How To Conquer Your Uphill Battles
Earlier in my career, I was a fitness instructor and competitive fitness model. In fact, I won the national title four times! I wanted to bring everything I’d learned about fitness to other women, so I started a bootcamp. Then, I was unexpectedly diagnosed with cancer. It was out of nowhere. I felt like such a failure! How could this happen? I was drowning in negative self talk. This huge challenge led me on a journey of discovering how we are truly #BetterTogether, no matter what climb we’re on. In this blog, I want to share some how I've conquered some of the biggest uphill battles in my life.
I recently had an interview with the Trained By The Lamb Podcast, and I wanted to share some of the stories we chatted about! If you'd like to listen rather than read, you can do so with this player:
What Breast Cancer Taught Me
After I was diagnosed with cancer and had my pity party, I started to pray. Then, God started show me that I needed to do in order to move forward. First, He motivated me to show up for all the women I was leading through my fitness bootcamp. I knew I had to keep getting up and being an example no matter what my diagnosis was. I have to be honest with you, some days this was really hard!
As I continued to lead this bootcamp, the ladies who signed up became more of a support to me than they may have realized. As I was going through treatment, I began to learn more and more about fitness and mindset too. I shared those lessons with the ladies in my class too! After all, we were just there to lift weights, but our mindsets and our food made a huge impact on the workout.
Bet On Yourself
If you’ve read my new book, Addicted to the Climb, you know that my mom’s example of showing up for life even though she was crippled most of my life made a huge impression on me. I had to follow the example she made for me.
Sure, I could have stayed in bed and simply felt sorry for myself, but why would I. When you’re faced with a decision to move forward or not, you have to move forward. If you don’t, you get stuck or move backwards.
Dolls, if you’re facing a decision like this, I want to encourage you to take a chance on yourself! I always tell people to bet on themselves. I know it’s so hard to do this. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I cried, I felt all the emotions, and I didn’t want to keep moving forward. But I definitely didn’t want to stay where I was either! If you do anything today, make the decision to keep going.
My Son's Tumor Diagnosis
In my book club, we recently read the story of my son, Little Tony. When he was still a baby, he suddenly became very sick. We took him to the children’s hospital and found out that he had a brain tumor. Talk about devastating! I could have been paralyzed in fear, but again I had a choice to make. Was I going to stay stuck with this diagnosis for my child, or was I going to move forward in faith for my entire family? We moved forward, and I’m so happy to share that my now teenage son is healthy!
Addicted To The Climb is my mantra and my whole story - no matter what, you’re going to have challenges. But my greatest advice is to NEVER stop climbing. After all, every single climb you take will make you stronger for the next one.
My Mother's Example of Faith
So I’ve shared a few of my challenges already, but can we take a trip along memory lane for a moment? I learned all about staying on the climb from my mother.
When I was born, my mother had severe rheumatoid arthritis. She went through over thirty major surgeries and was scarred head to toe. But even as a little girl, I always saw her sitting at the table reading her Bible. When I got older, I almost made fun of her habits. But her example, prayers, and words of faith ingrained in my mind just how much God loved me.
Then, just four years ago, I lost my mom. I was an only child, so she was my rock. Honestly, without her I literally hit rock bottom. It was so hard. But the same faith that she showed me began to help me climb out of that pit.
I learned a lot from my mom, even after she passed away. When I was a child, she never really pushed Jesus on me. She let me live my life, but she always explained the way God wanted me to live. I know now that she really wanted me to desire having my own faith, rather than pushing her faith on me. This example was my model for leading my children. Here's how...
Being A Light For Your Children
As a mom, I see that my kids pay attention to my example more than my words. If I try to push faith on them, they don't listen very closely. I didn't realize how difficult this was when I was a teen! But I learned that as parents, we need to be the light in our home. Even if our kids are going through a rebellious phase, they will see that light. From seeing this in my own life and in my kids, I want to encourage parents who may have children going through a rebellious phase. NEVER stop praying for your kids! They will come back.
How COVID Changed My Faith
Now, through all those lessons, my faith plays a huge role in my health, business, and my entire life. I know that God will stay on the climb with me no matter what happens. It’s a good thing I walked through those challenges, becauseI had to really lean into that faith again when COVID hit.
