Lessons in each step
- SheaStyle
- Apr 2, 2019
- 6 min read
Maybe the view at the top is everything you were supposed to see in the steps to get there...
My attitude can best be represented by the infamous lyrics by Queen, "I want it all, I want it all and I want it now"! Instant results, short cuts, driving in the fast lane are all things that (dare I say it) we all thrive on! I know that the number one reason I give up on something is because I am not getting the results I want in the amount of time I need it to happen in. I go on a diet for a day, hop on the scale the next, don't lose weight, then go stuff my face with cake; rinse and repeat about 1000 times and you just got a good insight into my daily struggles. I'm trying to reprogram my brain (2 steps forward, 1 step back) into not giving up when I am not seeing the results that I believe should be there. I'm learning that some of the best lessons, the unforgettable memories and the most appreciation doesn't lie in the results, but lies in the steps to reach those results. We tackle the mountain to reach the top, we sometimes forget to stop, take a look around and appreciate where we were and where we are going. The views aren't just great at the top, some of the best views are held within each step to get to there. Keep stepping, keep climbing and remember just because you have a long ways to go; don't forget to appreciate the steps it takes to get there.
Purrfect View
Let them think it's a spaceship
The simplest things can take you to the most magical places! Just look at Dewey and his magical spaceship, we won't tell him, it's just an ordinary Amazon box. Nor will we let Fun Filter know that I ordered something again!
TUNE INTO MY HEART
Celebrating Great Music
There are a number of things that can bring us to our knees, make us lose faith in humanity and even in ourselves. So many things that can turn the insides of our stomach and make us lose hope. People that have been to Hell and back and not only choose to keep going, but are there as constant reminder of all of the good that is still left in this world, they are my real heroes. If you have never heard of Michael Franti & Spearhead, this is a great song as your first experience with him. He's an amazing musician with amazing messages! Enjoy!
"Don't let mistakes be so monumental, don't let your love be so confidential, don't let your mind be so darn judgemental, and please let your heart be more influential. Be thankful for all that the spirit provides and be thankful for all that you see without eyes."--Michael Franti
WHO SAID IT BEST
If you haven't had the pleasure of watching Kid President, let me introduce you to him. He is long winded like myself and funny (also like myself)...here's a great pep talk, from a pretty cool kid! Don't forget to dance!
MY HAPPY
Shealad or SheaSalad (as promised)...
If someone mentioned "salad" for lunch or dinner it would instantly make me laugh because:
1.) They never filled me up and
2.) They are sooo booorring!!!
I'm with you Homer, this what I thought the key to livening up a salad consisted of; some cookies and doughnuts. Recently I have discovered that salads can actually be kind of exciting without adding any of the not so good items to it. My go to salad ingredients are spinach, broccoli slaw, cole slaw, lettuce, any and all peppers, mushrooms, onions and of course a little bacon for good measure. Another fun tip, if you add the right ingredients, dressing isn't really even needed! If you are like I was and couldn't fathom eating a salad as a meal, play around with it until you find the right healthy ingredients that keeps you begging for more! When you find the winning combo, add a fun name that will have everyone wanting to taste what you have (ummmm, okay, moving on)!
The fat girl inside is always hungry
https://dinnerthendessert.com/cookie-dough-brownies/....so I made these this weekend because weekends are when the fat girl inside me is the loudest! I am not super great about following recipes mostly because I screw up, but sometimes it's because I think I have better ideas. For this recipe I just took 2 boxes of brownie mix (yeah, 2, I told you fat girl is loud and needy) and I mixed up according to the box direction and baked in a 9x13 pan at 350 degrees for 47 minutes. Why use box brownies, well because why reinvent the wheel. I let them cool and then added the frosting per the directions in the recipe, plus a few more chocolate chips because you can never have too many! WARNING: They are rich and are not healthy, at all!!! as Fun Filter says "A Kelly slice is way too much." For those of you wondering a "Kelly slice" is three times that of a normal humans slice. If you ask me to slice you a piece, be ready for the biggest slice you have ever seen. On the plus side, I haven't been asked to be a cake server at anyone's wedding since that one time, so "Kelly Slice" is gold!
SheaStyle
The one where Shea finds life lessons in the gym
I can't do this. I can't do that. What do we get when we focus on the things that we can't do? Disappointed, that's what we get. I talk a lot about the gym because frankly, at my age, at this stage in my life, that is where a lot of my life lessons come from. I have said and will always say, you will learn more about yourself in 45 minutes in a gym setting, than you will in most situations in life.
A couple of weeks ago I was getting frustrated with myself because I couldn't do the things I thought I should be able to do in the gym. I was putting so much pressure on myself; comparing myself to others, looking at all the things that I couldn't do, getting frustrated in how few of reps I was getting, my form, etc...once I started to raise that hammer of negativity, it kept beating me down until I started to lose interest in the gym altogether. For personal reasons and to get a better sense of clarity, I took a week off. Honestly, it was one of the best decisions I have made in quite some time. I was able to step back, take a look at myself and think of all of the things that I am, instead of all of the things I am not. When I returned, I not only appreciated the gym setting more, I appreciated the person that I was even more.
I understand what the desire to compare ourselves to others and the need to be able to do the things we can't, but what I have learned is that everything takes time! Things that come easily for someone else, might not come easily to you. Does that make you any less important? Absolutely not! It makes you unique. It makes you, you!
It's hard to not get consumed in the negativity, to wish that we were more, but the next time you decide to pick that "hammer" of things that you are not and you begin to start pounding yourself down, take that "hammer" and think of all of the things you are and start building yourself up. If you are in a gym setting; keep a journal, keep track of each workout and write down how many burpees you did, how long you ran for without stopping. Take the time and look back at your notes as the weeks progress on and see that you might have started out with 2, but now you are at 3; congratulate yourself on your progress! Be proud of you!
Listen, you may never do a handstand. You may never run without stopping. But with every attempt, every progression to get there, you learn something new about the person that you are. You are not a quitter! You are not less than! You are a fighter! You are strong! You are amazing!
Not everyone gets the gym. I at one time in my life, didn't get it either, but the gym is the only place I have ever experienced getting tore down, built back up and transforming into the best person that I could possibly be. I am still a work in progress. I still have set backs. Each and every time I think I have reached the end of my transformation phase, another breakdown occurs, I get tore down and I rise even further than I ever have before. From my experience, the number of reps, the things we can't do aren't what build us up, it's everything we do to get there that transforms us into everything we are supposed to be.
The gym is magical, it's one of the few places you can go in as one person and come out as someone completely different! Every time I walk through those doors, I know a whole new world is waiting for me to explore. Each and every day is a new adventure; new beginnings, new possibilities, new lessons, a brand new you. Stepping inside those four walls I know a transformation is going to occur; how far the transformation takes me is up to me; so far I've let it take me beyond anything I ever imagined!
" You have to find what's GOOD & TRUE & BEAUTIFUL in your life as it is now."--Tuesdays with Morrie
Nothing Butta love for you all!
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