Live Fearlessly - Sometimes Easier Said Than Done

One of the things I love about working out is when I work out, I have no time to worry.  I have no time to be anxious.

My goal -- LIVE fearlessly!

Maybe some of you are saying, "What could you possibly be anxious about?  What do you worry about?"  Well let me tell you --  I worry about

Retirement

Health

My weight

My belly fat

My kids

Our Business

Our finances

If my trainer had to stop helping me, how would I do?

Will there be a United States for my grandchildren to live in?

Will I even have grandchildren?

Now some of you might say, Now, come on Patty.  You know what the Bible says.  Well let me tell you, I do know what the Bible says.  I should have Philippians 4:6 engraved on my forehead.  I also know there are great books like Dale Carnegie's "How to Stop Worrying and Stop Living."  And for the most part I do really well keeping myself in check.  There are times however, where it proves to be more challenging.

Something happened on Monday that momentarily took my breath away.  Thankfully, nobody was hurt, but the anxious thoughts have been resurfacing all week.  So my point here is that when I work out, I pretty much can only think about one thing - the workout.  Working out also makes you happier.  Remember what Elle Woods said in Legally Blonde while trying to clear Brooke's name?  "Exercise gives you endorphins.  Endorphins make you happy.  Happy people don't shoot their husbands.  They just don't."

AMRAP = As Many Rounds As Possible

Since this blog is also a summary of my 20 week plan of which I am completing week two, I wanted to share something cool that happened on Wednesday morning.  I was doing a "Ryan" workout which consisted of 20 Kettlebell swings, 15 kettlebell deadlifts, 10 kettlebell rows, 5 gassers for 25 minutes straight - AMRAP.  I'm always setting goals for myself, so I wanted to try and get 5 rounds done in 5 minutes.  I had my headphones on and my music blaring and I went after it.  There was a young man (mid-20s) working out in the same room as me.  I've never seen him before.  He was doing his workout, I was doing mine.  After the 3rd round, I was walking back from the sprints to the kettlebells and he got my attention.  (Remember I had headphones on.)  I looked at him and he raised his hand in the high five position.  It brought a smile to my face as I high fived him back.  It was nice a 20-something was encouraging a 55 year old woman.

This girl helps me forget my worries in a hurry!

So back to my week and my worries.  Let me tell you - I can quote the words to the song "One Day at a Time."  I can quote the article, "One Day at a Time."  I can almost quote all of "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living."  Heck I can even quote Baby in Dirty Dancing,   "Me?  I'm scared of everything.  I'm scared of what I saw, I'm scared of what I did, of who I am, and most of all I'm scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I'm with you."  (Great movie by the way.)

So it's okay to be scared or anxious.  I still struggle at times and that's okay!  But I work on getting myself back on track as soon as I can because I know I do NOT want to live in fear or live with anxiety.  And for me - exercising helps me get back on track mentally -- whether it's the endorphins or just the great friendships I have built--I get my head back to its happy place.

It's been a successful week two of twenty.  My challenges this week were more of the mental sort.  But I got all the workouts done and the calorie deficit met and it's on to week three from here.  If you struggle with worries or anxiety, do all you know to do to "beat it" and come to the gym and exercise too!  Tori and I work out every Tuesday and Thursday at 9:00 a.m. together and we are always looking for more people to join us!  Have a great week!