Blog

Your 5 Whys

10/30/2019

Part of being ready, willing, and able is knowing WHY you're doing something in the first place.

Yesterday was World Stroke Day. When I think about what is important in my life, when I really dig down deep about the kind of person I want to be and know WHY, it’s because of events that yesterday represented.

Knowing what's important to us and why gives us direction and purpose.
If we live according to those values, life (and often, good health) "flows" almost effortlessly.

When we don’t do what we believe or feel in our gut to be "right", we don't feel good. And our bodies show it.

So, what do you value?
Dig down for a second.

What's most important to you in life? Why?
What kind of person do you want to be? Why?

Are you living those values? Chances are not as well as you'd like.

Ask yourself why do I want to accomplish this?

Then, with whatever answer you come up with, ask why again and again
I’m reminded of my toddler asking “why” with every answer I give her, BUT there is something to that method.

For instance, for me:
"I want to be healthy."

Why do I want to be healthy? Because I want to feel strong in everything I do
Why do I want to be strong in everything I do? Because I’ve been “weak” due to an injury and I don’t like how I feel
Why don’t I like how I feel? Because I feel like I’m losing a part of my identity not being “strong.”
Why do I feel like I’m losing my identity not being strong? Because I’ve never known myself not to be physically strong and this scares me
Why does it scare me? Because a part of me feels that if I’m not active like I was, I will inherit the same issues as my mom did: diabetes, heart attack and stroke.

Wow.
That’s a lot of insight for a few little questions.
For me, being healthy really means being in charge of my life to prevent outcomes like my mom.

That’s a crucial insight.

I’m not just looking to be as strong as I was.
I also want to feel a certain way at the end of the process. Strong. More energetic. More in control of the outcome (even though we have no way of knowing what will actually happen, at least I can say I did everything I could).
And that's what's really important to me.
Being strong is just a way to get there.

Your 5 Whys
Ok, now it’s your turn to play. Write down your 5 Whys.
Really.
Give it some thought.
Be honest.

If you’d care to share send me a DM, I’d love to hear from you and even help you get there!

Nourish your purpose now,

Rebecca

Enjoy the process...

9/19/2019

I want to share my “lifting” session today.
I am restricted on how heavy I can go and even the intensity.
Some days I’m in the mood for heavy lifting but I have to be smart so that I don’t have a flare up.
In the end, 20 minutes is all that was needed for this light session of squats and deadlifts.
As you can see, my heart rate stayed within the blue. Meaning it didn’t go beyond 123. I only burned 62 calories which isn’t very much. But it was never my intent beat myself up.
I want us to begin thinking of our workouts as a practice, much like yoga. Yoga is a practice. Our workouts should be too.
I only focused on two things: Squats and deadlifts. They weren’t heavy but they were purposeful.
They weren’t fast, they were slow and controlled. Each rep taking the time to pause and feel that mind muscle engagement versus repping them out quickly to get it over with.
I feel refreshed, accomplished and ready to go about the rest of my day.
We don’t have to beat ourselves up to get where we want to go. It’s taken me decades to finally realize this mentally and physically.
Be consistent. Celebrate those small wins and enjoy the process.
What area of your life do you need to loosen the reigns a little or maybe even a lot?

Where were you.....

9/11/2019

It's hard to believe it was 18 years ago today...

The September 11th attacks that changed our country.

I was working in the Bakery Dept at Costco that morning. I remember someone coming in and saying we've been attacked. Several of us started wondering out of the Bakery, meeting up with the Meat Dept and walking up to the break room.

For most of that morning, everything stood still. We watched the break room TV for what seemed like forever. Pretty soon most of the warehouse was gathered in there stunned. We saw the second plane hit. We couldn't believe it. We were questioning what we saw on TV. Did that just really happen?

We gathered in prayer that morning all holding hands in a circle and went back to work. We still had a job to do getting the warehouse ready for opening. I think by that point, we just did what was priority and didn't worry about anything else.

I was also working at Veterinary Clinic on Wyoming for my clinical back when I went to school to be a Veterinary Assistant. One of the ladies I had gone to school with had traveled to NYC the day before. The anticipation waiting to hear back if she was OK or not was unsettling.

It seemed the drive home was almost like I was in a trace. When I came home my mom had rolled out the big TV to her work space so she could have it on nonstop for weeks.

I really don't know what my "message" is here today - other than to tell your family you love them. Give those extra snuggles and hugs to your kiddos even when there's so much work to be done.

We're not guaranteed the ability to do that tomorrow.

I know my tag line is Nourish Your Purpose Now but this sinks in my heart even more today.

I'm grateful for you,

Rebecca

Ready, fire, aim- If we wait to aim, we'll never fire!

