Katelyn Lesk Health and Fitness: stress

Showing posts with label stress. Show all posts

Monday, July 11, 2016

A reminder about course-correction and not being able to do it ALL

I posted these 2 pictures on social media recently. The picture from the Ab Challenge post (left) was from about a year ago. The picture in the blue sports bra (right) was from a few days ago, and whether you can tell or not, I’m actually about 10 pounds heavier currently than I was in the Ab Challenge picture.

Here’s the thing. I often hear people talking about how they’ve gained weight as if they’ve somehow “gone backwards” in their life progress. My philosophy is this: YOU HAVE NEVER GONE BACKWARDS! Impossible! I CHOOSE to believe I’ve never been better than I am today. And neither are you! And you know what else? We just keep getting better!!! With each new day comes more experience, wisdom, memories, and life lessons!

I might not be quite as fit as I was at this time last year but we HAVE to stop looking at this as an isolated category. I’ve grown light years in my own personal development, my business, and new friendships. I’ve gone on several amazing trips and made AMAZING memories! I saw 2 new countries in this past year. I joined a leadership group, a toastmasters group, and a business mastermind group. I’ve made incredible new friends and built upon the friendships of the awesome people already in my life. I’ve learned some good lessons and some tough lessons and I’ve GROWN because of it. I’ve been exposed to new experiences, connections, and opportunities. I’ve been able to coach more people than ever and hopefully have helped them see their OWN WORTH (which means more to me than anything)!! I’ve watched the Pens win and Stanley Cup and got to celebrate with the whole city! I’ve spent time in nature! I’ve spent quality time that I wouldn’t trade for the world with my family! I’ve tested my limits physically and tapped into my adventurous side. I’ve made mistakes, I’ve failed, I’ve learned, I’ve succeeded, I’ve EXPANDED! I’ve met new people who have given me new perspectives of life and what’s possible! I’ve done lots of great work on my health and my digestive system. I’ve read books and listened to countless hours of motivational personal development! I’ve expanded in my meditation and prayer practice and grown my faith because of it. I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, I’ve had fun, I’ve made incredible memories, and I’ve been grateful about ALL of it!!

If you aren’t exactly where you want to be in your health and fitness, I want you to take a second to think about all the EXPERIENCES you’ve had, what you’ve LEARNED, and what you’re GRATEFUL for! A number on the scale pales in comparison to what really makes up a LIFE WORTH LIVING!!

Any time I feel a little too far off track with my health and fitness, I remind myself of these things that I’m grateful for. I also remind myself that it is OK TO NOT BE ABLE TO DO IT *ALL*! We HAVE to stop holding ourselves to that impossible standard then crumbling under the pressure then feeling guilty if we don’t succeed at being EXACTLY where we want in ALL areas of our lives. Let’s start being gentle with ourselves and loving ourselves right where we are! Then, once we are in that space of love, we can evaluate where we want to COURSE-CORRECT! In my book, it’s not about perfection. Sometimes I need to reel things in a little in certain areas of my life, let go of things in other areas of my life, and remind myself that I’m doing the best that I can. For example, after the Pens playoffs, I had to let go of eating at restaurants (and drinking wine) so frequently and focus a little more on my workout routine. Was it an extreme, drastic change? No. Just a little course-correction! If we’re gentle with ourselves, we can make this whole “life” thing EASY!

No matter where you think you’re at in life, remember, you’ve never been better! Keep on shining, rock star!!!!!!

Visit https://www.facebook.com/CoachKatelynLesk and http://beachbodycoach.com/katelynlesk for more info!

I would be honored to help you with your fitness journey :) Here is a link to sign up for a free account with me as your coach: https://www.teambeachbody.com/signup/-/signup/free?referringRepId=183908. Or you can go to www.teambeachbody.com, sign up for a free account, and enter any of my info in when it asks if a coach referred you: screen name: KatelynLesk, coach ID: 183908

Disclaimer Copy: Katelyn Lesk is an Independent Beachbody Coach.

