It’s Time

Like a few of my athlete buddies, I’m a self-motivator.

As a kid playing basketball, I discovered that made me the exception, not the rule. In addition to playing by them, I played my guts out– regardless of what the current social pecking order was.

It was MY performance that mattered most to me, not who was going to invite me for sleepovers that weekend.

By the time I graduated high school and started coaching, I had also discovered something else:  most folks–no matter how old they are–need encouragement.

Not the half-assed, blow smoke up your butt kind (I mean COME ON?! Seriously?), but the “Ok, I get who you are, I SEE you. You’ll have to work hard, but You’ve. Got. This!!!” kind.

The thing with this kind of support is, You Have to Pay Attention and really truly Speak to the Person you know they are meant to be. You also have to show them who you are, imperfections and all.

Hopefully, if you stick by their side and continue encouraging meaningfully, you wind up showing them how to do it for themselves. The end result is someone who takes pride in who they are, and that’s a package deal. Mistakes, false-starts, failures, and successes included.

So, by the time I started my Facebook page (Fitness Outside of the Box), I had a pretty clear idea of what I could do on a daily basis to help the masses not only get through their day, but Kick Ass at it.

A great bonus is how sharin’ my superpowers makes me feel. (Freakin’ Fantastic!) I mean, honestly, life tears me away at times but I never can be away from my people for long. Turns out, they encourage me too!

One thing I’m in the habit of doing is posting pictures of myself post workout.

This is one of my favorites.

Life had just gotten through kicking me around pretty bad and I was worn out. I’d also discovered that quite a few folks weren’t the friends I thought they were. I spent a couple weeks away from it all, licking my wounds and dealing with the fall out of emotions.

Just when folks were about to start worrying, something happened. On an early spring morning, a tidal wave of Fierce rolled through me. After it subsided, I felt a fire in my belly slowly making its way to my heart.

So, after doing my favorite CrossFit workout, I snapped this pic, posted something *RAHR*, and took myself out for pancakes.

For me, the picture signified a couple things.

First of all, I wanted all my people on the page to see that even though I’d been down, I was no longer out. You can see it on my face. I’ve made it through the worst of it and going to have no trouble fighting the  rest of the way back.

This is what life looks like on a person. Being able to share that with my peeps means everything to me.

I also meant it as a giant F-U to those losers who betrayed me, and maybe I’m wrong? But I think I got the point across.

After the setbacks of the last 4 months, I find myself at that same crossroads. I can either keep being sad and feeling sorry, or I can set myself free and roar like the Lion I was born to be.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I think it’s time to bust out the big guns again.

(psst.? Me!! Sillies!)

Oh, and here is my new song–with just a teensy weensy smidge of F-U thrown in for my haters. : )

This blog is dedicated to Melissa Foster, her daddy Mac Shavers, and the rest of the 3,654 Loves of My Life on Facebook. *ROAR*