8/2/2019

When craving for a change in our lives often a big decision needs to be made.
Maybe you’ll be thinking about something for a long time and gathering all the information you need to make the right decision. Maybe you've gathered so much information that you're frozen on what to do next.
Often what happens is indecision. Maybe it’s because of fear of the unknown or the “what if’s” that could happen.
Maybe you have that negative self-talk going on in your head telling you're not good enough or perhaps you've got someone telling you you'll never accomplish what you want.

Or maybe you could be in a state complacency with no drive to go after what you've been thinking.
Here’s the thing, making that decision is one thing, but taking ACTION is what needs to happen to be the leader of our own lives. The cool thing is it doesn’t need to be anything monumental, yet.
It could be one action like:

I’m going for a walk today
I’m going to drink all my water today
I’m going to put down my phone and play with my kids
I’m going to turn off the TV and read a book
I’m going to move for 10-15 minutes today

....don’t worry about it being perfect. You can always course correct along the way. My coach Todd always says, "ready, fire, aim. If you wait to aim you'll never fire."

Think about one thing that you can do immediately to make a change in your life and also think about one big change you need to make but might take some more time to accomplish.

Commit to them and make your move!

We survived!

7/12/2019

June was unbelievably crazy!
9 appointments between doctors and physical therapy, Father’s Day, wedding anniversary, 2 birthday parties, Sophie’s birthday, birthday trip we planned 10 months ago to see one of her favorite bands Aerosmith, family birthday party for her, seeing old friends from Colorado, dance recital....
and I’m sure there is something else I’m forgetting.....

These little ones are growing so quickly I don’t want to miss a moment.

And I’m not!
Sometimes your silent whispers become so loud you can’t hear anything else.
Sometimes they happen not according to plan.
Sometimes an injury makes things happen.

Either way, knowing what you want and putting it out into the universe is the first step to actually getting there!

October of 2017 I went to our Todd Durkin Mastermind Retreat in beautiful Telluride, Colorado.

Todd set aside specific questions and time for us to fill out our 2-3 year vision, 5-10 year vision, Moonshot Ideas and more importantly a Fear Exercise to help those Moonshot Ideas come to fruition. He sets aside a specific amount of time throughout the retreat to take our time, think, write and massage our answers. He knows we probably won't take the time to work on it when we're home but this is where all the magic starts!

In the beginning I had just surface goals of what I wanted my studio to have, look like, other coaches etc. However, as we dug deeper into the 2-3 year vision and the fear exercises, the REAL intentions poured onto paper.

What came out was true to the heart and it was to actually let go of my studio altogether. Letting go of a dream I had carried in my mind and in my heart for over 12 years as a fitness professional to say YES to something else. My kids. My family. Myself. Once I put it out into the universe October 2017, everything happened within 4 months to let go of my studio, set up in our extended space in the back, and go for it!

My message in all of this is to take the time in what you truly want, even if it's something (or maybe even someone) you need to let go of. It's OK to say no to something, it just means saying YES to something else.

Nourish your purpose now, recommit to you and make your move!

Rebecca

What are you willing to see differently?

6/25/2019

Change.
It’s an amazing experience when you’re able to let go and embrace change.
Today is our 14 year wedding anniversary.
Today and everyday I’m filled with gratitude and love.
Grateful for how things ARE.
Grateful for being able to BE.
Cherishing every moment.
Before meeting this handsome guy I never wanted to get married. I never wanted children. My mom would even say “oh you might change your mind one day.” I would just shake my head. Nope nope nope.
Well you know moms are always right.
Four months after we started dating this guy treated my mom out to breakfast one morning and asked her for her blessing.
She told him that she’s never seen me smile as much as I have until now.
She unequivocally gave him her blessing.
When she passed away, he wrote “I’ll take care of your girls Momma Jean.”
The old me would say “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.” And while that’s true, I’m so grateful for how special this man truly is, loves me for me, and how he makes my soul sing everyday
When you know you know.
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What are you willing to change about your old self to live a life of abundance, gratitude and happiness?
What are you willing to say good-bye too?
Maybe it's the expectation of how things or people in your life "should" be.
Maybe it's the negative self-talk you tell yourself everyday.
Maybe it's that self-talk that leads to lack of confidence, self-worth, and destructive behaviors.

What are you willing to see differently?
Maybe you get frustrated with people because they're aren't doing things "your" way and perhaps letting go of that control and realizing there's more than one way to get the same result will ease your frustration.
Maybe it's living in a state of gratitude everyday to change that state of mind.
Maybe it's caring about yourself enough to make those changes a little at a time.

What do you want your life to look like? Give it some thought. Massage your answers. Let it simmer for a few days and then come back to it and take action.

