Going The Distance

I dragged myself to the gym this morning for a change. Drag drag drag.  Come on Erica, no more excuses! YOU CAN DO IT! The gym for me was never one of those things I did willingly. It was just part of my routine, like, getting gas for my car. I admit, the reason I go, is for that incredible feeling afterward. There’s no better feeling once you’re done, but getting me there is no small feat.

Today’s Blog post came to me on the bike this morning. I was doing a Spin N’ Sculpt class. The instructor shouted, “Ok now, increase your gear up to level 14, and get up off the bike. We’re climbing a steep hill now!” The whole class was dripping with sweat and pedaling their hardest. My head said, “Fuck it. I’m sitting my ass down. I can’t do it. It’s Monday morning, I’m tired, I’m stressed, I can’t.” I started pedaling slower than ever, feeling my strength diminish. But then something came over me. She pumped up the music, I somehow got my ass off the saddle, and I climbed that hill. I climbed that hill physically, and emotionally. I felt my inner strength pounding through, giving me the physical strength I needed. It felt incredible.

But why I chose to write about this topic, is because we’ve all been there at one time or another. We’ve all had times we felt like throwing in the towel. We collapse on ourselves. 2009 was a very tough year, I felt. My son was two, so we were going through the terrible twos. My wonderful hubby was stressed probably 300 of the 365 days (please see previous posts), and I felt like I had to do something with my life, but I didn’t know what. I was getting bored at home while my kids were at school, and the volunteer work was not fulfilling me as much as it always had. I was growing impatient with the kids, and started to feel like I was simply existing and not really living.

But, you know what, I realized I have tremendous resilience and I never stay down too long. I always 9/10 times see the glass as half full. I’m like Patty Simcox from Grease. I persevere.  I try. But for many women who have low self esteem, or have frequent visits from little negative people in their brains, going the distance can be hard. It’s not always that easy to get your ass off the saddle and climb the hill. Life is not always a spin class at the gym where you get off the bike in 60 minutes.

So how do you go the distance? How do you weather the storm? How do you persevere?

Today is not going to be a 7 step process, I simply want to share a few thoughts. I think most of the time, there are always warning signs of hardship. Rain just doesn’t come down out of the blue. The skies usually get dark and rumble beforehand, right? I say, use those signs as a warning, and always be prepared. I’ve prided myself on always being overly-prepared, to the point where I’m somewhat of a geek about it.  I always anticipate the worst case scenario so I’m ready. This is not to sound pessimistic, it’s just to be realistic.

When you’re prepared, it helps you go the distance. If you sense things are bad at your office, you shouldn’t be shocked when you get your two-weeks-notice and are asked to clean up your desk and leave.  If you’re prepared, you’ve already scouted out potential jobs beforehand, so if that bomb drops, you aren’t totally overwhelmed.

Do you get where I’m going with this? A lot of stuff can be avoided if only we’re a little more prepared.

Another thing without sounding too philosophical. I think having a positive attitude in life makes all the difference. Our thoughts create our realities. Haven’t you ever heard that expression? It’s true. So when you feel like you can’t go one more round, know that you have more strength than you think. Find that inner strength. Your life will be as happy and as meaningful as YOU CHOOSE to make it. You always have that choice, and it’s never too late to start.

Happy Monday ladies. Keep reading.

xoxEDxox