Showing posts with label motivation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label motivation. Show all posts
Ever Onward! A New Year
Chrissie

The beginning of another year is always so exciting to me! It's a blank slate, a chance to start over and do better, a fresh opportunity. I have been very busy the last week or so making plans for my 2014; writing down goals, saving photos to paste on my dream board, journaling my wishes and desires for my family, my self, and my two businesses. What I haven't done much of is reflect on the previous year. At the most, I have marvelled at what I have accomplished (as it is quite marvelous, if I do say so myself). Those are things such as finally getting my health and fitness back on track, sticking to a fitness program for longer than a few days, getting out of my comfort zone and beginning to build a successful business, and standing up for myself in a variety of other ways. I have come to know "me" on a deeper level. Those things are great testimonies!


But there are some struggles that linger, that I'm still dealing with. I've made a lot of progress but I haven't arrived. One of these struggles is with postpartum-turned-chronic depression (since I'm not sure I can, technically, still call it postpartum now that Kinley will be 3 next month, lol). Fitness and nutrition have, without a shred of doubt, helped to put those horrible, agonizing days behind me. I owe so very much to Team Beachbody for giving me the tools I needed to climb out of that deep, dark pit. What I'm left with are the dirty rags of shame and guilt that I'm assuming will take a little longer to shed completely. But I'm getting there and that's what is important to remember. 

I'm currently reading Joel Osteen's I Declare: 31 Promises to Speak Over Your Life. It's a wonderful, empowering 31 day devotional journey. Today, the passage I read caused me to look back over my journey with PPD and my eyes are opened to see the grace that was extended to me to get through such a harrowing time. You see, there were days when I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel, the whole world was dark and cold. I believed, at times, that I couldn't survive it and, even others, when I didn't want to. It's hard to understand if you've never experienced it but I believe PPD is a deeper, darker, lonlier place to dwell than a more common clinical depression. It has too many other faces and they all hide behind or get lumped under the name Postpartum Depression. 

Today's passage said that God gives us the grace and favor we need for the time we are in. He does it one day at a time and that is how we live through it. It's easy, looking back, to wonder how I ever made it but the truth is that I survived each day, a day at a time. And it's only looking back, collectively, that you can say, "I have arrived." But we all have to do it one day at a time. I'm sure this may not be a great revelation for some of you, and that is fine. It is such a blessing for me to know that, though, it may appear to some looking in on my life that I went from Point A to Point B but I'm still on this journey. The train is still rolling and I'm still walking out the changes in my life. One day at a time. Sometimes I go through valleys. I'm going through one now in the days following the death of my grandfather. But experience has taught me that I'm gathering what I need from this experience and carrying it with me so that I can share what I have learned with others who follow. And that, I believe, is part of God's purpose for carrying me through the valleys vs. transporting me out of them completely, though He certainly has the power to do so. Had I not gone through the level of pain that I did, I would not have had the courage or knowledge to take hold of someone else's hand and walk with them out of their valley. And it is now my blessing to watch these transformations take place and know that my misery served a higher purpose.

So, my goal this year is to help as many people as I can to see their potential and reach for it! I'm not only talking about through Team Beachbody and my incredible accountability groups but my children. This year I will embark on another humbling, pretty scary, but exciting journey to homeschool my 3 kiddos. It is not something I ever considered or thought myself capable of doing but I feel called to do it and I know He will give me the grace and Wisdom to do it His way. There are a number of reasons I could list for why I feel called to do this but this is the one that keeps coming out on paper when I journal about this subject. God gave these children to me and my most important job as their mother is to lead them back to Him, to help them see their God-given potential and give them the tools to reach for it. 

Yes, I know that 2014 is going to be an amazing year for my family. I can't wait to see what God is going to do!! Happy New Year to you all!



What are some of your goals for this year? I'd love to hear them! You can comment below, email me, or message me through Facebook if you'd rather not share publicly. 

**If you're interested in learning more about one of my upcoming accountability groups, email me at chrissie828@gmail.com or send me a message through Facebook. :)

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , 0 comments | |
Back to School? Already?!!
Chrissie
With the beginning of the new month came the unofficial end of Summer. School started 3 weeks ago! Where did the summer go? We were just counting down the days until our June beach vacation and we're already in another school year. My clients and I have been disussing the last few days why the first day of the new school year is such a big deal to moms. We have come to the conclusion that it's an in-your-face reminder of how quickly your children are growing and that time is ticking away. I tell this story frequently to make my point. When Reagan was very little a lot of my friends had kids that were starting Kindergarten and I remember how utterly ridiculous they would act on the first day of Kindergarten. I swore I would not be that mom. Needless to say, I was that mom and probably worse because of PPD. Upon contemplating this (because that's what I do is contemplate everything to its death), I came to see that it was due to unrealized expectations. When you bring home your baby from the hospital you think you have so much time because all of it is out in front of you. You make plans, you dream of all the things you will do with your child and teach your child in those first 5 years. And perhaps you do some of them and others you put on a back burner because "there's plenty of time". And then you're dropping them off or sending them on the school bus for their first day of Kindergarten and you are shockingly overtaken by the reailzation that those 5 years are gone forever. You can never get them back and the next phase of your child's life (and yours) has begun. One word sums it up for me: regret. Perhaps not all moms feel this way but when I was in the throes of PPD, the walk home from the bus stop without my "baby" was agonizingly regretful.



