Rise To The Occasion

Greetings Beautiful Souls

Oh, how I have missed you!  It has been quite a bit of time since I have last been on my blog.  No excuse other than I have had to renew my mind.  I had to come to a point where I said to myself that I had something to say and it was worth listening to.  And guess what…. I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY! This entry came about while working out with a good friend of mine.  Here goes……

I have a friend that I work out with from time to time when I want to be a little lax in my regimen and converse.  When we do work out, he focuses on weight training more so than cardio, so the treadmill was a bit of a struggle for him.  A few weeks pass and I decide to call him up and sure enough he was willing to meet me at the gym to catch up.  We go and of course we weight train as usual, and then go to the treadmills to finish up.  We pick two treadmills next to each other and commence to “getting it.”  We start with a 3-minute warm-up of about 3mph and then increase from there.  Each time one of us increase, the other does as well until finally I notice that he is so fluid on the treadmill that he has surpassed me.  For the past three weeks, he has been dedicating more time to his cardio and it showed! I’m getting winded and my legs are starting to cramp so I say, “Slow down, I can barely keep up!”  Continuing with his jog he looks over and says “So you want me to decrease my speed so you can feel better?  Why should I have to revert back to a level I have mastered just to make you feel comfortable with where you are at?  You better push yourself and come up to my level girl!” And continues at his current pace! This jars me.  Enough so, that I muster up every bit of strength I have and finish my three miles faster than I have ever done before.  All because he did not back down, but pushed me to another level of excellence.

I remember times in my life where I chose not to “shine” because I did not want others to feel like I was trying to make them feel inferior or that I thought I was superior.  There have been times where I knew I could do better and I knew to do better but I didn’t because I needed for others to be okay with where they were at.  The problem with that is I wasn’t being authentic to myself or a motivator to others.  By not rising to the occasion I told people that it’s okay to stay complacent/stagnated and that progression is underrated.  Had my friend backed down and ran at a pace that was suitable for me, I would have never picked up the pace and still be running at the level I had been for months now. I would have been so fine with the pace because after all, at least I was exercising, right? WRONG!  Because I was not changing it up, I would eventually plateau and weight loss would be no more!  Just like in life!  If you continue to go at whatever you desire with the same energy that you have been putting in, then you will eventually bottom out, things will not progress, and because you are not seeing change you will quit! If you want different, then you will have to do different.

I know this is easier said than done, but trust me, IT IS POSSIBLE! If it does feel like a task beyond your scope, then you need to find a circle that will motivate you and not congratulate your lack of effort.  And motivators, be just that!!! MOTIVATE! Don’t revert back thinking that you are helping them. You are hurting not only their chances for success but yours as well.  Eagles always soar above the rest!  The question is, are you an Eagle or are you a Crow?!  Do you fly with others to be a part of the crowd or are you willing to soar alone?  Sometimes it is lonely at the top, so pull someone with you instead of stepping down!  NEVER allow the loneliness of the next level make you revert back to the previous one!  Until next time! Ciao for now!