Saturday, May 7, 2016

Be one of the brave ones

The Biggest Loser article has sparked a lot of conversation on drastic weight loss and the after-effects of that. In my almost 4 years of coaching, I have seen a lot of people take drastic measures time and time again then fall off the wagon. I'm sure we have all done that at some point! It's EASY to be motivated by a short-term vision and taking extreme measures in any area of our lives gives us a sense of control. It's actually HARDER in any area of our lives (health, relationships, business, finances, etc) to stay motivated by a long-term vision. In terms of quick-fixes with health, I PROMISE that long-term, slow and steady, SUSTAINABLE lifestyle changes will get you to your goal (and keep you there!) much more effectively than short-term drastic measures.

For me and all of my clients who I have seen successfully transform their health, it took patience. It took work. It took time. And it took a shift in PERSPECTIVE. We MUST learn to love ourselves in the process. That is the only way we can stay on the long-term track.

I rarely workout at 100%. I'm usually somewhere around 80%. And that's what I promote. Why? Because I'd rather get a decent workout in and want to come back tomorrow than kill myself in a workout and not want to do it ever again and/or associate dread with moving my body. When it comes to nutrition, I focus on getting lots of healthy foods that I love in my body rather than being terrified of tempting junk food. I focus on what I APPRECIATE about my body and all that it can do for me.

Have patience. Love yourself or at least TRY to start finding things about your body and your health that you appreciate. Turn the conversation around. It starts with US. Let us be one of the brave ones that takes the hard path and really truly focuses on health.

I believe that as we all increase our self-confidence and belief in ourselves, we are better able to lift others up! There is more room for love and kindness when we love and are kind to ourselves. We literally MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE! Don't we all want that?? Don't we all want to FEEL GOOD?? Don't we all want to know that we are ENOUGH?? We have that in our power! We are more than enough. We are doing enough. Let's all try to love ourselves a little more!!

Be one of the brave ones. Turn the conversation around. BREAK the cycle!!!!

Visit https://www.facebook.com/CoachKatelynLesk and http://beachbodycoach.com/katelynlesk for more info!

Disclaimer Copy: Katelyn Lesk is an Independent Beachbody Coach.

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Baby Steps: Releasing the Pressure

I ran into a childhood friend tonight at an art crawl (very chance meeting given that we don’t even currently live in the same city!) and after some light-hearted catch-up, I ended up in a side conversation with his husband, Paul. What I love about Paul is that he’s not afraid to dive into the deep stuff. Neither am I. We both value authenticity and the deeper connection that comes from being fearlessly vulnerable, even a few minutes into a conversation.

After some talk about my work as an online health and fitness coach, we got into some discussion about psychology, self-love, motivation, and the necessity of loving process of getting to a goal, whether that be losing weight or climbing the corporate ladder. In my work as a coach, I am a very big believer in baby steps. I will always favor long-term, sustainable lifestyle changes over anything extreme, controlling, or pressured. I believe we have to love ourselves at all stages of the process in order to reach our goals (especially if we want to stay there and potentially go beyond it). I don’t believe we can ever self-hate our way to a goal and actually be happy at the destination.

My personal strategies for creating this in my own health journey have been an evolving practice of gratitude for my body. I remind myself regularly that my body is my biggest cheerleader. Despite how active or not active I choose to be or how healthy or not-so-healthy my food is, it keeps my heart beating, my eyes blinking, my nervous system firing, and my fingers moving as I type this. Reminding myself of what my body actually does for me on a physiological level makes me WANT to take care of it. Before exercising (or more specifically, when I’m trying to work up the motivation TO workout), I remind myself of the things my body can do that people who suffer from physical disabilities cannot. There are people who WISH they had the capability to lift their arm up when their brain says to do so. During exercise, I focus on appreciating the feel of my muscles lengthening, my lungs expanding, or the pounding of my heart in my chest after an intense cardio move. It can be euphoric to feel connected to my body in that way. When it comes to nutrition, rather than spending all my emotional energy on limiting myself, I try to focus on what I can do to increase my intake of nourishing, alive foods. The feelings of restriction and guilt are replaced by freedom and vitality when I focus on putting the right stuff in rather than keeping the wrong stuff out.

