lighter and 6 dress sizes smaller.  I am addicted to fitness and eat "health foods".  I do weighted reverse lunges and TRX combinations.  I prioritize my own needs in with the needs of others.

Adam shared with me his wealth of fitness knowledge.  He continuously encouraged my progress.  He was there to complain to when I was sore or unmotivated.  There are not enough words in the English language and there is no perfectly beautiful way to string the words in order to express how utterly grateful I am that Adam became a part of my life a year ago today.

I am excitedly looking forward to the next year, next five years, next ten years and beyond that I will have to develop and enhance this relationship with someone who has not only deeply impacted my day-to-day life but who has significantly transformed the person I am and the person I am becoming.

Adam, I know you don't actually read this blog, but in case you ever one day do, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Meeting someone and letting them transform your life takes gumption!

Fed Up!

A year ago today I got fed up.  Totally and completely fed up.  If you might recall, I was still recovering from mono at this time last year and was absolutely miserable.  I felt house bound and purposeless.  I had little motivation to do anything and yet I could not stand doing nothing.

So, on March 15, 2012 I said enough was enough.  Tired or not tired.  Sick or not sick.  Mono or no mono.  I was NOT sitting around anymore.  I needed to do something.  I needed to go somewhere.  I needed to have some sort of interaction with the world that extended beyond my house and immediate family.

Over the previous 6 months I had managed to gain back almost all of the weight I had actually lost in law school.  Between studying for the bar, looking for a job, moving, and then getting sick, the weight just kept creeping.  When I looked in the mirror, I hated what I saw and I knew it was time to do something about it.

So, on this day one year ago, I walking into my gym, used my free gym pass and signed up for a membership.  I was fed up, and that was great motivation to do something ... to change something.

Being fed up promoted gumption!

Professor of Legal Writing

For as long as I can remember I wanted to be a teacher ... probably longer than I can remember, but well, I can't remember that far.  I wanted to be a teacher so bad that I would make my sister play school with me, and actually give her work to do and I would grade it for her!  

Unfortunately, I realized as many people do that teaching may not provide the most options for me in the future.  So, I majored in business in college as a foundation for what might come, and eventually found myself intrigued with the law.  I went to law school as most of you know, and graduated almost 2 years ago now (I really cannot believe it have been that long).  Though I loved majoring in business and am one of the proud few who can say I actually enjoyed law school, teaching still had a grip on my heart.  In college I did tutoring and in law school I was a teaching assistant for legal writing, in an attempt to satisfy the desire to teach.  

As I was in the process for looking for a legal job, there were many things that kept leading me back to academia.  And ultimately I ended up working for a law school (which is where I currently am), doing admissions and marketing.  I love what I get to do for the school (which is basically tell people why law school is so amazing, which despite the criticisms it is, and even knowing what I know now, I would never trade in my law school experience).  

So this Spring semester our students will be taking Contracts and Legal Writing.  As it happens, we found ourselves in need of a Legal Writing professor at kind of the last minute and I was offered the opportunity.  I was pretty much ecstatic!  Ever since I took Legal Writing in law school I knew I wanted to teach it.

So, this past Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at 6pm, I taught my first legal writing class and officially became a law school professor.  It is kind of funny how life works ... I fought being a teacher, and ultimately that is exactly where I ended up ... and I couldn't be happier!

It takes gumption to teach!

Write on Wednesday: Possessing Beauty

InkPaperPen, the host of Write on Wednesday had to take a break this week, which is GREAT for me, because that means I can catch up with some of the other WoWs that I have missed these last few weeks ... and by some I mean one ...

Anyway, here is a prompt from 2 weeks ago:


The Write on Wednesday Spark:  Possessing Beauty
Write about a collection. Write about something you or ,someone you know, collects. Think about the "why" behind the collection - why is it important to collect this particular thing? How does it make the person feel to add another piece to their collection? Is the group of objects there to be seen, to be studied or simply kept together? Write a real life story or a piece of fiction. Wherever the prompt takes you...Keep your post on the short side: up to 500 words OR a 5 minute stream of consciousness exercise. Link your finished piece to the list and begin popping by the other links. Oh, and enjoy!

