I have to say, in the past month, I have probably learned just as much, if not more, than the 100+ people from around the US and Canada that took part in the first Extreme Weight Loss Destination Bootcamp (EWLDBC) at the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center. Though it was busy, and quite crazy at times, it is pretty neat to reflect back, now that all has calmed down.
I wanted to share today, one of the amazing individuals I came in contact with. (There are lots of incredible individuals and stories that came out of this week, so no promises you won’t hear more 🙂 )
I’ll call this young lady, Sarah. She came to us at over 400 pounds and doing something as simple as walking was far from an easy task. One of the challenges at the beginning of the week, for Bootcamp, was for teams to carry over 1,000 lbs up 3 flights of stairs. Each week there were 2 teams – so you guessed it, they were racing!
Sarah, knowing her battle to walk let alone climb stairs, came to one of our Fitness Specialists, head down and discouraged. She shared that she couldn’t help her team and couldn’t do this challenge. Though her face displayed apparent defeat before even beginning the task, the Fitness Specialist ask, “Sarah, can you lift?” Her eyes lit up. With all the confidence in the world she replied, “I can lift, girl, I can really lift!”
Sarah would find her role on the team at the top of the 3rd flight of stairs, taking weight from those who had climbed the stairs and placing them on landing. Sarah’s team, well they won.
A teammate came up to Sarah afterwards and let her know, she was the reason they won. “Without you taking the weight from me, I would’ve slowed us down trying to carry that weight an extra couple of yards. You were the deal breaker in our only by a few seconds win!” he told her grinning ear to ear.
Though we are not always physically carrying weight each day, often times we feel weighted down by situations in life. How many times do we think we cannot do something and give up before we have even started? How often do we put the emphasis on our weaknesses instead of strengths, comparing ourselves to someone else that can do something we envy? Whether physical or mental, start thinking about all that you CAN do with whatever you are dealing with and utilize that to get you to where you wish to go. Focus on your journey, and how far you have come instead of looking around to all the roads you have yet to travel – for those are for another day. If your journey to a better you has yet to begin, I challenge you to start today!
What do you believe is possible for you?
Take time to think about something you have yet to do, because in your mind, you can’t. Maybe it’s a certain event like a 5k or maybe something outside of exercise. Make it personal to you! Now write out your strengths. Move outside of your comfort zone and do. You are the only thing holding you back! Be changed for the better today!
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