It has taken years, but these baby steps and perspective shifts have added up. I still get off track but I know I am capable of getting back on track. I focus on reducing the frequency and duration of the time off track rather than beating myself up for not being perfect all the time. I give myself permission to ease back on track. And I can truly say now that I love the process of taking care of my body. To me, taking care of myself also includes my emotions so it’s important to me to be gentle with myself in the process.

Interestingly enough, I was able to apply these concepts tonight, even with this very post. Towards the end of our conversation, the ever-supportive Paul suggested I apply for an op-ed in the Huffington Post. My heart soared with his vote of confidence and I trust and believe his opinion that, “this message needs to be heard.” Whether it’s me writing it or someone else, I absolutely agree. We need more people in the world giving us permission to take the baby steps we need to get to where we’re going. In a world where high stress is valued as some form of success validation, there are nowhere near enough reminders to slow down, love the journey, and love where you’re at right at this very moment.

When I got home tonight, I sat down to write. I succeeded at applying the first part of my philosophy; I allowed myself to just be where I was at. I didn’t sit down with the intention to write an op-ed application to the Huffington Post; I sat down to write a blog post to whoever might need to read this message about baby steps. I reminded myself that it didn’t need to be perfect, I just needed to start somewhere; there was no downside to just writing what was on my heart. The problem was, there was a part of me still putting pressure on this. How many times do we tell ourselves this is our one chance to “get it right”?? I was having trouble connecting to my creativity or what was even on my heart because I was getting too caught up in perfect wording. I was trying to be something I’m not. Fortunately, Paul’s reminder that this message needs to be heard really stuck with me. I reminded myself that it’s about the MESSAGE, not about the perfect wording. I reminded myself that part of what was on my heart that I needed to speak about WAS the pressure we regularly put on ourselves without even realizing what we’re doing. Baby steps are about releasing the pressure to be perfect. They are about giving ourselves permission to meet ourselves where we are and do what we can right here in the moment. Tonight, that was an unedited, unperfected blog post. Instead of worrying about a perfect format; a great flow; or a clearly defined opening, point, supporting points, and clever wrap-up, I just wrote. So this was my stream of consciousness tonight. Thank YOU for meeting me where I was at. And I hope someone somewhere was helped by this reminder that it is OK to do only what we feel ready for, to release the pressure and overwhelm, and connect to what’s true for ourselves.

Our epic run-in at the art crawl :)

Visit https://www.facebook.com/CoachKatelynLesk and http://beachbodycoach.com/katelynlesk for more info!

Disclaimer Copy: Katelyn Lesk is an Independent Beachbody Coach.

Sunday, March 27, 2016

Gratitude for my story as a coach!

Doing a little reflecting and sitting in gratitude this Easter morning….

I am so very thankful for the successful business I’ve built, my family who has supported me, and the INCREDIBLE people I have met along the way!

At this very time 4 years ago, I was at one of the lowest points of my life. I was doing a TON of work traveling for a small medical device company I worked for and even though I had always loved traveling, I found the high-pressure demands of work travel to be a little too much to handle. It caught me off guard how quickly the stress seemed to build inside of me and how fast that broke me down.

Worst of all, I no longer felt like myself. Even though I LOVED the company I worked for and believed fully in our product and mission, a lot of red tape we had come up against and some hurdles that we had yet to surpass took away a lot of the fulfillment I had originally found in my work. The frustrations we were hitting made it feel like we weren’t really helping anybody! On top of that, I was constantly on the other side of the world from the people I cared most about and the stress of it all even seemed to be changing my personality. When I looked in the mirror, tears welled up inside of me because I no longer saw the care-free, happy-go-lucky, live-life-to-fullest girl that I remembered.

I knew I could only take so long of that feeling of disconnection so I started thinking a LOT about what I would do if I could no longer do my engineering job. I made lots of lists about when in life I felt the happiest and most fulfilled, what I was passionate about, when I had felt the most effective and the most like MYSELF! So much of it had to do with helping people, health and fitness, perhaps even starting a charity.

