... then I'll give you a hand.
working together- that's what we do at Goals.
I'm feeling the way I always feel at the end of a 9 week session.......
I can't really tell you what "that feeling " is.
I'm happy. and excited. and so damn proud.
proud sounds like a mom word..... so maybe it's not the right word- but it's the one that keeps popping into my chest and making it hard to breath, as the emotion creeps up into my throat, making it hard to swallow until the tears finally push up, hard enough to escape.....
So, maybe proud IS the word....
A large percentage of this challenge group has remained engaged, in spite of being "resolution challengers"...they haven't let their enthusiasm fade or their discipline waiver..... some are still journaling to their coaches~ 9 weeks after they began! Others have "gotten it" enough to trust themselves..... most are hitting classes with energy and determination.
I hope that they have found their place...I hope they stay with me. Not because of obvious business reasons, but because they've become a part of me.....
No job in the world is better than mine....
what is it you do? some may ask...
Most people think I run a Boot camp.... a place for people to come sweat and talk and lift and hit things, and talk a bit about food.
But really, I run a "BOOST" camp......I run a gym that cares....
You see people come in from all kinds of different backgrounds and experiences....some are athletes and others are active, but honestly, most of the people who come play with us haven't worked out in years. They don't like to look in my eyes when we meet and they are uncomfortable with the pictures.....
and then we push and pull and critique, but most importantly, we understand.
........... because we've all been there.
My coach/instructor team is amazing! They are a group of passionate people who were bitten by the "feel good" bug when they challenged and wanted to share!!
.......so after we push and pull and critique....we love and care and share our own stories. We lift people up... give them a hand.....
It makes things real and it makes things happen.....
Congratulations to the latest group of 9 week challengers.... you did a great job!
xoxo
Showing posts with label community. Show all posts
Showing posts with label community. Show all posts
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Sunday, October 13, 2013
slipping in to autumn............
I love this time of year.
There is beauty, everywhere I turn. The colors have popped- red, brown and gold and
the air is crisp and clean and cold.....
Fall has always been my favorite season- there is something wonderful about waking up buried under blankets and still being able to grab some sunshine later in the day.
This year seems particularly vibrant to me, perhaps because I feel like I'm entering my own autumn.... Act III if you will.
a time to settle in to all of the good that has come into my life.
In a decade when so many of my friends and family are mourning the flight of their children or the change in their careers, I find myself settling in. I find myself appreciating my colors, my strengths and my gifts.
Perhaps I'm able to step back and enjoy because life has always been so busy for me.... perhaps it's because I pushed comfortable away and chose a new career path 3+ years ago...perhaps it's because I am able to feed off the good that happens in my world every day.... maybe it's the refocus on health and happiness....
regardless of the reason, I am grateful to be able to sit here in silence today, happy to live in my skin and to appreciate life the way I do.
I am still messy, unorganized, and scatterbrained.... but I have the very best intentions to get through the day and accomplish a great multitude of things. If it's important to me- it will get done. If not, it might happen after class ;)
Love to you all..........
There is beauty, everywhere I turn. The colors have popped- red, brown and gold and
the air is crisp and clean and cold.....
Fall has always been my favorite season- there is something wonderful about waking up buried under blankets and still being able to grab some sunshine later in the day.
This year seems particularly vibrant to me, perhaps because I feel like I'm entering my own autumn.... Act III if you will.
a time to settle in to all of the good that has come into my life.
In a decade when so many of my friends and family are mourning the flight of their children or the change in their careers, I find myself settling in. I find myself appreciating my colors, my strengths and my gifts.
Perhaps I'm able to step back and enjoy because life has always been so busy for me.... perhaps it's because I pushed comfortable away and chose a new career path 3+ years ago...perhaps it's because I am able to feed off the good that happens in my world every day.... maybe it's the refocus on health and happiness....
regardless of the reason, I am grateful to be able to sit here in silence today, happy to live in my skin and to appreciate life the way I do.
I am still messy, unorganized, and scatterbrained.... but I have the very best intentions to get through the day and accomplish a great multitude of things. If it's important to me- it will get done. If not, it might happen after class ;)
Love to you all..........
Monday, April 15, 2013
unbelievable.....
so it takes an idiot (or two or 100) to break me out of my writing funk, but I needed to share that I'm not happy.....
It would seem logical that I would be upset, like so many of you, about the senseless bombings that occurred today. People lost their lives, limbs and sense of security.....
we have all been plunged back into a state of "what if..."