Nourish your purpose now, recommit to you and make your move.
Rebecca

Are you comparing yourself to others or even how you used to be?

5/8/2019

If you didn’t know this about me already, I’ve been in the Todd Durkin Mastermind Group for several years now collaborating and coaching with other fitness business professionals from around the world. It’s been a life changing experience and have built relationships with amazing fire breathing dragons who I call my family.

And right now we are all in a friendly MyZone competition. MyZone is a heart rate monitoring device that connects to your phone, allows you to see other people’s stats on heart rate, calories burned and MEPS earned (MyZone effort points, rewarding effort rather than fitness). You can also form challenges and section them off into teams which is what we’re doing for the month of May themed Game of Thrones, a show I admittedly have never seen.

I have THE one and only Todd Durkin on my team and let me tell you, it can be intimidating. This guy is a machine. The majority of these people are machines! I used to be a machine! Some still say I’m a machine. At my day job, my nicknames vary between “machine,” “Becca the board killer,” “workhorse,” “the boss,” etc. If you know my recent aliments, I certainly don’t feel like a machine lately.

Here’s the message I want to deliver. It’s YOU vs. YOU. Don't get caught up in the comparison trap!

I am not the same person I used to be physically. Nobody is really. Some people make a radical shift in their mindset and change their appearance and strength and that is always awesome to see. It’s important for me to address this because there seems to be an almost depressive state people get into when they think back of what they “used to do” to the point that they give up completely.

I’m going to do my Al Bundy reflection for a moment. I used to be a nationally ranked BMX competitor, state champion in my age group, figure competitor, and even competed in a triathlon not knowing how to swim and obstacle course Spartan Races. I would pride myself of how hard I could work at my day job then come home and kill it in my workouts and then the back yard. There is nothing greater than that sense of accomplishment.

Now, if I tried doing that with the same intensity that I had my body would shut down! When my body temperature gets too hot I go into a panic attack. If my heart rate goes too high for an extended period of time, I go into a panic attack. If I’m in any way without food for longer than 3 hours my blood sugar tanks. And now of course with this chronic chest pain, not only are my upper body workouts limited but so is any activity like yard work, working in the garage and even lifting little Emma on my left side.

BUT!! Here’s the lesson from the message. It’s one of my core values and that’s to keep climbing. We have to keep moving that needle 2mm each day to the direction we want to go. And we have to keep celebrating the small wins! We have to keep getting up and doing even the smallest movements, any movements even if we don’t feel like it. Some days we have to get up and recommit to ourselves every single day. Maybe it’s because we’re tired, or sore, or not feeling well, or even if we just don’t want to and have become disenchanted with moving our bodies. Some days it’s easy and some days it can feel like a never ending battle to just get moving. I get it. I seriously do.

I know I physically cannot do what I used to do and I’m totally OK with that and accept it fully. What I would not accept of myself is if I just gave up. If I stopped finding ways that my body could still benefit from and feel good with. We are our own test subjects and if something isn’t working we need to keep going until we find something that does.

I get told almost on a daily basis from my students that I make things look easy. I take this as a compliment but also remind my students it’s my job to show the correct form so they know what to look for, feel and expect and to modify if needed. If I had trouble showing the correct form and couldn’t do it, it would be very unprofessional of me to expect my students to do it correctly if I couldn’t.

So if you’re having that negative self-talk about comparing yourself to someone else or to what you used to be, take a breath and ask yourself what are the small steps you can do to keep moving forward? Focusing on those small imperfect wins add up and create a compound effect. Trust me, I’m also a recovering perfectionist. Imperfection daily beats perfection when you feel like. As my coach Todd says, “Ready, fire, aim. If you wait to aim you’ll never fire.”

What can you do to Recommit to YOU?
Make your move,

Rebecca

Love is putting someone else's needs before yours

5/3/2019

As I’m watching Frozen for the umpteenth time today with little Em’s and hearing Olaf over and over, it’s so true how that annoying little snowman has a point.

“Love is putting someone else’s needs before yours.”

As Tony Robbins states “We have six human needs in life: certainty, significance, variety, love/connection, growth and contribution.”

It is only by meeting the growth and contribution needs (putting someone else’s needs before yours as Olaf says) that you will experience sustainable joy VS. momentary pleasure.

If people are NOT contributing and basically only thinking of themselves, they cannot be fulfilled for the long term and will begin certain negative behaviors to feel significance, connection, certainty or variety.

May is National Recommitment Month and I’m dedicated to helping women Recommit to themselves. Heck I even created a program called Recommit to YOU in 42 that I’ve taught over the last 5 years.

I’ll be launching that again soon but for now, I want you to think about the areas of your life where you can contribute or grow so that you can Recommit to YOU

How do super achievers do it all?