This month Reagan started 4th grade. Each year is definitely not like that first day of Kindergarten but it still has it's bittersweet moments. Thankfully, I feel like I made the very most of the moments I had with Reagan over the summer. And I owe so much of my new carpe diem attitude to Beachbody and Shakeology!

Instead of being too tired, too depressed, or too down on myself because of my appearance, I was up and ready to go each day. We had weekly lunch dates, just the 2 of us while the younger two were in summer day camp. We went to Six Flags and had a blast and were even able to catch the last ride of the night for our favorite ride, Mind Bender, because we RAN from one side of the park to the other. I would NOT have been able to do that last year. Ha!!


During the first week of school, I also participated in my first-ever 5-day Clean Eating Challenge. My coach was hosting this as a Facebook Challenge Group and even though I've been doing fantastic with my workout programs, I knew my eating habits could stand to be "cleaned" up. The basic rules were: Shakeology 1x per day, stay active each day, and follow a Clean Eating diet. 


I was surprised at how easy and fun that it was! I had so many delicious meals that week! I was never hungry, I felt amazing, and I lost almost 2 inches off my waist.....IN 5 DAYS! It was so awesome that I have decided to host my own challenge group which kicks off tomorrow morning! I can't wait to post the results from that. 







Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0 comments | |
P90X Day 1: Chest & Back
Chrissie
Today was supposed to be my day off. Key word: supposed. I had planned to work on cleaning up the house, doing some laundry, maybe even getting a head start on packing (we are in the process of possibly buying a house), making some phone calls, and using the remainder of my gift money to get a relaxing spa pedicure. This was my plan BEFORE I came home from work on Tuesday night to a sick 4 year old. 

Instead, my day went something like this. Up on and off all night with sick Caleb. Sleep later than intended because of exhaustion. Stress and worry about getting a home inspection done within the 7 day time period. Stress and worry whether this is the best time to be buying a house. Get a spa pedicure and TRY to relax while waiting to hear how Mom's surgery went. Rush home to pick up Thing 1 and Thing 2 and go to Thing 1's doctor appointment. Fill out too many pages of redundant paperwork while Thing 1 & Thing 2 roll around like maniacs in the floor of the waiting room. My two year old doesn't seem to understand how gross I think it is when she drags her blanket across a public floor, knowing that the corner of said blanket will go into her mouth as soon as she gets still somewhere. 

Turns out Caleb has hand, foot, and mouth disease, and a pretty severe case of it. My poor dude has blisters all over his mouth and an itchy rash on his hands and feet that keeps him awake and crying all night. So, we leave there and go straight to Publix to fill his prescription, which takes almost an hour. Then we go to McDonald's (sick boy's request) for a cheeseburger and a milkshake in the middle of a thunderstorm. After getting home and administering the medicines and applying the ointments to his rashes, all of which make him scream and cry, Kinley started running a fever. ::sigh::

Bathed them and got them ready for bed, went through the whole medicine and ointment and screaming/crying routine again and finally got both kids in bed. At this point, I'm exhausted and not thinking at all about P90X or working out tonight. So, I poured myself a glass of wine and flopped down on the couch. After an hour, I couldn't stand the guilt any longer. I kept going over all the excuses in my head and trying to convince myself each was super legitimate because I had a really rough day with sick kiddos. But these excuses were coming from me, the coach who is always talking to her challengers about NO EXCUSES!



And then I made a decision like flipping a light switch. I went to the kitchen and downed my E&E and then donned my workout clothes. An hour and fifteen minutes later, I was done with Day 1 of P90X!!


I didn't sweat near as much as I did when I was doing Combat but my arms and core were SHAKING when I got done! I could hardly hold up the camera to take that picture. Ha!! Feels so good to have persevered and do what I said I was going to do despite the difficulties that could have kept me from it. 


I don't think I ever did Chest & Back in the version of P90X I was doing last year. Last year I was doing Lean because it was less intensive and I was very out of shape at that time. This time I'm going for Classic. I really liked this workout but I forgot how hard Ab Ripper X is after an hour of P90X! I will definitely be feeling this in the morning!


Labels: , , , , , , , 0 comments | |