The thing that is sticking with me...the thing that's really pissing me off, is that someone ruined someone else's day. They took a moment that should have been spectacular and turned it grey...
I work with hundreds of people....many of them have huge goals. The Boston Marathon would be the top of several lists of dream runs.....
My members have become my family.... they work hard to reach their goals. They sacrifice day in and out to get to the place where they want to be. They eat right and run and cross-train and STILL find the time to be amazing husbands and wives and parents and friends. They go to work every day to take care of the things that need to be done. But they have dreams and they work for their dreams.
And it makes me angry beyond belief that some one could take a day full of promise and fulfillment and throw it out the window.....
God bless the runners and the supporters and the families of those who were in Boston today.
Help us to be strong and to move forward....always reaching for our goals. Always striving to be the best we can be.
Congratulations on the victory that should have been yours as you crossed the finish line.........
Own it. Be proud of it. Do it again.....
It would seem logical that I would be upset, like so many of you, about the senseless bombings that occurred today. People lost their lives, limbs and sense of security.....
we have all been plunged back into a state of "what if..."
The thing that is sticking with me...the thing that's really pissing me off, is that someone ruined someone else's day. They took a moment that should have been spectacular and turned it grey...
I work with hundreds of people....many of them have huge goals. The Boston Marathon would be the top of several lists of dream runs.....
My members have become my family.... they work hard to reach their goals. They sacrifice day in and out to get to the place where they want to be. They eat right and run and cross-train and STILL find the time to be amazing husbands and wives and parents and friends. They go to work every day to take care of the things that need to be done. But they have dreams and they work for their dreams.
And it makes me angry beyond belief that some one could take a day full of promise and fulfillment and throw it out the window.....
God bless the runners and the supporters and the families of those who were in Boston today.
Help us to be strong and to move forward....always reaching for our goals. Always striving to be the best we can be.
Congratulations on the victory that should have been yours as you crossed the finish line.........
Own it. Be proud of it. Do it again.....
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Jump....
The New Year always seems to bring new plans, new ideas and new promises....
Here we are, in week 4 and I wonder how many resolutions are still intact.
How many people have walked away from promises they made to themselves or to other accountability partners? How many are still rockin it??
Living an active life with exercise and clean eating takes some serious planning, even if you were raised that way. It's really quite unrealistic to think "Tomorrow is a new day. I'll give up ________ for the rest of my life". And yet MILLIONS of people try to do it every year. Why is January 1 so special??
Wouldn't it be nice if once a month (or once a week) we had "jump day"? A day where publicly we had a chance to say "I'm finally ready to make a change...cheer for me, support me and hold me accountable!"
A problem I see frequently, in my job, is that people feel they've failed when their
resolution changes or when they detour off the planned route. Often they "jump" before they really think about the potential outcomes of their new way of life and the impact it will have on those around them. They try to completely renovate their way of life, without fully thinking through the process.
It takes a great deal of knowledge gathering and planning to make life-altering changes and to be successful at doing it long term. Frankly, you have to be ready if you want it to stick long term.
You also have to surround yourself with a support system and be willing to walk away from people or places that pull you back in to old habits.
In an interview this morning, I was asked why group fitness seems to work well for so many people.
I explained that we offer a great exercise program with an emphasis on clean eating, but that it's the people who make a difference at Goals. It's the coaches and instructors.... the maintenance members and challengers who make it a great place to be.
Someone is watching for you...... someone who cares.
Someone's waiting.....
Pick YOUR day~ all you have to do is jump.
Spring or stumble, we'll be there.....
Here we are, in week 4 and I wonder how many resolutions are still intact.
How many people have walked away from promises they made to themselves or to other accountability partners? How many are still rockin it??
Living an active life with exercise and clean eating takes some serious planning, even if you were raised that way. It's really quite unrealistic to think "Tomorrow is a new day. I'll give up ________ for the rest of my life". And yet MILLIONS of people try to do it every year. Why is January 1 so special??
Wouldn't it be nice if once a month (or once a week) we had "jump day"? A day where publicly we had a chance to say "I'm finally ready to make a change...cheer for me, support me and hold me accountable!"
A problem I see frequently, in my job, is that people feel they've failed when their
resolution changes or when they detour off the planned route. Often they "jump" before they really think about the potential outcomes of their new way of life and the impact it will have on those around them. They try to completely renovate their way of life, without fully thinking through the process.
It takes a great deal of knowledge gathering and planning to make life-altering changes and to be successful at doing it long term. Frankly, you have to be ready if you want it to stick long term.