5/1/2019

I used to ask myself, “how do the super achievers do it all?’ I spent many years grinding at my business and other areas of my life so I certainly felt like I was doing the work of any super achiever. Physically and mentally. People would even often tell me “I don’t know how you do it all!” Even then, I really didn’t feel like I was a super achiever. I would often think “gosh, when am I ever going to *get* THERE?”

Where is THERE anyway?

In my quest to simplify my business and life, I realized that it was focusing on the basics every day that were going to yield me the best results.

The same is with beginning any exercise or nutrition program. Focusing on keeping it simple and mastering the basics will also give you the best long-lasting results.

This simple concept can really be applied to any area of your life.

So, if you’re stuck in a rut, how do we recommit to ourselves?

How do super achievers do it all? The answer is, they don’t.

They have their priorities clear in their mind and they DECLINE everything else that comes their way. Yup, just say no.

Remember Jim Rohn said if you have more than half a dozen priorities you don’t have any…
What top 3-6 DAILY habits or non-negotiables as I like to call them do you need to recommit to yourself and your priorities?

Put those on a graph sheet or somewhere that can be easily seen and checked off DAILY.
Only allow yourself to allocate time to your calendar to something that significantly contributes to the accomplishment of your priorities and here’s the scary part, say no to all the rest.

As I’m setting my May non-negotiables in my planner, I’m reflecting on how I used to stress out about EVERYTHING that needed to get done. I hope this serves as a bit of peace of mind to Recommit to YOU and become a super achiever.
You got this!
Make your move

Three Tips to Recommit to YOU

4/12/2019

It’s been a habit of mine lately to combine my reading with walking on a medium to high incline on the treadmill. I’ve been rehabbing an injury and as much I’d like to start jogging again, it’s just not the right time. I usually fall asleep when I read just about anything so this makes me happy that I’m finishing my third book of the year so far.

Anyway, as I was reading this morning I was reminded about a specific part of priorities that I wanted to share with you. We often have so many things on our to-do lists that have us running around crazy and overwhelmed. I hear it all the time from family, friends, and clients and sometimes even in my own head.

What I read this morning helped put things back into perspective and it’s interesting how this is what I read this morning on a day I decided to change things up a bit: “Any time you feel overwhelmed, there’s a good chance the culprit is a lack of clear priorities.”

Think about that for a little bit. You might be thinking “well everything on my list in important!” I know. I used to be that way. I’m old school. I love paper planners. I found (and still do) that checking off things on my to-do list made me feel accomplished and productive.

Here’s the thing, the list kept getting longer!! Have you ever felt like that? You start one thing then you’re reminded of all these other little things that you jot down to get done too. And I always have to write something down or I’ll forget. Is that successful? Not really.

“Success has less to do with what we can get ourselves to do and more with keeping ourselves from doing what we shouldn’t” – Kenneth Cole.

We know we shouldn’t be spending hours each day on our phones for games and social media, or coming home from an exhaustive day at work and plopping ourselves on the couch to unwind, or even wasting our attention and energy on people who cause you to lose focus on what’s really important.

Here are three tips for you to RECOMMIT to YOU and your success:

Understanding your value. “If you’re falling short on your goals, it’s because you waste time doing low-value work. That’s it. That’s the only reason.” – Darren Hardy
- Are you spending too much time on social media or games?
- Are you going to meetings you don’t actually need to attend?
- Are you spending ten minutes here and there chit-chatting in the hallway?
- Are you checking your phone first thing before you even get out of bed?
Know your vital priorities. Vital Priorities are the day-to-day or quarter-to-quarter areas of focus and tasks required to accomplish a goal. Jim Rohn always said if you have more than six priorities you don’t have any. Jim Collins says if you have more than three you don’t have any. Either way, you get the picture.
- Write down all of your priorities.
- Next, narrow your list down to the top three. Ok no more than six, if three freaks you out a little.
- Throw the rest of the list away! Jim Rohn says stop majoring in minor things. You’ll find that your enormous to-do list isn’t really that important. I do have a confession though. I still keep my list after I’ve narrowed it to my 3-6. Why? After looking back at it in a few months I can really look at it and say “nope, not important” and have that final cross off the list (and it’s still so satisfying)! Or there are those occasions where I find I still like the idea and don’t want to forget it. It’s not a priority but has shifted more towards an idea or brainstorm list.
Do the work and be consistent!
- Tony Robbins talks about the 2mm shift. Making that 2mm shift daily, consistent and intentionally will create the radical difference. The beauty of this is taking those moments to pause and feel the shift happening!
- You are only one or two key habits away from a massive transformation in any area of your life but if we aren’t consistent the shift and transformation won’t happen.

I hope those tips help you in the area of your life that you need it most.
Make your move,
Rebecca