Yeah! Come on! Come on!

I need to set the scene….

It’s towards the end of our spin class.  We are on track 5 or maybe it was 6…I can’t remember.  After a while it becomes a blur, Lol! ;)  Everyone is tired and panting…..our teacher asks us to look at the door and think about why it is we chose to walk through it….and then she says “and aren’t you glad you did?!” “There are no regrets here tonight!” “And now how much are you going to give it? How much effort are you going to put into this last push?!?” Then we are cranking through the climb, the beat of the music is helping to push our legs and our motivation….my eyes are locked forward, focused, the mantra of “I can do this!” is going through my head… and then a gentleman in the front row of the class, while in the throes of pushing himself, starts shouting “Yeah! Come on! Come on!” Everyone glances over.  I see a few of them smile….then several other people in the class start giving little shouts of “Woo Hoo!”  So the whole class kind of starts to cheer each other on…..and then we are done with that push and everyone gives out a little cheer! Then we sit back down, catching our breath, getting ready to take on the next climb.

In that moment it hit me….this healthy lifestyle I have chosen and how much it has changed my life…  

I initially started out this journey with the typical goal of getting into better physical shape.  I never took into account what it meant mentally.  I realized, looking around that class, the type of mentality that is involved in keeping and maintaining a healthy life style.  It’s one I hope to keep for the rest of my life!

I realized in that moment that throughout this process I have found myself surrounded by people who are always encouraging me and building me up! Not just my friends and family, but the trainers and staff members, the fellow classmates.  Instead of reinforcing my beliefs of not being capable by agreeing with me about how hard it is, they instead, have told me, and shown me, that I am capable of so much more than I have ever given myself credit for.  They are always telling me “good job” when I have reached a new goal, followed by a high five.  Or there have been some who take the time to walk over during a break in my workout to give me a high five, followed by a slight nod because they see how hard I have been pushing myself.  It’s an acknowledgment that I wasn’t looking for, but it feels so incredible when you get it! Some trainers have also pointed out when I might have been short changing myself, not realizing that I am capable of handling more weight.  And when I test their theory of being capable of more and I am struggling to complete that last set, then that instructor is standing right beside me telling me “Come on you can do it! You got this!”  

Being exposed to this way of thinking has taught me SO much! It’s taught me about getting stronger by pushing through something that is difficult, while maintaining a belief that I can do it. When you push yourself physically and your mind has the natural tendency to say “I can’t do this anymore!”   If you can instead change that thought to “I can do this!” in your head, you find yourself reaching deep and pulling that strength up and out. You find out that it is there inside of you to use.   When you repeat this process over and over, workout after workout you build yourself a network of reference points, of proof positive that you are a badass! That you are capable! 

When I had my first session with my old trainer Jordan, he asked me what my short term, medium term, and long term goals were.  My short term goal was to fit into a pair of boots I had purchased (check!).  My medium term goal was to get into the red dress (still in the works…).  And my long term goal was to make physical fitness my lifestyle (check!).

I think having that mind set of “this is now my lifestyle” has helped in a lot of ways to keep me on track.  For one, whenever I was discouraged about not getting the results I wanted, no pounds or inches lost, I didn’t have the option to stop and give up, because this was my lifestyle now, there was no stopping.  At least that is what I would tell myself when my old way of thinking would try to take over.  You know those times when your thoughts are somewhere along the lines of “This is hard”, “I don’t want to”, “It would be so much nicer to just go home, sit down, and watch T.V.!” , “What is the point of working so hard when I’m not even seeing results!?!?!?”  I’m sure some of you are familiar with those kinds of thoughts…. (-_-) 

Here is what I became aware of; I became aware that when I allowed myself to dwell on this kind of thinking, I would notice my motivation just going down the tubes!  Those thoughts had me feeling like I had no power over myself or my life.  Like I was not up to doing what had to be done to reach my goals, or to even get what I wanted out of my life…

But here is the thing, being exposed to this positive way of thinking was sinking in on some levels, and when I found myself thinking poorly, getting sucked down into thoughts of giving up, I realized I had to change my thoughts! So every time I caught myself thinking those negative thoughts when going to the gym, or while at the gym working out, I would change the words running through my brain, or “change the tape” as they say.  I would start thinking about how pumped I was to get into that red dress.  I started thinking about and giving myself credit for how far I had come.  If I was struggling through a workout and caught myself thinking “I can’t do this!” I would stop myself and think “I can do this! I’m getting stronger and stronger every day!” (I still do this while working out) I started to focus my thoughts on how great I felt after I left the gym.  I felt strong, and more than just physically strong, but mentally strong.  After my workout, walking out of the gym I would feel a deep sense of gratification, because I knew I had done the right thing. I knew with everything that I was, that I was doing something that was/is good for me, something that was/is making me stronger, something that is taking care of myself, something that is showing myself that I matter!  I had no regrets for choosing to walk through that door as my spin teacher pointed out.

I have been going to the gym 3 to 6 times a week for almost 3 years now.  I have been able to maintain my at this point 35 lb weight loss, and I am still on track to reach my goal of getting into that red dress! I’ve learned that even when it is hard, I have the strength inside of me to do what it takes. And I know that, because I have changed the way that I think about myself.  And it is all due to the thing that struck me that night, during that spin class, and the reason I was inspired to write this blog; and that is that I have received an added bonus that I never even considered when I started this journey; I have learned how to think positively. I have learned how to believe in myself. I have learned how to be encouraging as opposed to a defeatist, not only to myself but to others.

Because of this new attitude of “I can do it!” when I come up against an obstacle, it isn’t a reason to quit.  Why quit when I know I can succeed?  Instead I take it as an opportunity to brain storm on how to get around it.  An opportunity to do further research that is going to help me overcome whatever it is that is temporarily holding me back from what I want to do.  To dig into myself and see if there is something there that is holding me back and then replace it with something inside of me that can move me forward instead.  I look at challenges as an opportunity to grow even more! Not be defeated and give up.  And these mental skills I have applied not just to my physical fitness but to my life as well and it is all the better for that!

I had a sense of the good that was to come when I started “Operation Awesome Allison” and now I’m just SO grateful to that past self that made the decision to move forward.  And I am so grateful to all of the people along the way that have encouraged me, and supported me!  I am grateful to the people who have said “You can do it!”

I’m so happy to say that along with muscle tone, definition, and cardio vascular strength (my former smokers resting heart rate is now 53!) that I have also developed a very important mental skill too. When I am faced with a difficult situation, or a challenge, I have learned to look forward and focus on the positive things.  I have learned a new mantra and it’s “I can do this!” and I believe that it is true, because I now have a plethora of reference points to refer back to.  I have learned when I see others reaching for their goals to be like that guy in my class or the trainer standing beside me and yell “Yeah! Come on! Come on!” “You got this!”

My heart is SO grateful it overwhelms me…..I’m glad it is in better shape now and can handle this much gratitude, with room to spare for the more that I know is to come! <3 <3 <3 <3

So the next time you find yourself thinking "I can't"  I want you to try and change it to "I can!" and know that I am standing beside you saying "Yeah! You got this!"