Greatest Joy = Paying It Forward

I think I have said from my first post in this blog, that I hoped one day to be able to "pay it forward" and help others who want to improve their overall health through fitness and exercise. Here is my first story related to paying it forward....hope to have many more as time goes on!!

I had the honor (about a month or so ago) of a friend of mine asking me to start walking with her a couple of times a week to help get her started in a workout / walking program. We began a 3 day / week training program that started out with walking and has progressed into a walk / run program. Little did we know that about 5 weeks later, she would enter and complete her first 5K!! I have to say that it was not only an honor to be asked to help someone out...but it was an even greater honor to see her push through aches, pains, sweating and the "I can'ts " that creap in, to beat her personal record in her first 5K.

When starting out, it would take her an hour to complete 2.9-3.2 miles with her best training 5k done in 53.36, and on last Saturday she completed her first "official" 5k in 50 minutes!! She has worked hard and been dedicated to consistent training and it paid off for her! I am so proud of her!!

I told Frank the other day that I was more excited after coaching her through the 5k than I was after beating my own personal record! What a joy it was to pay it forward and help someone to push through barriers and "I can'ts" and recognize how strong she really is....

We all have it in us...you just have to find that thing from within that gets you up and moving, be it a friend, by yourself, an exercise video, a team...what ever it is, you too can find it if you want to...then you too can hopefully experience the joy of knowing that you can push through things that you never thought possible. Then maybe you too can experience the joy of paying it forward.


                                 The Big Finish!!


 
Our Team! Angie in front next to me....and she's still smiling!! :o)

Finding Balance in the Journey

Some might not "get" where I am coming from....but I have found that balance is such an important aspect in my life! It is through finding balance that I have been able to become better at more areas of life and  become less frustrated from the sense of spinning my wheels! It is about knowing when to be still and when to be active and finding that balance between the two that gets me through life!!

It is quite obvious that God intended for us to not be sedintary. He purposefully gave us arms and legs so that we could move! Even in scripture, He tells us to be doers, take up the cross, exercise faith....and the list goes on!! But...with everyday  life it seems difficult, at times, to get moving.

Then on the flip side the scripture also tells us to "be still"....hmmm.....so how do we find the balance between "being still" and "being doers"? I think that we each have to find that balance within ourselves!! You have to reach down deep inside and MAKE the time for both, because it is this balance and the peace that comes from it, that enables you to make it through the challenges of each day!! If you don't take the time to be still, you will not be rested and ready for doing....and if you don't engage in doing, then you will not build up strength to endure or be clear minded enough to truly rest and be still.

An overly sedintary lifestyle creates tiredness, ailments, obesity, anxiety and can create complacency in your life. While being overly obsessed with movement creates being over stimulated, exhaustion, and less time for being "still". Neither of these should become a single primary focus, but it our responsibility to find the balance between the two.

For example, start by taking 10 minutes in the morning (or evening...whatever your preference) to be still, read scripture, pray, meditate, read a devotional and then take another 10 minutes to do cardio, walk, stretch, or any kind of movement, you will be amazed at how much better you will feel in as little as one week!! As you realize how much better your day / week goes, you will start to find more time (even in small increments) where you can increase movement and even will learn how to combine quiet time with your movement!!

I sometimes even combine my "quite time" with my "moving time"....how you ask?? I quit using my headphones while running (because I spent so much time and energy trying to get them to stay in my ears that I became distracted and frustrated) and started really looking and listening to Gods creations, quoting scripture to get me motivated, listening to my breathing as it comes into rhythm with my running, focusing on relaxing and releasing the stressors of the day!!

So, I encourage you to take time this week to be still and to be moving!! Then let me know in a week or two what a difference it  has made in your life!! I think you will soon find, that the more balance you have in your life, the more time you will find to help create that balance through quiet time and movement....