Fare Thee Well 2015.... Double Unders and Romance

Today, on this last day of 2015, I had a goal I set earlier this year that was still unaccomplished.  I knew when I woke up,  today could not end without meeting this goal I committed to.  I had worked hard but kept falling just short of meeting it.  I started this year unable to complete a legit pull up.  After months of linking 2-3, sometimes 5 on a good day, together, I had set a goal to link 10 together.  Over the past few weeks I’ve come close, hitting 8.  But today, I went in fiercely focused on achieving this goal.  After a long time of staring at the bar and warming up, one of the coaches came up to me, seeing my hesitation,  and said, “Remember being a kid and this was just fun? Just have fun!” And then I did it! Twice! But the best part was the people.  All these people that have fallen into my life this past year, friends who just happened to be there sharing in my excitement because meeting goals just feels good!  For at least part of the day, I felt that invincible power of believing that anything is possible.  I’ve got a long way to go and lots still to accomplish but today I actually believe that in time it is all possible.  

As I close out 2015, taking stock of all the lessons, laughs, smiles, and tears, I can reflect back and see the person I have become, grown into.  And each year I become more, a better version of me, a closer to the real me version of me and it’s someone I’m discovering I really like.   

That same coach, also happens to be a life coach.  She spent some time discussing the Wheel Of Life and how we must balance each of the pieces that makes up our life and the new year is a good time to take a look at our wheel and decided where we need to focus.   As a single working mom, raising several young men, I am an old pro at balancing life but for some reason, the pieces that are missing always seem the biggest.  Maybe thats because without the balance of the whole wheel - it just can't go smoothly, there's just too much resistance. 

Romance is probably one of the areas I lack.  And what I mean by that might surprise most.  I lack romance for myself.  It is only recently, I have really started to appreciate myself and see myself as a strong beautiful person that so many people have told me, for a very long time,  I am.  No matter how many times I hear it, I just haven’t been able to believe it.  Not so long ago, I didn’t want to be strong anymore.  I wanted to fall to pieces and quit but I guess something in me was stronger than I even knew. And very recently, I really started to realize that I really am something special and in 2016, I need to nurture that relationship with myself.  I need to start giving myself a little bit of the love I so easily give away to almost any person who needs it and enters my universe.  

Double Unders, for those who do not crossfit, it’s two revolutions of the rope per jump.  I have been fighting with these since I started crossfitting two years ago. I’ve watched videos, I’ve taken tips from everyone who gives them to me, I’ve practiced, but it just hasn’t clicked.  I get the hang of them, then I lose them - very much like my dating life, I think it’s working, then it’s just not. Until recently this bothered me a lot - both the double unders and the dating. It was about the same time that I started liking myself that I stopped caring so much about dating but still care about those darn double unders.  And like double unders, I trust eventually it will just click, as my crossfit cohorts assure me they will.  But none-the-less, I set a goal for 2016 to get to 25 unbroken double unders with consistency.  

Aside from how double unders seem to reflect my dating life, I have discovered many life lessons in crossfitting  these past two years that I will try to carry with me into this next year.....

Show up

Breathe, control your breath stay focused on it.

Go with the flow and trust the process and the coaches. Stay focused and present where you are at because that’s all that is ever really happening anyway.

Take the time to build and learn the foundational skills needed to do the big stuff

It’s okay to fail and know what you need to work on. Failure isn’t permanent but quitting is. Failure is just a lesson, so learn from it.

We are all good at something.  We all have strengths and weaknesses

Life is a lot more fun with good people in it, especially when you are cheering each other on.  

Have fun - it’s basically a grown up playground so laugh and live and enjoy

And a couple things I have said over and over to myself from hard workouts to road races  to long days at work all year, from Coach Ben Kelly, “Conceive. Believe. Achieve.” and...

“Your mind will tell you to quit long before your body is ready.  You need to push through that.”

NOTHING is impossible! 

And finally, from my dear friend, Amy, FEAR - Face Everything And Recover.  It's like the proverbial monster under the bed.  Once we face the things we fear most, in my experience I've discovered there really was nothing to be afraid of.  But I love the message, face it, recover from it, I promise you will.  We all always do.  Fear is a trap that holds us back from all the best parts of life that bring us the most joy and excitement.  How many things did you not do because you were afraid this year?  Go do them - do them all in 2016 - you'll discover, there was nothing to be afraid of.  Don't believe me? What was your childhood fear?  Bet it seems pretty silly now.  You are simply a bigger grown up version of that same child, so don't be afraid, trust everything is working out perfectly.  It is. And if it's not, look at it all from another perspective so you can see it all more clearly.

So, with gratitude for the countless blessings in my life, fare thee well 2015 and 2016 I welcome you with eagerness and excitement!  2016 is the year of Double Unders and Romance for me.  What will your 2016 be for you? Happy New Year All!