I felt like my life was put on hold! I couldn’t go to the gym or teach my bootcamp anymore. It would have been so easy to slip back into feeling sorry for myself. But I made a choice to use the time while I was stuck at home to simply open up my Bible.
I actually set up a room in my house like a War Room. I used this room for my Bible reading and quiet time. During this time, I dug deep into Scripture. I wanted to keep learning and lean into my faith. Remember, we are always on a journey in life.
Sometimes it’s hard to know where we’re going, right? When COVID hit, I felt a little lost. But as I pressed into the Word, I felt led to start a women’s Bible study online. I’ve shown up every Monday night for almost two years now for these ladies! That was a huge change from leading a bootcamp, but it has been so powerful.
I also have a few capstone fitness programs that I lead online now! It’s been so meaningful to work with ladies from all over to help them grow their faith and fitness.
The Faith and Fitness Connection
I believe that faith and fitness are really the same kind of walk. No matter what we’re talking about, it’s important to know what your daily patterns are. Whatever you start doing consistently is a pattern. It will eventually become a habit!
In the beginning of being stuck at home, I didn’t really have a routine in the morning. But I decided to commit to spending five minutes in the morning to spend time in the Word instead of starting my day on social media. This empowered me to start the day inspired rather than starting the day stuck in a comparison trap!
Just like that habit of reading the Bible, you can think about patterns in fitness. Do you drive by Starbucks every day and get a latte? Maybe you need to make a change to get healthier! Working out is the same thing - it’s a pattern that you need to establish. What is something small you can change to begin working out?
What To Do When You Slip Up
Of course, we’re all human. We miss days here and there in those healthy patterns. But I make a conscious effort to do the things I want to make habits. I do my best to read my Bible for my first five minutes of the day. After establishing the habit of working out, I began to really miss it if I didn’t show up on a workout day. Faith-fueled fitness is all about setting habits, following through, and showing up.
Sometimes, we have to keep doing the healthy thing until it becomes a habit. For example, I made eating a salad every day a habit! I used to be a junk food junkie, but I realized that eating healthier foods made me feel great! I focused on how it was making me feel as I established those patterns, and was motivated to keep doing it!
Sometimes, showing up for all your goals can make you really tired. So, instead of going all in immediately (for example, committing to only eating salads all week), you can make smaller changes. Remember, even if you do one small thing every day, those small changes add up!
My Advice To Stay Consistent
Here is what I tell people to do when it feels impossible to show up: The question you can ask yourself is, “How do I want to feel at the end of the day?”
When it’s a food decision, ask yourself how eating something will make you feel. Do you want to feel bloated and tired? Do you want to feel bad about the choice later? No? Then skip it!
I know that when I ate fast food, I would go off the rails and feel awful. I wasn’t hitting my fitness goals, I didn’t feel energized and strong, and I didn’t like my results! So I had to start putting myself in motion. Once you get started, it’s easier to keep going. But we always have the choice. Will you choose to feel good and be happy with your choices?
Then, remember WHY you’re trying to make those choices. Focusing on the end goal can help you stay consistent!
How To Be #BetterTogether
My number one life lesson is: Don’t do things alone! When you put yourself on an island, it’s harder to keep going. I used to be that way. I thought I could do everything on my own. I wouldn’t work with coaches or stay accountable with friends.
Then I learned a secret. When you lock arms with likeminded women who are heading in the same direction, you’ll 10x your growth! You will be amazed at just how powerful this is. I always encourage the women in my community to simply show up and hold each other accountable.
After all, no one succeeds alone. We are #bettertogether. We’ll succeed in climbing higher when we climb together.
Resources To Stay On The Climb Together
I had a great interview on the Trained By The Lamb Podcast about how we need each other in this journey of faith and fitness! You can listen to it here.
Join my Facebook community full of other women on the climb. We encourage and inspire each other every week, and we even have Bible studies every Monday night!
Get your copy of my book, Addicted To The Climb, on Amazon. I shared over thirty of my most personal faith challenges, and I know they'll inspire you to keep going!
