The hard is what makes us Great!

In order to achieve anything that you want in life, it is going to be hard. Accept it. Know that ahead of time. When it gets hard, understand that this is exactly how you should feel right now. It will knock you down. You will question if you have what it takes. The work will seem overwhelming. Get comfortable in that moment and know this is exactly where you should be in order to achieve what you are after. It is not impossible. You can and will conquer all obstacles. The obstacles are meant to be there. Rise and Conquer and achieve anything and everything you want for yourself.

For more help with mindset, motivation, and achieving your goals, check out my book, everyday Warrior, on Amazon. http://www.everydaywarriorbook.com

One Decision You Must Make Today

20170108_125137Not every day is a great day.  Things happen. Unexpected events and circumstances catch us off guard and can throw us for a loop.  Regardless of how well prepared we are for the day and various situations, sometimes getting knocked down is inevitable.  And guess what – it is perfectly ok and even a good thing.  We are meant to be challenged, defeated, confused, frustrated, disappointed, etc.  These are all part of a process of growth and will come to us often on the path to finding our greatness.

I had one of those days recently.  The day started out on track as I was planned and prepared for the day.  At some point, out of nowhere, things slowly slipped down hill.  I maybe was tired, drained a bit from the week and let my emotions and mental sharpness start to slide.  I started eating things I had not planned and didn’t seem to want to stop. I was a bit sluggish in continuing to execute my plans for the day and get things checked off my list.  By the end of the day I was dragging, down on myself, mad and frustrated at some of the decisions I made during the day, and just felt overwhelmed with so many things.

The next morning, I had that same feeling.  That is when I had a decision to make.  I could wallow   in my new found funk and write this day off before it even gets started or gain control of my thoughts and emotions and start to take control of what is or was getting me down.  It took me a little bit, but I chose to make this day different.  I vowed to move forward and climb out from my own little reclusive mess.  I had to shift my mindset and gain a new perspective in order to be able to conquer the day.

It is often said that every day is a new day.  I will go even further and challenge you with every moment is a new moment. It comes down to one decision.  It is the power to shift our mindset, our focus, our energy that empowers us to forge a new path at any given moment.  It is in those moments of doubt, negativity, hopelessness, that we must make that one decision which will change our moment.  We must choose to do different.  We must vow to no longer stay on the path we are on and do that one thing, no matter how seemingly small it may be, that is going to drive us into a different outcome for the day.

This is not to say that every problem, struggle, or conflict is going to be resolved and made better in one moment.  It is not about solving every problem in an instant.  It IS about coming to a point to accept that the molehills are not necessarily mountains and the mountains are not necessarily insurmountable.  It IS about accepting that we do not have to have all the answers and allow ourselves the time to come to some clarity at a future time.  It IS about allowing ourselves to be human, to mess up, slip, stumble, and to know that we can leave it in the past.  The past begins now. It ends and the present begins with a decision.

The power to choose is an extraordinary gift.  It is the power to choose different – particularly in our thought process and in our perceptions that is extraordinary.  You must make a decision today, at this moment and every day.  Will you let the day run you, or do you choose to take control and run the day?  Dictate how you want the day to go and how you will react to events that arise along the way. Forgive yourself of the past – whether it is the past year, day, or something you did or didn’t do 5 minutes ago.  Let it go.  Choose to move forward from this point, with a clear mind, and the willingness to try one more time.

Why do we do this?

I am sometimes asked this question – usually by people close to me who just don’t understand why I want to train or eat like I do, or take it to the extreme of getting stage and competing. I never feel the need to try to answer this question, because there is never an answer to convincingly explain why I do what I do.

It seems we, and I mean those of us that are pursuing general health and fitness goals and lead a healthy and fit lifestyle are viewed as different, or out of the norm. Can you think of anyone asking a person who watches tv for hours each night, why they are doing that to themselves?

We got in an unbelievable leg workout today that really pushed through the limits of anything we thought possible. I loved every minute of it including the feeling of being completely drained the rest of the day. I am sure you know that feeling too. But let’s face it – why do we do it? No one is forcing us to push ourselves the way we do, or to eat the way we do, or to even go to the gym. No one cares if we do or don’t.

But we care. We have made a commitment to ourselves and hold ourselves accountable when we miss a workout or skip out on a healthy meal. We want more for ourselves.

I find it interesting that as “health conscious” as society has supposedly become, no one thinks twice about spending hours on Facebook or in front of the tv, but we get questioned or looked at differently for living a better life and holding ourselves to a higher, healthier standard.

Maybe it’s just me. Maybe the blood is still stuck in my legs and my brain is slightly off-balance,but as I go through workouts, cardio sessions, meal preps, contest prep, and I have my days where I question why I do this- I just absolutely love the amount of self – discipline, determination, and drive it takes to do what we do. Regardless of how different our goals may be there is just something great about striving for fitness and health goals that are simply for ourselves. We do it for ourselves, because we want to, because we can, and because we have made a pact within ourselves to hold ourselves to a set of standards and we won’t let ourselves off the hook until we reach our goals.

Train hard. Make yourself accountable to yourself and keep reaching higher!

Gratitude

Today is Thanksgiving in the US and when it comes to this I have so much to be thankful for.  First, I am so appreciative of each and every one of you that have somehow found this page and made the choice to like and follow it.  There are so many pages out there and I never take for granted that people find value in my posts, articles, and information I share on here.  Through this page I have been given the opportunity to connect and interact with people from around the world.  I cannot tell you how uplifting and inspiring your stories and pursuits are and how much I enjoy interacting with you.  There have been many pages and people who have contributed to the growth and success of this page by interacting, sharing posts, and even promoting this page.  I thank each of you. 

I have recently read that the only way to repay a gratitude bestowed upon us is to “pay it forward” by bestowing gratitude onto others.  On this Thanksgiving I want each of you to know I am extremely grateful for each of you on here and for your continued support as we move forward in pursuit of our goals.  I will continue to bring the best of myself in each post and aim to provide honest and real thoughts and information as I have been.  As always, if there are certain topics or information you would like to see, don’t hesitate to ask and I will do my best to cover each topic.

I wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving.  I thank you all for your interactions, continued support and I am looking forward to our journey together.  Train hard.  Make it count. – Frank