This is your truth…

Why do we spend so much of our lives thinking we can’t?

No matter what it is, whether it’s weight loss, a career or some idea that makes a lot of sense inside our head we waste years defeating ourselves with thoughts of “I can’t”, “I shouldn’t”, “I never will”…

We seriously need to stop that shit.

What we need is a good old round of “Oh hell fucking yes I can!” Listen, we deserve this (whatever “this” is for you). Most of my life I watched people around me go off and become what they wanted. In all my relationships, I spent far too much energy making sure that those that I loved felt empowered to do what they wanted; All the while, those crappy voices in my head kept saying I wasn’t good enough to do the same.

It wasn’t until I stopped focusing on what I thought other people needed and really began looking at myself and what I needed did I understand that I didn’t have to give up my dreams just because someone I loved had dreams of their own. It was scary to tell someone that I wanted to lose weight and that meant there was going to have to be a shift in the way I ate. It was scary to tell that someone I was going to be getting up at 4:30 every morning to be at the gym by 5 and that I was going to use money to pay for a trainer. It was scary to tell that someone I wanted to do things like run races and triathlons and become an athlete….and it was scary to tell that someone that being in the relationship after 10 years together was not where I wanted to be.

I have to constantly remind myself that I am deserving of the life I am so passionate about chasing.

I made that little picture up there as not only a reminder to anyone that happens upon my blog, facebook, twitter or instagram account but more importantly for me. As Meegan starts to heal and find herself in a stronger place emotionally I have to remember that I get to continue to chase my dreams as she too begins to feed the fire inside of her. We all deserve to be everything we were meant to be no matter how insignificant we feel or how impossible the dream is.

When I started losing weight, the idea of running for a mile non-stop seemed so far fetched it kept me from lacing up my shoes and trying. When I started losing weight the idea of lifting heavy things seemed so far fetched it kept me from getting off the elliptical and into the weight room. When I started losing weight the idea of losing over 100 pounds seemed so far fetched it kept me from believing in myself.

Today I am a marathoner because I deserve it.

Today I am a triathlete because I deserve it.

Today I continue maintaining my weight loss because I deserve it.

Stop thinking you can’t. Stop looking at the big picture of what it’s going to take to get you to where you want to be. Stop focusing in on every one around you and start focusing in on the most important person there is in your life: YOU. Stop thinking you don’t have the energy or the time. Make the time and you will find the energy. Stop thinking of this journey as something negative (“How did I let myself get so fat?” “Everyone else is better than me.”) and become your biggest cheerleader (“Who the hell cares how I got this way, what’s important is I won’t stay this way”, “I’m going to show myself and anyone watching that I can kick ass”).

I need you to stand up.

I need you to take control.

I need you to believe you deserve this.

The biggest part of this journey for me is that no one feels like they are alone. The more there are of us standing up, taking control and moving forward, the more people will allow that fire to spark inside of them. I didn’t just wake up one day and say “Oh screw this, I’m going to lose 100 pounds”. I started by reading a blog . The more I read about Tyler the more I started to believe that I deserved this. The more I read about other people’s story the more I began to believe that I deserved what they were going after. When something felt too big, I turned to people that had already been where I wanted to be and it gave me the strength to keep going. If they could, so could I.

I can never go back. I can never give up on myself because someone needs to believe in themselves and I’m here to tell them it’s possible. That’s what our stories do. They inspire. They help people to begin the process of going from “I can’t” to “I deserve this”. You think what you do is nothing important but believe me when I say someone, somewhere needs you to stand up, take control and believe you deserve this so they can do the same…

You inspire me to be better.

You inspire me to be stronger.

You inspire me to live.

Because I deserve it.