Are you trying to find your groove in the grind lately? Maybe living with your heart so set on the expectation of a romanticized “end result” that it, in actuality, is stealing the joy in your journey? Our tip today comes a dear member, Jodi Gillmore…her message is powerful, transforming, and we think, pretty darn relatable. Exercise is cool that way – it brings us together – the hard, the fun, the in-between – and when woven into small everyday life choices, it creates stories and memories and moments worth celebrating. Enjoy ~
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I live one mile from the Lake Michigan shoreline…yet for years I avoided the beach (and not just because of the whole bathing suit thing). The beach at Holland State Park is expansive…it’s quite a walk from the parking lot to the water’s edge. I hated that walk…a seriously beautiful place, yet I avoided that walk as much as I could, and therefore avoided the beach. Why? Because being overweight and walking through sand is exhausting…difficult…and made me feel humiliated that I needed to stop and take breaks because it was SO hard for me!
Today my family and I rode our bikes to the beach to spend a little time playing in the water for the first time this summer…these are sacrifices a mother makes! 
I started walking towards the water, waiting for my legs to tire, waiting for my lungs to feel like they were going to burst...but it never happened! I got to the shore easily, without breaking a sweat even.
As I watched my children frolic in the waves, I thought back to an e-mail the owner of my gym sent me yesterday. I’ve had many conversations with her and her husband (my trainer) about me being sick of fighting the “losing weight” battle and wishing I could just be where I want to be and focus on maintaining weight loss. I realized that while I haven’t lost much weight since last summer, I’ve been faithful with my workouts…I’ve embraced the grind…and without fully realizing it until today, really improved my functional fitness. The e-mail my gym owner shared with me was a good reminder to be grateful for the process, to be grateful for the journey, to be grateful for “the grind.” I thought I’d share with you all in case anyone else needed the reminder.
Jodi,
Here is a quote from fitness coach Jill Coleman that I think you’ll resonate with:
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“So there’s a disconnect between what we want (all of it now) and how it actually works (practice + experience x time). It’s called the Expectation Gap. And that gap can leave us frustrated, anxious, feeling defeated and wanting to give up.And those feelings are THE #1 reason why people stop pursuing the things they say they want. Makes sense, but to me, this all comes down to expectation management and learning to fall in love with the process instead of romanticizing an end result.
You can’t sustain any outcome without loving the means it took to achieve it. (!)
I don’t care if you didn’t lose any weight this week, but hey, you ordered your burger sans fries, that shit is a win.
There are places to find gratitude everywhere we look. The key is choosing to see them as wins and not “not-good-enoughs.” Gratitude is a game-changer.”
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I pray today you will love your ‘old’ self, love yourself where you are now, and love who you are becoming. You’re pretty great.Jess
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Today I am grateful for the journey, for the process, for the grind, for the positive healthy changes in my life I didn’t even recognize until now. While my expectations may not be met as quickly as I’d like, I am getting stronger, healthier and even braver…and my toes are getting sandy!
Photo by Jodi 🙂
Thank you, Jodi!! We are so proud of you.
Do you know anyone else who could use Jodi’s word of encouragement? Please share!
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