I learned a lot about myself as a person. I was gearing up for an athletic event and I started training about two months ago. I started to work out every single day and cleaned up my eating habits. It was incredible the transformation that occurred. I suddenly had so much energy! I was loving every minute of it! It was a proud moment for me when I was able to workouts with ease that had previously been to hard for me. Unfortunately, that meant I had to push myself harder. It was in the "I can't go any further, lets quit now" moments where I really grew as a person because I refused to accept those limits and pushed myself even harder. I had done a sort of fit test at the beginning of the process where I did a bunch of exercises and timed them or counted how many I could do in a minute. At the end I repeated the test and it was so amazing to see my results quantified! I had bettered myself physically, and it also changed me mentally. I knew what I was capable of now, and that gave me so much more confidence.
Through this process I relied heavily on inspirational quotes (cliché I know) and daily reminders of the goal I had in mind. One of my favorite quotes that I came across was,
"Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" -Winston Churchill
I read that quote and it blew my mind. That may seem dramatic, but I was raised on the belief that failure is not an option, so the mindset of Winston Churchill had my head spinning. It was a new way to look at the world and a new way to look at my life. I suddenly knew that no matter what happened, I was going to be proud of myself. It takes so much courage to try something new and allow yourself to be vulnerable in the process. Success isn't measured by how many times you win, but how many times you get back up and try again. I went through a lot of ups and downs throughout this process and I view it all as success because I never quit. It doesn't matter if you win the race or place 57th, the most important part is finishing. I am on a soap box, I know but it's just so important to step outside your comfort zone! I can't stress enough how life changing it is to push yourself past your limits and go outside your comfort zone. If you don't do things like that, you'll never change as a person, and without change there can't be growth. If everyone tried something new we could change the world! (Okay that might be a stretch, but you get my point).
It's like what Journey said, "Don't stop believing", in yourself, in the world, and in each other.
Great post, thanks for sharing. Congratulations on pushing your limits, and learning so mud more about yourself.
ReplyDeleteKira, I reall enjoyed reading this post! Congrats on your accomplishments! I think it's great that you were willing to step outside of your comfort zone and that it turned out so well. I am the worst at trying new things. I tend to get really competitive and impatient, so if I am not good at something, I rarely have the tenacity to keep going. Any form of sport that requires remotely any exercise is a good example of this for me, so I envy you a little bit for having the strength to stick with it!
ReplyDeleteI really liked what you posted. I agree with what you have to say on trying on new things and that it can change the world. If everyone had the desire you did to go out and try something new and did not give up until you had achieved what you wanted, we would be living in a completely different world. Keep working hard and thanks for making a difference.
ReplyDeleteOkay Kira, I totally loved this post. I am a creature of habit. My comfort zone is incredibly..well..comfortable! I don't like to be spontaneous or doing things that will make me uncomfortable. However, I know that the times I have given it a shot, the feeling is so wonderful! I love hearing how you challenged yourself. You're so right that the only thing that matters is giving it your best, whether or not you come out on top. Just like Vorhaus taught us, 'focus on the process, not the product.' Giving up is so easy to do, but you're absolutely right that it garners zero growth. I think it's through pushing ourselves through the toughest situations that we can learn and grow the most. I love your Churchill quote, and I think it's really relatable. I am such a sucker for cheesy inspirational quotes, and I love that one. I had never seen it before but I definitely want to remember it. Thank you for this great reminder of stepping outside of your comfort zone, and the great example you gave of doing it yourself! Great job!
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