Let Yourself Be Loved

Have you ever thought that you were not good enough? It could be in any aspect of your life: that you weren't good enough to make the A team, that your work is not good enough for your boss and your co-worker that stays later than you is better than you, that no one will ever fall in love with you, that no matter how hard you try it seems like no one notices your efforts?

I know that I have caught myself thinking that I was not good enough in several of these areas. But I realized that it was a horrible place to trap myself in- yes that's right, its a hidden, subtle, trap that every human being is capable of entrapping THEMSELVES in. Although it may feel like others are making us feel this way, it is really OURSELVES that allow it.

To be honest, I think that, in these moments, where we allow ourselves to feel unworthy, is a time of weakness- and I hate weakness. I think its a cop out- I think that it disenigrates the soul and allows for the death of giving and receiving love. So, I have been working on catching myself when these feelings occur and using them as opportunities to find confidence and build self awareness. In other words, I try to see why I DO deserve to be loved someday, why I WILL get results someday, and why sometimes things DON'T work out but it is OKAY because it was not meant to be. Changing the mindset frees me of turning my back on the world and instead, opening my arms up to it.

Like I said, I hate being weak. What will your choice be today? Will you be weak and let yourself feel unworthy? Or will you fight to see why you are worthy- to love and to be loved?

Its all in the back and hips!

Hello All! You ever get those nagging lower leg pains? Hip pains? lower back pains? I know that I do. After rubbing out my calves and rolling them out for what seemed like hours I finally realized that it was not working...So I went searching as to why. After some research and talking with a professional sports massage therapist, I found that most of all athlete's pain derives from weak and tight hips and lower back!

So, what I thought was calf pain was really tightness and weakness in both my hips and back. I have been extensively rolling out my back and hips while adding in some important exercises and have seen a significant difference. It is important to stretch as well- many people do not believe in stretching but from my own experience I believe that stretching is crucial if it is done in the right way. Before activity it should always be dynamic: high knees, butt kicks, etc but afterwards you should do static stretching (holding a stretch for 45-60 seconds). This keeps your muscles elastic rather than tight.

Here are some exercises to look up and do if you cannot shake a certain injury:

Foam roll all body parts

clam shells

donkey whips

theraband monster walks

Heel and Toe Walking- forwards and backwards

Thoratic Back Twist

Bird Dogs and Bird Dog holds

Superman Holds

Reverse Pull Ups

Body weight squats on BOSU balls

Tennis ball pin point pressure on piriformis, hips, and lower back

A Place to Always Win

Triathlon in season training is just around the corner for me- I am so excited and am so ready to compete. I have been really working hard on developing my weaknesses which are swimming and biking. Due to these two sports being my weaknesses, I have been experiencing pain and injuries that I have never experienced before in running...its a whole new beast.

Derailments such as pain and injuries can be super frustrating- they can make you want to give up, they can turn you into a negative person, or they can brain wash you to keep pushing through even though your body is saying no. Right now I am experiencing really tight calves and lower back pain from biking and shin pain from swimming! I would have never thought swimming could cause something like that. As you can imagine these injuries do not sit well with running either so I have really had to cut back as to avoid aggravating it more.

I was really mad about this because I want to make the A team for my Triathlon club- but I can't do that when I can't train. I started to ask God, "Why did you make me good at something just to take it away? Why do I always get injured?" My answer came in church yesterday....

My pastor told me that God makes us good at things so we can represent Him in an area that He needs us. To be there for other people and to serve them in times of need and praise them in times of success. He said that in sports, its not always about going hard and winning but rather the journey and how you react to each and every situation. How you react whether its a win, a failure, or an injury impacts those around you.

I thought this was interesting because it made me realize that if I think in this way, it takes out the selfishness and self pity and replaces it with a team and God oriented mindset. Check out this website for similar views.

http://tasteheavennow.net/Heart_Training_tools_for_change/h-t_in_sports.htm

True Happiness

Ever wish you had a different situation? Ever think that your life is unfair? Ever wish that you had what someone else had? Have you ever said, "I would be so much happier if..." I know I have said and asked these questions multiple times throughout life. However, I recent article made me realize a really important lesson and I would like to share it with you:

"Contentment is choosing to be happy with life as it is. The mistake most people make is deciding they'll be happy if some things change. What they don't realize is that some things can't be changed and others, when they do change, don't bring the expected happiness. That is because real happiness isn't imposed on a person, it is what a person decides to be -- regardless of what happens around him.

