Holy Pilates!

In an effort to mix up my workouts, I took my first boxing class this week. It's an awesome cardio and shoulder workout. I also took a Pilate's class today. The class consisted of me and 30 women, all of whom seemed to be having a much easier time at it than me. It was by far one of the hardest hours of working out I've ever experienced, much harder than the boxing. I talked to the instructor after class and she said it was normal to only be able to do about half of the reps. It was such a great core workout and I'm certain I'll be feeling it tomorrow.

Agape

I talk to people about "agape", having unconditional love for others. You know, the kind of love you have for your child. No matter what your child does or says, whether they are an A student or D, an all-star or a bench warmer, we love them just the same. I now understand we need to extend that same love to ourselves. It was brought to my attention the other day by someone much smarter than me that it doesn't matter if I failed at my quest to run 50 miles or that I didn't make a connection with a group I was speaking to. I have a tendency to define who I am and attach my self-worth to my accomplishments. But my perceived failures are only opportunities for growth, not a reflection of who I am. I should be no less of a person in my own eyes.
We are constantly talking to ourselves, she reminded me, and what we say to ourselves needs to be positive and uplifting. We should acknowledge ourselves when he do good and pick ourselves up when we fall short. Much like exercise and eating healthy, this too can become a habit. One that will lead to us not only having unconditional love for others, but for ourselves.

Do you get it?

I went for my usual run this past Saturday at Wrightsville Beach. There were hundreds of people on the beach doing all kinds of cool stuff. It was low tide, so there was plenty of beach to play on. Lots of people throwing frisbees and footballs. A few people playing lacrosse. Bocci ball, hackey-sack, soccer. And of course, people surfing, skim boarding, kayaking, boogie-boarding and body surfing. There were also plenty of folks running on the beach like I was and even more just walking. In my opinion, these people get it. I thought about our tag-line at QLI, "What is your quality of life?" Here were people who, at least at that moment in time, were enjoying life. For a person to have a wonderful life doesn't mean they have to look like Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie. These people on the beach that day came in all different shapes and sizes. But they all had one thing in common, they were having fun and being active.
And as I ran further I came across a group of 20 or so people, ages 20 something to probably 60. It looked like a group of brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. They had made a 30 foot slippy-slide on the beach out of plastic covered with liquid dish soap and sea water. They were all taking turns running and sliding on it while the matriarch of this clan knelt down at the end of the slide and snapped shots of them in action. Now these are people who REALLY GET IT. To take the time to trench out over 30 feet of beach and lay in plastic and then continually bring over buckets of water from the ocean shows a real commitment to fun. My guess is these people are a real hoot to hang out with. They get it.
That night I took my 10 year old daughter, Gabi, to the USS Battleship North Carolina to watch an old Jimmy Stewart movie, "Shop around the Corner". They show old movies on the deck of the battleship on a huge inflatable movie screen. The smell of popcorn and citronella wafted through the air as Gabi and I sat there under the stars. I wondered how it is that a 10 year old could be enjoying an almost 60 year old movie while occasionally swatting away mosquitoes, but then someone on the screen would say something funny, or at least it was funny to us old folks, and I would hear her laugh. She gets it.

I'm sorry, what'd you say?

As a life coach, it is my job to listen.........This is something that does not come naturally to me. I think it is a guy thing. We are easily distracted....shiny objects, SportsCenter highlights, a pretty face. But it is my job to block all these out and really listen to people. Not only listen, but actively listen. Ask questions, pull out information that can help someone understand why they eat what they eat, or why they would rather lay on the couch than go to the gym or for a walk. We all have the answers inside us, it is the job of the life coach to bring them out. It is not my job to tell, but to listen. This is a skill that I will continue to work on daily.

I get my MRI results tomorrow. In the meantime, though, I've been running a little more lately, around 2 to 3 miles a day with only a little discomfort. I attribute it to the power of prayer, oh yea, and the inserts.