Last week was my first week balancing school and my new grownup job with a long commute. It was also the first full week of the February Fitness Challenge I set for myself in my February Intentions: workout every day of the month. Lucky for me I have a great BFF who is doing the same fitness challenge! Having someone to go to the gym with and to keep you motivated is key. Comfortable workout clothes that make you feel good help with motivation as well. I'm not going to lie though, when Wednesday rolled around– I had had three long days of work or class, woke up at 5:30am, and immediately went to meetings when I got home from work– I was feeling tired. I got back to my apartment at 9:30pm after a full 16hr day and did not feel like working out, or doing my homework. After (semi begrudgingly) changing into workout clothes I remembered what my coach had said the night before. During a hard set she told our class: "You're not tired, you're tough. Just keep moving. That is your new mantra and I want you to keep repeating 'I'm not tired, I'm tough' to yourselves". I listened and it got me through the next hour. This stuck with me and thanks to Shola I have a new life mantra.
"I'm not tired, I'm tough" got me through the hard, long week and reminded me that lot of what we feel about ourselves or feel that we are capable of stems form our mindset. I have always been a believer in positive affirmations and that you can do anything you set your mind to, but sometimes that gets lost in the business of our every day lives. A "busy culture" has been created where people feel, myself included, that we must be busy and productive at all times. Not only that, but people compare how busy and exhausted they are as if it is a competition. When someone says I have three exams this week or two large work projects, the common tendency is to try and one up this with something long the lines of "well I have 4 exams this week". Instead of empathizing or saying you do have a lot of work, but you can dot it. In College this has turned into the "I'm tired" culture. My boyfriend Daniel first brought this to my attention last year. When you ask a college student how they're doing oftentimes they'll answer "I'm tired or I am so busy". To be fair we usually are, but the point being that this has become what we talk about and what our lives revolve around. It's usually the first thing out of our mouths when talking about how our week or day has been. When Daniel brought this up to me he said that he was going to strive to not say he was tired anymore and to bring up something positive that week or what went well that day. It also helps to add in things every day that make you feel good. Like wearing my bright red shoes or using my time on BART to listen to a podcast instead of cramming in schoolwork. Take time to let yourself be. My goal is to keep doing something every day for myself and following Daniel's example. We need to keep bringing the positivity, empathizing instead of competing, and to never stop repeating "I'm not tired, I'm tough". Wherever you are in your life you have gotten through a lot and will continue to do so. Mindset is the first step, and you are tough!
Love & Laughter,
Kaitlin