A Letter to my old self...

I didn’t start where I am today. I hope I continue to progress as I age and enjoy a great quality of life.

I got 2^nd place in a race this weekend. The amazing gal who beat me was 50 years old. She completely worked me on the bike, passed me at the halfway point and I couldn’t catch up. Her butt just got smaller and smaller in the distance. When we discussed our ages after the race she told me that she usually gets beat by the 35 year olds. I guess that means I still have a lot of work to do.

Some people don’t buy the fact that there was a time I had trouble getting out of bed before 11 and Papa Johns was a food group for me and smoking Marlboro Mediums while walking to class counted as exercise for the day. I guess that is a good thing. So I find myself feeling the need to write a letter to my old self in hopes that someone can relate.

Here goes….

Dear old self,

Quit hating yourself. Quit telling yourself you will be better if you were skinnier. Quit missing out on the important things in life because you aren’t the size you want to be. Quit telling yourself that you just won’t eat anything but low calorie food “until you lose the weight.” Quit thinking the world would be a better place if you fit into smaller pants.

Start living! Start enjoying the mini lessons learned every day at work, at home, during your workouts. Those challenges will NEVER go away so start cherishing those times when the world kicks you upside down. Start seeing it as a learning experience rather than a failure.

Quit complaining about things you can’t do because you aren’t where you want to be. The more you focus on the negative, the more negative you will get.

Start doing more that moves you toward your goal and less that pulls you away from it.  If you begin to walk in the direction you want to be, you will get there. The shortest path between two points is a straight line. But even if you get lost a few times on the way you will still get to your destination if you DON’T GIVE UP.

Quit beating your body up! You guys are a team. Don’t eat crap, get crap sleep and then force yourself to get out of bed on Monday and get worked over at the gym. (The idea is to eat well, sleep well, and still get out of bed on Monday morning for the workout.) The whole point of this is to get stronger, not constantly beat yourself down.  If you are sick, get well. Take care of yourself and do for your body what you want it to do for you.

You see those people that motivate and inspire you? Start doing what they do and maybe you will do the same one day. You want to look like an athlete? You are going to have to start living like one. The quick fix supplements and the dumb workouts that beat the crap out of you with no purpose will get you nowhere.

Be nice and compassionate to those around you, even if you are feeling like the scum around the bottom of the toilet base. You never know when you might have the opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life. Even though you have a squishy belly or a lumpy butt, there are still people on this earth who can benefit from your love and attention. Those aha moments can happen when you least expect them.  

Life aint perfect… Almost exactly 12 months ago I stood on the steps of the city council building and cried from failure. Things can change in a short amount of time.  I came home that night to a note on my door that lifted my spirits and gave me hope for the future. I wish I could have returned that favor to that person. But maybe I can pay it forward another way and another day.

Here is to LIFE, its precious, its short, and it is never what we expect it to be.