I can't

For some reason this week has been filled with inspiring articles and videos about kids and fitness. Everything from an article about how telling kids they can't do something can actually change their ability to be able to do it, to a video of kids talking about how much they like yoga! And then the week culminated with a really amazing video by Always about what it means to do something "like a girl."

These were all very touching for various reasons but I think the biggest one is realizing how much we are held back and how much it affects us as an adult. I know I find myself saying "I'm not strong enough" or "I can't" very often. I am constantly falling back on my lack of background as an athlete to explain why I can't or might never be able to do something and somehow taking comfort in that. Until the next time I am reminded that I really want to do it!

It's actually kind of crazy if you actually make a conscious effort to stop saying "I can't..." You don't realize how much you say it until you try to stop. Like working on 3-position cleans and doing a full squat each time. I kept wanting to say "I can't squat bellow parallel with a flat back due to my tight hip flexors." While it's true that I have issues with my hips and glutes, my coach remarked that sometimes I did it correctly and sometimes I didn't. He was only correcting me when I didn't do it right so I thought I was doing it wrong every time. But when he mentioned that I did it right sometimes it kinda blew my "I can't" out of the water! I think the truth is "It's uncomfortable and takes too long to do it correctly so I'm sacrificing my form." Put like that I realize that it's not that I can't but that I don't want to put in the effort.

That small shift is kind of amazing though. Suddenly you realize you can do anything if you are willing to put in the effort. And sometimes the effort is quite immense, time consuming, and even painful. But knowing that if you are willing to endure it, you CAN do it, well that changes everything!

Breakfast:
oatmeal, strawberries, banana

Snack:
Feel Good Hearty Granola Bar

Lunch:
Speedy Veggie Noodle Bowl

Snack:
Feel Good Hearty Granola Bar
Apple

Dinner:
All Hale Kale Bowl from Yellow Fever

Exercise:
CrossFit
yoga