Once upon a time I was a girl who didn't compete. For attention, for the boy, for the grade, for the win, for the glory, for the bragging rights, for anything. For whatever reason... my childhood, my confidence, my skills, my interests...I had very little fight in me. I was really good at shoulder shrugging, talking myself out of trying, and remaining very cozy within the little square box I called my comfort zone. Oh my goodness, it was such a small space in which I existed, its no wonder that for a large part of my life I felt like I didn't have enough air to breath. I didn't. I limited myself so much it's a wonder I didn't suffocate.
So a couple things happened that changed my entire life, I talk about them ALL the time, so don't stop me if you've heard this already.....we moved again, I was getting ready to turn 40, I had started getting fit and was super concerned about not being able to find exercise I liked within a new city. I was lonely, tired, crabby, and like a million other unflattering things. I was without a doubt sick of being me.
So I prayed, like a fucking crazy person, excuse my language, but it was a desperate time. I prayed for the courage to try something new and then I just started knocking on doors because I knew that eventually I would find what I was looking for. All I needed to do was follow my heart and stop thinking about how uncomfortable I was. I settled on two things. Crossfit and bikini fitness. I don't know, neither made any sense for me. I mean, I was no previous athlete or glamour girl, but that was the crazy part that I knew was not of my making. Sarah would have picked Tennis{for he record, there's nothing wrong with tennis}. God picked something more extreme.
The fact of the matter is....IF IT DOESN'T CHALLENGE YOU IT DOESN'T CHANGE YOU. Finding something that demands you to get competitive, set goals, beat the heck out of the OLD YOU, will provide growth, give you a timeline to adhere to, keep you accountable to progress, and hopefully...start a little fire under your ass. It will inspire you to fight the fight and before you know it, you're healthier and happier....you win every damn day by showing up to do it again, better than the day before, better than you ever thought possible.
So consider this...compete with your family for how many steps you take in a week, compete with co-workers for how many pounds lost, join a soccer team and recapture your youth, commit to running a 5k race, join a Crossfit gym, aspire to put on a sparkly bikini. Take a step out of your comfort zone....and never look back.
I thank God every day for this girl. She's super fun and she wants to win...at life!
And this girl, she's my biggest blessing. She shines even when she's most uncomfortable.
And sometimes winning actually means winning, and that's like a little extra icing on the competition, get fit, have goals, cake.