If You Want Something You've Never Had...

“If you want something you've never had, you must be willing to do something you've never done.” The great Thomas Jefferson came up with that saying, and you've probably heard it many times. But, how many times have you really thought about it? Autumn Calabrese says it during the 21 Day Fix workouts, many motivational speakers use it in their presentations, and I say it to myself when I'm struggling through a workout. But today I used about 20 minutes of my day to really reflect on what those words mean.

Another saying that everyone has heard, and honestly...everyone has said: “It's too hard.” How many times have you said that in your life? Come on now, be honest! You don't have to share your answer with the class (unless you want to). Think about how many jobs you didn't apply for, how many workouts you didn't do, how many relationships you backed out of before they even started, and any other number of things you gave up on because they were just too hard.

If you know me at all, you know I try to stay pretty positive through whatever life throws at me. But, it hasn't always been this way for me. I was tired, unhappy, overweight, negative, and just didn't have a very good outlook. I literally thank God every day for bringing the 21 Day Fix to me just when I needed it most. I didn't even know how much I needed it, and not just to get healthy. Because I made that decision to order a $60 program, I changed the direction my life was going.

After a couple of rounds of the Fix, I was talking to my coach about my struggles and we got to talking about being a coach. I was really...I mean REALLY hesitant at first...until she pointed out that by sharing my successes and what I was doing (leading by example and encouraging others) I was basically already coaching without any financial benefit. This program lit a freaking spark under me. Not only did I finally have plenty of energy, I was happy! I mean, really and truly happy for the first time in a long time. My goal from that first day I decided to become a coach to now (over a year later) was/is to help every woman along their path to finding the best version of themselves. I truly just want every woman out there to feel as good as I do.

When approached about coaching, I could have said it would be too hard, too scary, too time consuming, etc. I could have made a bunch of excuses about why it wouldn't work and wasn't for me. But I realized that it would be selfish to keep this new-found love of life to myself. So I jumped right out of my comfort zone and started to share my journey; the good, the bad, and the ugly of it. It wasn't something I was super comfortable with right away and it certainly wasn't easy. But I did it because I've got some big ass goals!

I'm going to be really balls to the walls honest with you right now, putting my goals and whys out there for all the world to see. Some of these I've accomplished, but there's always room for growth. If we stop growing, learning, and advancing we are going to get bored.
               
                                                      What I Want & What It Means     

• Financial Freedom ~~ Never struggling or worrying when Charlie is laid off                        
• A Healthy Body ~~ Because my life matters & I want to be around for a long time
• Great Friendships ~~ Because women need other women to support, encourage, & have fun with
• 2-3 Vacations/Year ~~ Because St. John is where my soul lives

Those are just a few examples of my goals and why I set them. It's why I workout at least 5 times a week, why I eat 80% clean, why I drink my super food shake every day (it helps that it's like a chocolate milkshake and delicious too lol), why I continue to run Challenge Groups, why I continue inviting people to join me on my journey, and why I'll always be here for you if you need me. Most importantly, it's why I stopped doubting myself and the world needs to learn more of that!

​Take five minutes right now to do a little soul searching. What do you really want out of life? What are you doing to get yourself there?