At work, the traveling died down and I eventually started to love and appreciate my job again and I set all those lists to the side. But later that year, a little opportunity called Beachbody came into my life. I didn’t know or understand much about the business side of it but I did know that I LOVED the challenge group that my coach, Nicole, had put me into to connect with other women who were all starting the same workout program I was. I LOVED that we encouraged and supported each other. I LOVED that I could share way more than health and fitness with them (truth be told, I was still recovering from the 1-2 years of stress and anxiety). It was exactly what I needed to help me REALLY feel aligned with not only who I used to be (that happy-go-lucky girl) but perhaps someone even BETTER! When my coach asked me if I had ever considered coaching, I was ecstatic! I hadn’t realized it was something anyone could do!!

In the 3.5 years I’ve been a coach, it has been an INCREDIBLE journey of fulfillment, connection, acceleration, and absolute JOY in my life! The coping mechanisms and faith that I had learned during the tougher points in my life all served me SO WELL when being able to connect with others that were currently struggling. My job goes way beyond health and fitness. I am ALWAYS trying to learn more and improve myself (not just my health, but as a PERSON) and teach others what has helped me! Life can throw major curve balls at us sometimes. We make mistakes. We don’t always live our highest truth or in our best integrity. But the beauty of that is that we can help each other! Nothing about coaching has ever meant that I need to be perfect. It is IN our struggles that we find the most connection and lift each other up!!

So thank you to all of YOU who have come along on this journey with me! It is just the beginning, I promise you! And I promise to lift all of YOU up on your own journeys!! If you think coaching might be part of your path, don’t hesitate to ask me about it!! It was something I built on the side while still working at my full-time job until I my company closed in 2014. Since then, I have been coaching full-time and loving every minute of it and all of the people I have gotten to meet along the way! And when I pull out all those old lists of what I said I wanted with my life, what I get to do now EXACTLY aligns with all of that!! In fact, it’s even better!!! Gratitude doesn’t even come close to expressing how thankful I am for all of this!!

Happy Easter, everyone!!!

Visit https://www.facebook.com/CoachKatelynLesk and http://beachbodycoach.com/katelynlesk for more info!

Disclaimer Copy: Katelyn Lesk is an Independent Beachbody Coach.

Friday, March 4, 2016

REAL TALK about loving ourselves and weight fluctuations.

REAL TALK.

As a follow-up to my recent post about loving ourselves and quitting the negative self talk (if you missed it, you can find it here: http://katelynlesk.blogspot.com/2016/03/self-inflicted-body-shaming-and-losing.html), I realize that the picture I used might not have been the best to exemplify my point. I wrote that blog post late at night and quickly pulled a workout picture from my phone to use for the quote. While it was a recent picture, it was also taken at a very flattering angle on one of those days where for the first time in a while, my digestive system was not acting up, I was not feeling bloated, and in general I just happened to be feeling great that day. I can assure you that it doesn't exactly reflect my current fitness level! My weight can fluctuate a lot even within a few days. I questioned using this flattering workout picture at the time for fear it would defeat the purpose of the message and after being teased about the contradiction of it by a very good friend, I decided I REALLY needed to set the record straight :)

So here is a more accurate picture, taken less than a week apart - this is what I was talking about in the post about my jeans fitting snugly. I am not in my best shape right now (I've been eating out frequently and the busyness of the past month has caused a few slips in my workout routine as well) but I REFUSE to love myself or my body any less :)

I stand by my original point in the blog:

"In the big scheme of all the problems in the world, having pants that fit a little tightly is an incredibly privileged problem to have. We have clothes, we have seemingly unlimited access to food, we have money to buy pants, and even that picture of yourself that you criticized was taken by a phone or camera that a large population of the world will never even be lucky enough to own."

Who else is committed to loving themselves a little bit more each day??

Visit https://www.facebook.com/CoachKatelynLesk and http://beachbodycoach.com/katelynlesk for more info!

Disclaimer Copy: Katelyn Lesk is an Independent Beachbody Coach.

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Self-inflicted body shaming and losing weight before a vacation or event

Ladies (and gents): This self-inflicted body shaming has GOT to stop.