And really, you aren't happy with yourself, and you need to be. You've got a lot going for you. But you blind yourself to them because you constantly compare yourself and your life to other people. You don't really see other people's lives -- you only see the surface. Because of that things look better to you than they really are. Thus, you compare your life to something that isn't real, and make yourself unhappy.

No one's life is perfect. Perfect lives don't come until heaven. But it doesn't mean you can't learn to enjoy life anyway. "Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:11-13)."

Love who you are and where you are at...And also where others are at

Okay, we can all admit that at one point in time, we have wished to have what others around have. Being competitively natured it is only natural for us to feel this initial feeling. It is hard when we work really hard, are very disciplined, or dress up cute and we do not get attention for it. Sometimes it feels like everyone else around us is constantly getting the attention.

This can place a human being in a very dangerous place- It can cause jealousy and unthankfulness for one's current situation... Being jealous will only cause passive aggressive behavior and unthankfulness for our current situation causes us to become insecure. These are two realms that can be hard to overcome; however, with the right amount of mind and heart pressure, we can overcome this natural tendency if we train it to.

One thing that I have learned is realize that there is NO SUCH THING as perfect timings or formulas. I HAD to get over that because every person has a different formula and time that works for them. For example, it may be some girls' time to have a serious boyfriend or even be engaged. It may be some other girls' time to be the best at her sport. It may also be another girls' formula to act, eat, and dress a certain way.

It is important for us not to try and jump on another person's timeline. We have our own and we need to appreciate where we are at and where we are going... Otherwise we will never be happy and we will be MEAN GRUMPY GIRLS! We also need to appreciate where others are at. We should be happy for them that their time has come and that a formula works for them.

Keep your head up and keep on your own timeline and concoct your own formula. Be confident in that and you will be more happy.

Clip Ins

I just bought my new clip in pedals for my road bike! I LOVE my road bike and I cannot wait to ride it...except there is one problem. I am deathly afraid of using clip ins.

The reason? Because when you wear clips ins, you have to think differently in order to get out. You must be instinctive to point your toe down, twist your ankle outward, and yank it out. You would think that this would be easy and maybe it is for some people....NOT FOR ME!

AH! You guys should have seen the hott mess I was with my dad trying to learn how to utilize these clips ins. My dad took me to a grass field saying, "Now, I want you to learn here, because you will fall." And for 1/2 an hour  fell over, and over, and over, and over. It was pretty embarrassing considering the fact that I am 23 years old and people driving by were probably thinking it was hilarious that a grow girl was falling like a 5 year old.

I wanted to give up so many times but my dad would not let me. Which I am so glad about. He pointed out that this is something new and with anything new it is not easy. It will not be perfect, and sometimes it hurts. But you GET BACK UP and command what you want.

I think this is a good parallel to life- you fall again and again but you GET BACK UP because the ride of life is so much greater and so worth all those falls.

Embrace: Hold (someone) closely in one's arms, esp. as a sign of affection

Yesterday at an event that I went to, I ran into a couple of people that I knew. It was great to see them but there was something that was missing when I interacted with a couple of them...I found out what it was when I hugged my grandma. When my grandma hugged me, she REALLY hugged me. Those other people were only half heartedly hugging me and that is what was missing from the interaction.

Once I realized that, I started to observe the crowd. I noticed that SO many people half heartedly hug or half heartedly listen to one another. I don't know what has happened to our generation but half hearted actions have become the norm. It is almost like we are just going the motions rather than sincerely taking the time to absorb and be with one another in that moment.

Its like that with life too- sometimes we just go through the motions we are not "closely" holding onto every present moment. Rather, we are thinking forwards or backwards- racing to the next milestone. But I have found that this only leads to a voided life. You can race to the next milestone but won't find anything because you have missed so much along the way.

My point is this- start really EMBRACING your life. EMBRACE. Meaning, closely hold onto and cherish every hug, every kiss, every phone conversation, every run, every project... if you don't you will miss so much.

Go genuinely hug three people today and you will notice a huge difference.