You also have to surround yourself with a support system and be willing to walk away from people or places that pull you back in to old habits.
In an interview this morning, I was asked why group fitness seems to work well for so many people.
I explained that we offer a great exercise program with an emphasis on clean eating, but that it's the people who make a difference at Goals. It's the coaches and instructors.... the maintenance members and challengers who make it a great place to be.
Someone is watching for you...... someone who cares.
Someone's waiting.....
Pick YOUR day~ all you have to do is jump.
Spring or stumble, we'll be there.....
Monday, December 31, 2012
Magic moments.....
I resolve to not make unrealistic promises to myself this year.....
I've always been big into starting over. In fact I've made it into my life's work.
At Goals in Motion we're all about starting over. Men and women walk through the door, unhappy with their body (and sometimes their lives) and want help "fixing" it.
The problem is that we really can't be fixed. We can be helped, but only if we've reached that moment in life where we're open to change. Sometimes that means you've reached a place where the only light is at the end of a really long tunnel of hard work and sacrifice.
Please, don't get me wrong....I'm in favor of setting goals and I'm in favor of making promises to ourselves, but you often have to reach that magic moment when you're really ready.
I haven't been sleeping well for the last few weeks and I've been trying to figure out what I'm doing to aggrevate the situation. I've changed my eating and drinking patterns. I've exercised at night and during the day. I've abandoned the computer at night in favor of time with the guys and even added a little TV time. Nothing helps, except I eventually reach a point of complete sleep deprevation and my mind allows little cat naps in the chair while stupid tv shows keep my family entertained.
Around 2:25 this morning, my internal alarm went off. My brain kicked into gear and my day began, again.... But today I decided to lay there in the darkness and think about my year. People all around my are talking about changes and starting over.
"I'm going to lose weight!"
"I'm going to get a promotion!"
"I'm going to meet the person of my dreams!"
We're even putting a new year long maintenance challenge in place at Goals for those who want to make 2013 THEIR YEAR. People love a fresh start!
So why can't I get excited? What's wrong with me (besides the fact that I'm living on less than 4 hours of sleep a night?).
After about 30 minutes of forced calm/guided thinking, it hit..... I'm not finished with this year. I didn't accomplish what I set out to do in 2012. I had big goals for myself, my family and my business in 2012 and honestly, very few of them came to fruition.
I'm a disorganized person and I need help. (There! I've said it! Those of you who spend any length of time with me already know this but you obviously know by now that YOU knowing it is not going to "fix" ME!!). I have a hundred projects in the works and a million more ideas running through my head and it has always been my intention to accomplish all of them alone. I have never allowed myself to consider that I am not Wonder Woman, but the lack of progress this year has really sort of slapped me in the face. So...... I've made the initial contacts and asked for help. I'm not going to start another project without help or at least an accountability partner!
So..... this year, I resolve to not make unrealistic promises to myself.....
One month at a time...
January is for finishing what I've started..... my house and my office will be put in order- everything in it's place. I've even established a plan with an organizational guru (you know who you are-xoxo) to get me started
February is for purging.... this is going to mean some serious tossing. If any of you are dumpster divers and can brave the cold, there might be some sweet deals to be had!
March is for establishing systems..... if it can't be maintained without me, it's really not going to work in my life. Systems for EVERYTHING.
April is for adding in...some of those things that I've wanted but not had time for. An hour a day to read or meditate or study.... 2 yoga classes each week~ Yoga sculpt at Goals and one hot class away from the studio to focus on myself...also a lazy day one Sunday.
May is for adjustment.... a time to tweak the last 4 months. All systems go before the school year ends.
June is for family..... we haven't escaped Ames as a family for a long time and have never really established a vacation habit. During the early years, Jeff's work consumed him and now mine seems to do the same. Zach's entering a new phase in his life with work and commitment and Sam has just two years left at home. It's time to create a family tradition of reconnecting once a year. This year we're heading to the quiet waters of Minnesota for days of fishing, reading and sun and nights of food and gin rummy.
And so, that's where I'm going to end my goal/resolution setting for today. My hope is that as my organizational life falls into place, all of the other good things I've been waiting for will find a home in my head and my heart. I'll be sharing along the way~ I hope to see you soon.
May you find joy, peace and a smidge of what you've been searching for in 2013.....
Happy New Year
I've always been big into starting over. In fact I've made it into my life's work.
At Goals in Motion we're all about starting over. Men and women walk through the door, unhappy with their body (and sometimes their lives) and want help "fixing" it.