I am getting ready to go on a Beachbody-chartered cruise with 6000 of my fellow coaches and my newsfeed has been FILLED with last-minute workouts, vacation eating plans, and other last-ditch efforts to get into “vacation shape”. This isn’t just coaches- I see this frequently when any friends are getting ready to go on a vacation that will include more pictures and less clothing.

I get it! Of course we want to feel our best while on vacation and I also understand the healthy food decisions leading up to a vacation (especially knowing that eating while away is rarely as healthy as being at home and in routine)!

Where it crosses the line in my mind (and only each person individually can know if they fall into this pattern) is when it becomes so make-or-break that it completely sucks the joy out of the vacation. I want all my friends to know that if we are ever on a trip together- I am happy to see YOU! Just you! I don’t care how you look or how you’re fitting into your jeans at that point in time! I’d hate to see any of you incredible souls using any form of self-punishment, deprivation, or negative self-talk. *I* know how special you are. And because I care about you, I want you to see that too!

We have become so fixated on how the external world views us (of course social media picture sharing has compounded that) that we’ve forgotten how to love ourselves and our bodies no matter where we are at!! If you want to get in last-minute workouts or make healthy choices leading up to a trip, GO FOR IT! But whether you succeed at losing those few pounds or not, you should ALWAYS be able to look into a mirror and tell yourself you’re awesome.

Because you ARE.

No matter what, you are beautiful and worthwhile!!!

I am not at all trying to criticize anyone in this pattern- trust me, it is VERY easy to get sucked into! Perfectionism in any form often manifests while we are under stress. For me that often comes out in the form of feeling like I need to get 5 million things that have been lingering on my to-do list done before I go away (are these really life-or-death tasks, Katelyn? Of course not). And on the fitness side of things, trust me I am NOT at my best right now. I GET what it feels like to feel a little frustrated when the clothes you were planning on wearing fit a little snug.

It’s NORMAL for our weight to fluctuate a little bit. And yes it’d be nice if those points where we were feeling our best always aligned with the times we had to fit into a favorite outfit, have our picture taken frequently on vacation, or zip up that fancy dress to go to a wedding. But we HAVE to be ok when that doesn’t happen. We HAVE to know our own self-worth so clearly that NOTHING else can break us. Adding negative self talk in the mix only perpetuates the unhealthy cycles. Loving ourselves no matter what leads us to actualizing our highest potential in life!

So for all you amazing people out there who have been where I’m describing, for all of you, I vow to do this:

- Even though I am not at my best currently, I promise I will not be taking any last-minute drastic measures before vacation. I will be doing my best to make healthy choices but that should be our focus *all the time*!!! And on cruise day, I’m going to love myself so fiercely that nothing is going to shake my soul!

- I vow to have fun on my trip no matter what! I will be grateful for the time I have with people who are incredibly special to me. I will appreciate the opportunity and the amazing places I will be getting to see. I will love every conversation I have and every new adventure. I will keep the things that REALLY matter in the forefront of my mind.
- I will remind myself that in the big scheme of all the problems in the world, having pants that fit a little tightly is an incredibly privileged problem to have. We have clothes, we have seemingly unlimited access to food, we have money to buy pants, and even that picture of yourself that you criticized was taken by a phone or camera that a large population of the world will never even be lucky enough to own.

Let’s stop working out and dieting because we hate our bodies and start making healthy choices because we LOVE OURSELVES! Same actions. COMPLETELY different energy, intentions, and results!!!

LOVE TO YOU ALL!!

UPDATE: Follow-up to this post can be found here: http://katelynlesk.blogspot.com/2016/03/real-talk-about-loving-ourselves-and.html

Visit https://www.facebook.com/CoachKatelynLesk and http://beachbodycoach.com/katelynlesk for more info!

Disclaimer Copy: Katelyn Lesk is an Independent Beachbody Coach.