She flipped the pages of the scrapbook carefully, making sure not to touch the exposed photographs.  "I really need to get pages covers for these."  Emerson stated to her sister as she continued to peruse the pages. "I know that I have the perfect picture of us with grandpa, but I just can't remember what book it is in"

"You have so many pictures." Kasley sighed as she picked up another scrapbook to look through.  "I didn't even know one person could take so many pictures.  Why do you have so many?  How could you possibly need so many?"

"I don't know.  It's not really about wanting or needing. I guess I just think of myself as ... as ... a collector." Emerson stated as she slipped the red book onto the shelf and pulled down the next one in the series.

"A collector? ... Of pictures?" Kasley said skeptically.  "That's weird Em."

"No, not a collector of pictures, because then I could just pull things out of magazines or print things off the internet.  That is not what these pictures are about.  These pictures are about smiles and laughing.  They are about the good times and I guess maybe the not so good times.  I collect more than just pictures Kas."  Emerson replied as she gazed at her best friends smiling back at her from the boat they had rented last summer.  "I collect memories."






I liked this prompt a lot, and actually might do it again when I have a bit more time, so I will not give away the other thing I collect.  But pictures and memories are kind of my thing.  I loved scrapbooking from an early age and try to keep up with it as best I can.  I must admit though I have fallen a bit behind the actual scrapbooking, but I still have all the pictures, carefully organized and ready to be viewed whenever I so desire.

It is funny, because I am the historian of most of my friend groups, and occasionally I really have to convince people to take pictures, but in the end people are grateful to have the memories to look back on.

It takes gumption to collect memories!

No Regrets

I was all set to post some song lyrics this beautiful Monday morning, but then I came across an article that a friend of mine posted to her facebook and decided it needed to be posted today instead.

The article is entitled "The Top 5 Regrets in Life By Those About to Die".  Yes, it is a very morbid title and death is not something that any of us like to think about, but the article is very inspirational - urging us to change the way we live our lives.

Here is the full article for those interested (I encourage you to read the entire thing - it's not very long):  http://addicted2success.com/success-advice/the-top-5-regrets-in-life-by-those-about-to-die/

But for those of you who want the quick run down, here are the 5 regrets, without the more detailed explanations:

1.   I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2.   I wish I didn’t work so hard.
3.   I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
4.   I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5.   I wish that I had let myself be happier.

They say hindsight is 20-20, so why not listen to people who have this perfect vision?  Living a life without regrets takes gumption!

5:30am?!?

I must say, I love training (if you didn't already know that).  I used to train 2 days a week at 10am, which was really the perfect time for me.  It allowed me to sleep in a bit, eat some food, and then hit the gym.  It was a great schedule, but change was inevitable.  

In November of 2011, I started working full time, which meant I had to change my gym schedule, including my training schedule.  So in November I started having sessions with my trainer in the evenings on Tuesday and Thursday.  So far everything has worked out nicely.

But then, this week came along ... Thursday I had a work event in the evening, meaning that I would need to skip or reschedule my training session.  Normally I would just cancel it and do one session in the week, but my trainer was sick all last week so we did not train, meaning that I really really really did not want to skip yesterday.  But that left me with only the option to reschedule.  No big deal right?  Well ... not quite.

My trainer works M-F, but only does nights on Tuesday and Thursday, meaning I would have to see him in the morning if I was going to get a rescheduled session in.  Ok, fine, I can do mornings.  I already do cardio in the morning.  So I ask to reschedule for Friday morning.  It just so happened that my trainer is full up on appointments from 6-7 on Friday mornings, but if I wanted he would come in early at 5:30 so we can get our session in.  I cringed at the thought, but reluctantly accepted the slot.  

This morning was that 5:30am session.  Surprisingly when my alarm when off at 4:00am I was ready to pop out of bed.  I made breakfast and went about my normal routine (just and hour earlier than normal).  I got to the gym just after 5 and jumped on the Precor to warm up.  By 5:30 my trainer was there and ready to workout.  We did TONS of arm work today with sets of burpees interspersed.  The only difference that I really noticed was that my balance was not quite as sharp as it is later in the day, other than that it was alright.

I would probably never request a change to a 5:30am training session again, but if I had to take it I would not be quite as reluctant.  

Training at 5:30am takes gumption!