The problem is that we really can't be fixed. We can be helped, but only if we've reached that moment in life where we're open to change. Sometimes that means you've reached a place where the only light is at the end of a really long tunnel of hard work and sacrifice.
Please, don't get me wrong....I'm in favor of setting goals and I'm in favor of making promises to ourselves, but you often have to reach that magic moment when you're really ready.
I haven't been sleeping well for the last few weeks and I've been trying to figure out what I'm doing to aggrevate the situation. I've changed my eating and drinking patterns. I've exercised at night and during the day. I've abandoned the computer at night in favor of time with the guys and even added a little TV time. Nothing helps, except I eventually reach a point of complete sleep deprevation and my mind allows little cat naps in the chair while stupid tv shows keep my family entertained.
Around 2:25 this morning, my internal alarm went off. My brain kicked into gear and my day began, again.... But today I decided to lay there in the darkness and think about my year. People all around my are talking about changes and starting over.
"I'm going to lose weight!"
"I'm going to get a promotion!"
"I'm going to meet the person of my dreams!"
We're even putting a new year long maintenance challenge in place at Goals for those who want to make 2013 THEIR YEAR. People love a fresh start!
So why can't I get excited? What's wrong with me (besides the fact that I'm living on less than 4 hours of sleep a night?).
After about 30 minutes of forced calm/guided thinking, it hit..... I'm not finished with this year. I didn't accomplish what I set out to do in 2012. I had big goals for myself, my family and my business in 2012 and honestly, very few of them came to fruition.
I'm a disorganized person and I need help. (There! I've said it! Those of you who spend any length of time with me already know this but you obviously know by now that YOU knowing it is not going to "fix" ME!!). I have a hundred projects in the works and a million more ideas running through my head and it has always been my intention to accomplish all of them alone. I have never allowed myself to consider that I am not Wonder Woman, but the lack of progress this year has really sort of slapped me in the face. So...... I've made the initial contacts and asked for help. I'm not going to start another project without help or at least an accountability partner!
So..... this year, I resolve to not make unrealistic promises to myself.....
One month at a time...
January is for finishing what I've started..... my house and my office will be put in order- everything in it's place. I've even established a plan with an organizational guru (you know who you are-xoxo) to get me started
February is for purging.... this is going to mean some serious tossing. If any of you are dumpster divers and can brave the cold, there might be some sweet deals to be had!
March is for establishing systems..... if it can't be maintained without me, it's really not going to work in my life. Systems for EVERYTHING.
April is for adding in...some of those things that I've wanted but not had time for. An hour a day to read or meditate or study.... 2 yoga classes each week~ Yoga sculpt at Goals and one hot class away from the studio to focus on myself...also a lazy day one Sunday.
May is for adjustment.... a time to tweak the last 4 months. All systems go before the school year ends.
June is for family..... we haven't escaped Ames as a family for a long time and have never really established a vacation habit. During the early years, Jeff's work consumed him and now mine seems to do the same. Zach's entering a new phase in his life with work and commitment and Sam has just two years left at home. It's time to create a family tradition of reconnecting once a year. This year we're heading to the quiet waters of Minnesota for days of fishing, reading and sun and nights of food and gin rummy.
And so, that's where I'm going to end my goal/resolution setting for today. My hope is that as my organizational life falls into place, all of the other good things I've been waiting for will find a home in my head and my heart. I'll be sharing along the way~ I hope to see you soon.
May you find joy, peace and a smidge of what you've been searching for in 2013.....
Happy New Year
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
dreams......
...change over time don't they? Both the daydreams we create in our minds and also the ones that creep into our subconscious as we drift off to sleep. It seems the outside world has more to do with them than we might think.
When I was younger and an athlete, all I could dream about was being the best. It's all I worked for and all I thought about. I surrounded myself with people who could make it happen and every night competition seemed to seep into my sleep.
I don't recall having many sleeping dreams as a teenager.... I worked too much and played too hard- once my head hit the pillow, my brain must have needed to shut down and take a break from me!!
I did however have daydreams about my future and how certain people would play a part in my life.
Once I became a young mother, all of my dreams, sleeping and otherwise, were focused on the health and well being of the boys. I remember watching them play and wondering who they would become.
I remember waking up in the middle of the night, from vivid dreams of the boys, in panic....why haven't they woken up? why are they awake? why didn't I hear them come home?
