When the Journey Becomes the Prize
Here is the story of my own fitness journey, and some lessons I’ve learned recently…
My fitness routine has had many incarnations over the past 15 years, but 6 months ago marked a vital turning point for me. Two years prior, I opened our very first brick-and-mortar training studio, and my priorities instantly shifted from my own self-care to a consuming focus on making this new endeavor the success I knew it could be. I never imagined how stressful taking this leap would be, and it felt as if I was starting my company over from scratch, putting out new fires every day, trying to keep my head on straight. I gained 15 pounds, struggled to get my own workouts in, battled insomnia, and ate out way more often than I had in the past. I felt terrible, and though I knew my new habits were not working for me, I felt trapped in a cycle that I couldn’t seem to fix. Even worse, I felt like I was no longer practicing what I teach my clients about their own self-care, or being an effective leader for my training team.
I needed to change my habits, and create some new consistent ones that would address my self-care head on. But knowing myself well and how easy it is to get pulled away from my own workouts when work calls, I reached out to folks who inspire me for help. I put the word out to my entrepreneur friends and my Leadership Long Beach family that I was looking for partners to join me on a daily morning run. I figured if I got a handful of folks to commit to even one day a week, I’d be guaranteed at least one person to run with every day. And it worked! I immediately had takers, and I’ve been running an average of 5 days/week since last October.
I’ve lost over 10 pounds so far, but I can honestly say that matters little compared to how much BETTER I feel on a daily basis. My morning workouts leave me feeling energized and excited for the day, my mental clarity and focus have improved, and my heart is happy knowing that whatever the day brings, my own self-care came first. Our company is thriving now that I have more energy to put into it, and I feel like I am able to be more proactive about situations than just reactive. My own health has made it back on the list, and everything is better for it.
In past years, I needed to sign up for a race or event to help motivate my training. But now I feel like my training is for LIFE, and the journey is so much sweeter than any prize I could pursue. Perhaps tomorrow I will find a race to train for; but for today, I’m happy having started the day with a gorgeous run along the ocean with great company.