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Embracing anxiety out of a desire to FEEL

I woke up this morning with a surprisingly high level of anxiety with no apparent cause. I've had my fair share of stressors lately, as we all do, but nothing abnormally out of the blue. There's a lot of things I could try to blame this on or try to work through in an effort to "rid" myself of it. I tried to just sit with it and let it pass, which I like doing, but I was having trouble shutting my brain off so as not to attach meaning to it (which of course keeps it stuck there). But then I came to the realization that I always eventually do... the one that is always able to bring me some peace no matter what I'm feeling. I CHOOSE to feel. I WANT to feel. I want to feel life in all it's "good" and "bad" glory. I'll take pain and sadness if I know it means it also brings me love, bliss, and joy. I KNOW how much I learn and expand in those emotions that we deem "bad" or "negative". I APPRECIATE sadness knowing that I allowed myself to really care about something or someone. I APPRECIATE anxiety for it teaches me to course-correct to paths that are more aligned with my truth and needs and it teaches me to build my faith so as to be able to feel peace. I APPRECIATE any negative emotions that allow the good ones to feel even better. I will ALWAYS be someone who wants to feel. I know I would have picked this coming into this life. I have never wanted to go through life numb... I want to feel ALIVE! I want to experience life and emotions in all of their forms! I want to know fear, sadness, and pain so I can know love, bliss, and excitement! I believe THAT's what we're here for- to FEEL! To experience! That doesn't mean there's a right or wrong way to this life, but it does mean that I ACCEPT MYSELF as I am. I believe that joy, bliss, excitement, and love can only be felt FULLY when our walls are completely obliterated! I am WILLING to lovingly feel fear, anxiety, anger, jealousy, sadness, pain, or anything else that wants to come up because I REFUSE to have walls up to ANYTHING! And I am learning to believe that ALL of these feelings have their own raw beauty to them. There is love and joy that can be found in all of them. A humanness. I believe suffering happens when we are in resistance to those feelings, or at least that is what my experience has taught me. I now find excitement when these emotions come up- the ones I used to resist- because I know it means I am learning, growing, releasing, or expanding in some way that leads to more good in my life and experience. As for the walls, I will have none. I am just me. And I am completely, totally, inspiringly ok with that. MORE than ok with that. I am in love with that. Bring it on!! I am ready for you, life, in all your glory and experience! I love life and I am willing to love it all!!!

This picture is from a calendar that my incredible friend, Alisa, made for me. The quote seemed especially appropriate and empowering today :)

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Kindness during the intense holiday season!

A message about kindness for others (and for ourselves!) at this time of year:

Recently I was listening to Doreen Virtue who pointed out that this time of year can be one of great joy and of great grief; memories of past holidays, loved ones who have passed away, and the “what ifs” of life all come into play. When she shared this, my initial reaction was to feel relief and validation. While there’s so much I enjoy about the holidays and being with the people I love, I definitely find the sentimentality of the holidays to be bittersweet. It’s hard not to get caught in past memories, or thinking about people who are no longer in our lives, or to grasp onto the way things are now resisting the inevitable changes in holidays in the future as people pass on, families change, and celebrations ebb and flow. There are also plenty of other pressures on us at this time of year that might include financial strain, family tensions, relationship pain, time demands, more things filling our already never-ending to-do lists, stress about food and what treats to indulge in or refrain from, and other triggers. My sister pointed out at Thanksgiving that despite being positive on facebook, I often get cranky with my family. My own family! The people I care most about! We sometimes let our comfort levels with people win out in a way that masks our appreciation for them.

So this Christmas, I’m going to do my best to stay present. To show appreciation for those around me. To be grateful for what’s going on around me no matter how I think things “should be”. I’m going to do my best to release any judgements I hold for others and for myself and instead focus on the unique value that each person offers. I’m going to take some time to get curious in conversations and ask some of the deeper questions to each person I encounter. Rather than “what’s new?” how about, “what do you think was the best thing that happened to you this year?” “what was your biggest lesson this year?” “what most inspires you right now?” I’m not going to feel badly for whatever emotions decide to come up during this intense time. And I’m going to be gentle and patient with others knowing that we never know what somebody might be going through. Have you ever missed a best friend? I have. I think most people have at some point in their lives really missed someone they care deeply about. When someone cuts me off in traffic or gets snappy in the grocery line, I tell myself that they might be missing a best friend, the person who most understood them in the world. At the root of it, we all just want to feel heard and understood and enough and loved. So let’s do our best to really LISTEN to each other, to try to UNDERSTAND, to VALIDATE and SUPPORT each other, and to show LOVE to one another.