Eventually, I reached the dangerous "all about me stage of my life". I'm sure many of you can relate...
it's that time when you decide, I'm tired of being fat and tired and responsible for everyone and everything in my life. My daydreams turned to making myself healthy and beautiful (and sometimes to finding someone to kidnap me and take me to a magic kingdom where I wouldn't have to work or think if I didn't want to!!). My night dreams disappeared again, because I was running at 100 mph and trying to get in all the life I had missed for so many years.
So that brings me to now... I've been worried over the last few months about Goals. Don't misunderstand, everything is fine at the studio, but I always worry about being enough in an saturated industry. I've met with some of my coaches and instructors to brainstorm ways to be even better than we already are.... my daydreams are filled with possibilities and my sleep is filled with "what ifs"
Yesterday, however, was a great day. I woke up early and felt well rested. I taught a kickboxing class the night before, in my dreams (scary huh?) and one of the sets stuck in my head- it worked like a charm. My 4:55am class was awesome. The room was full and they stepped up and worked out hard like they always do! I came home after class to eat and get some work done. When I was on Facebook posting some pictures from our Holiday 5K a friend, who is a Goals member, popped into my chat with a link about a young girl who had lost an incredible amount of weight. The story was amazing and reinforced my belief that we need more programs for kids and families who struggle with exercise and healthy eating. Suddenly my brain darted off in a different direction. My day was filled with ideas and planning. I got to workout with a new member- a fit teenager, who ROCKED the bag!! As I showed her each new punch, I thought about how awesome it would be to have more teens and families with smaller kiddos at Goals. Dinner prep involved dreams of GIM family potlucks and my sleep involved an indoor game of Hoover Ball in the kickboxing studio.
Today will be incredibly busy. I have several meetings to attend. I get to tour the new high school with my fellow school board members and the builders and I get to teach a couple of classes. I'll wrap up the night meeting with State Legislators about educational priorities before they go into session.
If you see me today and I look distracted, don't worry... in the midst of my busy day, it's just the dream wheels turning
When I was younger and an athlete, all I could dream about was being the best. It's all I worked for and all I thought about. I surrounded myself with people who could make it happen and every night competition seemed to seep into my sleep.
I don't recall having many sleeping dreams as a teenager.... I worked too much and played too hard- once my head hit the pillow, my brain must have needed to shut down and take a break from me!!
I did however have daydreams about my future and how certain people would play a part in my life.
Once I became a young mother, all of my dreams, sleeping and otherwise, were focused on the health and well being of the boys. I remember watching them play and wondering who they would become.
I remember waking up in the middle of the night, from vivid dreams of the boys, in panic....why haven't they woken up? why are they awake? why didn't I hear them come home?
Eventually, I reached the dangerous "all about me stage of my life". I'm sure many of you can relate...
it's that time when you decide, I'm tired of being fat and tired and responsible for everyone and everything in my life. My daydreams turned to making myself healthy and beautiful (and sometimes to finding someone to kidnap me and take me to a magic kingdom where I wouldn't have to work or think if I didn't want to!!). My night dreams disappeared again, because I was running at 100 mph and trying to get in all the life I had missed for so many years.
So that brings me to now... I've been worried over the last few months about Goals. Don't misunderstand, everything is fine at the studio, but I always worry about being enough in an saturated industry. I've met with some of my coaches and instructors to brainstorm ways to be even better than we already are.... my daydreams are filled with possibilities and my sleep is filled with "what ifs"
Yesterday, however, was a great day. I woke up early and felt well rested. I taught a kickboxing class the night before, in my dreams (scary huh?) and one of the sets stuck in my head- it worked like a charm. My 4:55am class was awesome. The room was full and they stepped up and worked out hard like they always do! I came home after class to eat and get some work done. When I was on Facebook posting some pictures from our Holiday 5K a friend, who is a Goals member, popped into my chat with a link about a young girl who had lost an incredible amount of weight. The story was amazing and reinforced my belief that we need more programs for kids and families who struggle with exercise and healthy eating. Suddenly my brain darted off in a different direction. My day was filled with ideas and planning. I got to workout with a new member- a fit teenager, who ROCKED the bag!! As I showed her each new punch, I thought about how awesome it would be to have more teens and families with smaller kiddos at Goals. Dinner prep involved dreams of GIM family potlucks and my sleep involved an indoor game of Hoover Ball in the kickboxing studio.
Today will be incredibly busy. I have several meetings to attend. I get to tour the new high school with my fellow school board members and the builders and I get to teach a couple of classes. I'll wrap up the night meeting with State Legislators about educational priorities before they go into session.
If you see me today and I look distracted, don't worry... in the midst of my busy day, it's just the dream wheels turning
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