It’s the first couple weeks of the new year, and I’m already off to a rocky start. I don’t think there’s a part of my body which isn’t broken, achy, or excessively sore. And negative feelings have been creeping into my head. Things that have NO BUSINESS being up there.
Instead of listing the negative crap I shouldn’t be focused on anyways, I need to shift my mentality. When training animals, we never focus on all the behaviors they get wrong, or what they do that’s bad. We focus on the positive. Each training session is a brand new slate, with past mistakes wiped clean. As a result, training sessions are always fun, empowering, and positive interactions between trainer and animal.
This method works great for animals, and it works wonders with us as well. We become more confident, improve our self-esteem, and our fitness takes off like a rocket.
So, sure I’m sore as hell…everywhere. And, sure, I have NO IDEA what I did to make myself sore, but the fast of the matter is I am sore, and that means I’m doing SOMETHING. I am physically active. And on the other side of it, I am not just pouting around because I’m sore. I am doing active work to improve my mobility, and ease my achy muscles. Even yoga. Still not a fan of yoga. I doubt I’ll ever be a true fan, but I can recognize when something is good for me and my body. I’ve never said yoga wasn’t good for me, I’ve just never been a fan of it.
In the meantime, I’m trying to compensate for my hip, knees, and shoulder (yes, all of them sore and achy) by modifying workouts, but I haven’t been skipping them. I’ve been focusing more on cardio and abs, since at least THOSE don’t hurt…yet. I’ve also been using this time to find great mobility stretches and sharing them with my classes. Mobility is such a big deal with athletes, whether they are professional, beginner, starting again, or aging.
Another aspect I need to adjust my mentality on is actually my relationship with my husband. It’s still good, there are no problems there. I’ve just noticed I’ve been feeling rather jealous, lately. And that needs to shift.
In case you haven’t met my amazing husband, you should go introduce yourself by visiting his website. Funny story as you leave to go see for yourself how amazing he is- a couple of weeks ago, Chris and I signed up for Brian Johnson’s Optimize Coach program together. I already have an account at Optimize, as I’ve listened to Brian for the last three years with his Philosopher’s Notes, Master Classes, and his Optimize +1 series. But Chris had to sign up, since he wasn’t an official member yet.
Chris had to enter his information, and I guess somehow gave his website, which Brian Johnson visited. And was as impressed as you probably were at what he saw. I think what impressed Brian even more is Chris’ commitment to not just his art, but to documenting his process. Chris does at least 30 minutes of art every day. And he posts his art, every day. Regardless if it’s finished, just starting, or if the session didn’t go the way he intended.
I think one of the reasons Chris is such a great artist is exactly BECAUSE he posts about it, and records something he can change, improve, or just be proud of in every session. And because he writes about it, and posts it, it sticks with him. So, in the six years Chris has been doing art daily, to say he’s improved immensely is a HUGE understatement.
Brian Johnson saw this amazingly skilled artist and was blown away. So, he did something he doesn’t normally do very often, and he wrote Chris an email.
When Chris showed me the email he got from Brian Johnson, I was so happy for him. WHAT?!?! The man I admire most for his positive influence and impact on others wrote Chris a personal note?! That’s so cool!
And then I checked my email. Because that’s the self-centered sort of thing that I would do. Did Brian see MY website? Did he take a look at what I’m trying to achieve?
But no. I mean, it kind of makes sense, if I think about it. Brian got a new member for this new program, and he checked it out. But I am already a member, so it’s unlikely he was notified of my website with my registration for the Optimize Coach program. There are more than 500 people signed up for the class. I doubt Brian has time to check every single person’s website and write a personal note about their accomplishments.
I’m not saying the only reason Chris got a note is because he was randomly selected to receive a note. No, Chris’ work WARRANTS that sort of praise. But it would be awesome to see my work received as well as his.
Because, to be honest, I have put my heart and soul into ZooFit. I know I am more than the sum of ZooFit’s parts, but I have sacrificed a LOT to make ZooFit a reality. Some days I wonder if it’s been a gigantic mistake. While it’s never been about the money, I worry ZooFit is costing me more than we can afford. I mean that literally and figuratively.
But I am looking to change a lot of that. Chris has been at his craft for 6 years. I have been writing daily for a little over two years. In the grand scheme of things, that’s not a super long time. I have been working on my stories for longer than two years, but my daily habit and honing my craft a little each day is still relatively new compared to Chris.
And this is going to be my year. I mean, look at all the amazing things I’m going to be doing!
I finished ZooFit Safari. Oh, yeah. I changed the name to ZooFit Safari. I finished it in time for us to host a one-month challenge at the CrossFit gym, like a beginner’s on-ramp. Except, no one signed up.
Okay, so this is a tough one to spin. If I want to introduce ZooFit to more people, I need people to show an interest in ZooFit. I managed to find a small group of zookeepers who were genuinely interested in helping me out. So, I have it out there. I hope it is helpful to them, and I can use some testimonials.
And maybe this is good that I can focus on starting my newsletter, and get ready to start some videos. Running a one month challenge would definitely pull my focus away…
So, it feels like a rough start, but I’m focusing on the positive. It’s still plenty of time to make it a fabulous year.