Sending TONS of love and hugs to all of you!! Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and let’s finish out 2015 in amazing ways!!

Friday, November 20, 2015

A day in the life of a full-time Beachbody coach: it is a GIFT to be able to do what you want

Met these amazing friends/coaches for lunch. Marci asked me how much time I spend each day on my coaching business now that I do it full time. Uhh.... I honestly didn't have an answer. At first I said 6 hours a day. Then I said 12. Then I realized that about 9-10 of those hours are things I'd be doing anyway (like my workout, or sending out words of encouragement to people I care about, or meeting awesome people like Marci and Jacqlyn for lunch). Hmm. I don't know. Aside from messaging people specifically to help them figure out which workout or nutrition program would be the best fit for them (and even that I enjoy), nothing else really feels like work. I'm pretty sure I would compulsively post pictures and things that inspire me and share things that have helped me that may help others too. I always say, everyday is a Monday for me and everyday is a Saturday. So I'm sort of doing work all day. Yet none of it feels like work (and like I said, most of it I'd be doing anyway).

I watched a video today of Gary Vaynerchuk's: "Look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself what you want to do everyday for the rest of your life. And do that.... It is a GIFT to be able to wake up in the morning and do what you want for the rest of your life. The way you do that is by becoming an 'overnight success'... somebody who has actually put in work for the last decade and has gotten themselves into a position where they can do something rad that we all think is cool, that we all wish we could do." Well I don't know what your definition of success is, but I think what I get to do is pretty rad and I often have people that say to me, "I wish I could do what you do".... you CAN!!! It does take a lot of work. It does take mental and emotional stamina and BELIEF. And it does take time. But you absolutely CAN! And it doesn't take a decade like most businesses that are built from the ground up (and requires a heck of a lot less risk)! And let me tell you, it is WORTH IT!!! Ask us how!!

Monday, November 2, 2015

Food indulgences, life pressure, and how to deal with it all!

Real talk story for all of you.

Yesterday, not even sure of what triggered it, I got a huge craving to order some food. I think the busyness of the Halloween weekend put me in the mood to just stay put yesterday and some comfort food seemed in order. I knew deep down this was not a good idea- my digestive system has been off a little lately, I’ve been eating at restaurants a lot as-is, and quite frankly, I don’t even like the term “comfort food” because I associate it with some sort of weakness to be turning to anything outside of myself for comfort. But see? That’s exactly where the problem is. The fact that somewhere deep within me, I believe it’s “bad” to not be able to make myself feel better. Do we ever even stop to recognize how much pressure we all put on ourselves these days? I’m great at delegating work, I’m great at saying no to plans, I’m great at setting boundaries with my time, and yet still, somewhere in me is this need to figure it all out… to get it all right… and to do it now. I know I’m capable of whatever I set my mind to and yet when I see something I can improve or make better, I want to make that happen immediately. I do not consider myself a perfectionist- I think I’m pretty good at discerning what tasks need to be done with excellence and when it’s better to settle for “good enough”. But when it comes to my own internal state, I passionately seek improvement. And for as much as I feel I have a good perspective when it comes to work and the limits I put on it, there is still always a pressure I put on myself to accomplish the huge amount of things that are hanging over my head (I am definitely guilty sometimes of the “once I get that done, then I’ll be happy” mentality).

Anyways, how does this relate to food? I think we are ALL plagued by the pressures and demands on our time and energy (often self-inflicted). Even if I’ve gotten better at saying no to things or letting things go that just aren’t as important, it can still be exhausting to make those decisions all day long. I never *like* saying no to plans with a friend I care about, I don’t *like* having to throw in the towel about organizing the files on my old laptop even though they just aren’t that important anymore, and I don’t *like* putting extra work on someone else even if I truly can’t handle it all. In this modern age of go-go-go or say no-no-no, there is not a whole lot of emotional energy left by the end of the day to put towards the habit change we are trying to make. We’ve all done it- how many times have we said, “I’ve got to work on my eating habits,” “I’ve got to stop spending so much money,” “I need to get back in my exercise routine,” “or my old college favorite: “I’m never drinking again.” Haha. There’s plenty of things that we do because it feels good in the moment but doesn’t feel so great after. Sometimes it’s just a matter of recognizing the benefits we DO get out of it. For example, I eat at restaurants a LOT but I appreciate the social aspect of seeing friends regularly and taking advantage of all the cool new stuff this city has to offer. Sometimes, I recognize that I need to throttle it back, and I do. Sometimes it’s a matter of taking a step back and SEEING the bigger picture- where am I feeling tapped-out? And what can I do right now to begin to make that better?

