While scrolling through my social media feeds, all I read is how people are so relieved that 2020 is coming to an end and how shitty the year has been. As a fitness professional, business owner, single mom, and human being – sure, I can relate to the shitty-ness, but I can also appreciate the parts of this year that made me better.
I remember last New Year’s Eve, I was my usual excited self – excited to celebrate with family and friends, excited for all the cool stuff we had in store for our gym members, and most of all excited to put 2019 behind me because for me, 2019 was shittier than shitty and I was finally walking away from that year into what we knew would be a year to remember. So, when January arrived, I hit the ground runnin’ and set out to make 2020 our best year yet.
When we first heard of the Coronavirus, we were like “Meh” – Ok, so it’s been around for a long time, it’s the common cold virus, China is getting their asses kicked by it….yada yada…. We weren’t worried about it; until we had to be worried about it. Enter March 2020 – eyes and ears glued to the evening news, waiting on edge for announcements from county officials, and crossing our fingers and toes (and any other appendage we could) that we wouldn’t be the next to be shut down. Well, you know how that turned out…
Fast forward to today – December 27, 2020. We survived – not only COVID – but our business being shut down, schools being closed, income being lost, and isolation from our friends and family.
How the hell could any of that make me better? How could any of that make anyone better?
I think if you look through a different lens, you’ll see that maybe we should focus on how the struggle showed us the way to appreciate the shit. For me, being shut down allowed me time with my family that I hadn’t had before. We spent days and nights together talking, laughing, planting flowers, cooking good food, watching goofy movies, and getting on each other’s nerves. For me, losing some of my income taught me to budget my money better and to think long and hard about every dollar that I spent. For me, having my son at home and not in school all day allowed him to brush up on his dishwashing and floor mopping skills – LOL! Just sayin’ – there are some skills they don’t learn in school!
Isolation from friends and family was the hard one – it is still hard since we are still trying to “be careful”. The positive takeaway, for me, was recognizing that the time we DO get to spend with them is precious and the phone conversations should be meaningful and often. And personal alone time is a good thing – it’s a good thing to take time away from all the things and focus on yourself.
That last sentence leads me to why I am begging you to reconsider what you resolve to do in 2020. As part of the fitness industry, it seems like everyone wants to “lose weight”, “get fit”, “tone up”…
Now, I won’t sit here and pretend that all of those resolutions ultimately are what keeps us in business. They do. BUT – what I hope for this year is that the resolution can be rooted in something deeper. Something that I mentioned earlier – being better.
“Bet-ter” – of a more excellent or effective type or quality; less unwell; more excellent or effective.
Let those definitions sink in for a sec.
In my opinion, becoming better is a forward momentum – a positive trajectory. Even if amidst the momentum there is failure – our failures can be fuel to keep us going. Becoming better in small ways will eventually lead to better in every way. Believe it! Becoming better takes time and it starts with a decision; the decision to put yourself first on your “to-do list”. Decide to make time. Decide to eat better. Decide to speak nicer. Decide to love harder. Decide to lift heavier. Decide to stop selling yourself short. Decide to stop making all the excuses as to why you can’t do better. Decide that this is the last time you’ll see yourself this way because tomorrow you’ll be better (even if by only just a smidgen).
One of my most successful clients (100lb weight loss, extreme functional improvements, better sleep, better relationships, …the list could go on…) and I made a pact from the very first conversation we had – NO BULLSHIT. I pledged to never bullshit her, and she swore to never bullshit me. About anything. About what she ate, about how many workouts she’d get in, about agreeing/disagreeing with me or my plan for her…whatever the topic – there was no bullshitting allowed.
My wish is that everyone will reconsider their resolution and instead just stop feeding yourself a bunch of bullshit. Stop saying that you can’t, stop saying that you aren’t, stop saying that you won’t. Just decide then to believe that you can get better every single day.
XOXO,
KB