World pressure:

For as much as I talk about the demands the world puts on us, I certainly don’t think it’s helpful to go into a victim mentality of feeling like it’s us against the world. It’s also the same world that offers us a limitless amount of incredible opportunities, wonderful people and connections, and beauty all around. It’s not the world’s fault- the world is just offering up a variety of stuff saying, “here you go! take it or leave it!” It is our job to remember that we have a choice of how we process, react to, and incorporate these constant stimuli. Not all of these pressures, or even the things we consider to be urgent and important, are truly life-or-death matters. Sometimes even recognizing that helps to take the pressure off and allow us to APPRECIATE all that we GET to do each day. I’m a huge fan of having a regular gratitude practice. I put links to several youtube videos I made at the bottom of this blog- feel free to watch if you’d like to know more about my own story and how I apply gratitude to each area of my life (including work, workouts, and the tough emotional stuff in life)!

Self pressure and limiting beliefs:

I think another reason it can be so disappointing when we feel like we’ve “fallen backwards” is the MEANING we bring to it. Think about it. Would splurging on a junk food meal be so guilt-inducing if we KNEW we would never do it again? Of course not! But instead, we tell ourselves things like, “I’ll never overcome this pattern,” “Why do I always do this to myself?” “I just can’t stop.” And we use it to reinforce every limiting belief that it will ALWAYS be this way, we will always carry the extra weight, be in debt, succumb to addictions, or whatever it is that we’re dealing with. “Always” is a harsh word. Sure, I still have patterns that I fall into and I still get disappointed when I do, but I have made a HUGE amount of progress in the last couple years. My whole outlook on life has become radically more aware. I feel more alive than ever. I do have a ton of healthy habits in place. And I seek improvement (mostly) from a place of self-love as opposed to shame, guilt, or self-hate (I wrote up some strategies about the emotional side of that here http://katelynlesk.blogspot.com/2015/09/love-yourself-to-where-you-want-to-be.html). We ARE making progress. It’s just in those moments when we’ve taken a step back that the sneaky fear voice is the loudest. Shut that sucker up and move on! (more on how to do that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Seg1IcDr9M).

How to deal with it all:

If I have one mission in life, it’s to help each person I work with see where their fears, stresses, pressures, doubts, and blocks are and to slowly but surely replace those with love. This is something I am CONSTANTLY working on with myself as well. It all starts with awareness and then perspective.

It’s important to remember we are exactly where we need to be. Every choice we made, we needed. We know this simply because we made them. We may know better now, but then, we needed it for a reason. Even seemingly “bad” choices are for our greater good. They are beacons to point out certain things in life. Discovering what we don’t want sends a rocket of desire to that which we DO want and motivates us to work towards it. It illuminates the path. Yes, my Thai food is illuminating the path to enlightenment :) Don’t you wish you would have gotten take-out now too? ;)

So for today I will eat my leftovers guilt-free (from Smiling Banana Leaf, by the way- if I was going to order Thai, at least I did it right) and use it as an opportunity to take a step back and see where I’m putting too much pressure on myself, where I am taking life too seriously, and where I can take back some of my power and rediscover my inner goddess :) And if I can help someone else discover their inner power along the way, then it was definitely worth the mild heartburn and stomach fullness :)

Don’t forget to remind yourself of your AWESOMENESS regardless of ANYTHING else!!!!!! I love you and I’m rooting for you!!!!

Gratitude, staying present, and first world problems

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa0oqC1aCzw&index=29&list=PLXiky4MOw2FgchAG5-bDiEkDMPrCn70P_