MOTIVATIONAL OF THE DAY

YOU ARE HERE FOR A REASON

Whether by design or circumstance of choice, you are where you are right now for a REASON. You may be happy with where you are or you may NOT be. You may be wondering what twist of fate brought you here, to this place in this time, what reasoning could possibly have for you here. There is a reason for EVERYthing that happens in our lives and this is no different. You are where you are right now for a REASON.

Yes, it might be hard, it might be tough, it might be everything you never wanted to know or ever experience going on all at once right now, baffling you, angering you, causing feelings of fear and resentment. You might not know how to handle the situation, frustrated by your lack of knowledge and expertise, ashamed of your shortcomings, wanting to do nothing but run and hide, waiting until it is over and safe to come out from the storm.

But storms are not sent to be afraid of and hidden from. They are sent to be FACED and challenged head on, beckoning your finger to let it know to give all its got, do its worst, knowing that if you don’t already know where it is, you will FIND the courage and the strength to fight back and DEFEAT it. The hard pummelling of the rain to wear you down, the louder-than-it-should-be thunder booming to try and terrify you, the hailstones falling to bruise your body, you WILL find a way to SURVIVE.

And when the storm clears and the sun’s light starts to peek through the clouds that do not want to seem to budge, spreading over your smudged face and war-torn eyes, they will shine over a soul that has been changed and now sees the world through different eyes, knowing with confidence what they are capable of, a new inner spark glowing from the depths of those eyes, ready and willing to face whatever comes next. By accepting, facing, and embracing the storm that soul has GROWN, one step closer its destiny.

So, see that you are where you are right now for a reason. Whether it is a lesson to be learned, a skill to be mastered, or strength to be found, everything transpires together to make the MOST of the now, to make you INTO the person that you are MEANT to be. You might not want to be where you are now, but simply desiring to be elsewhere will NOT help you. If you want to be somewhere else, you must stand and fight through the now to get to where you want to go. So, do it, taking everything you can from the now with you.

© Rosie Chee

MOTIVATIONAL OF THE DAY

EDGE OF DIFFICULTY

Sometimes in our lives it seems like one thing after another – if it’s not pain it’s conflict and if not conflict then another intense emotion, and so on. Sometimes it seems like there is no “calm” and only “storm”, one difficulty after another, obstacles that challenge us when we might feel that we’ve already reached the limit of what we can handle at this moment. Sometimes it can be hard to remember that He is guiding our paths and to trust that He knows what He’s doing.

But we must – trust. Trust that He knows what He has to do to us in order to make us stronger. To make us fully aware and capable of all that He truly wants in our lives. To give us the courage and determination to never ever “settle” or “lie down” and fight for what is ours and “right”. To push us so that we have to acknowledge that we are but human and cannot do this on our own strength and ask Him for HIS, knowing how futile was our own capacity the last time we tried and fell and almost broke as we did.

Trust can be so hard – knowing what your trust has “given” before. But He is not like the world and in Him your trust is NOT misplaced. Even when it seems that He ignores you, when your faith can be even more tested and trust questioned, He is not, because sometimes He wants you to learn from what is transpiring, whether to take the risk to spread your wings and fly, no matter how tentatively, or realize that He is the source of your strength and power.

If you cannot fly – if you keep trying and fall time and again, plummeting further each time it seems than the last attempt, when your soul despairs so close to “giving up”, that’s when you just need to learn to let go and let GOD. You might dream recurring of falling in endless black since childhood, and sometimes yes, you may have “hit the bottom”, and in life you may feel like you can and have fallen too far to be saved, but He can and WILL catch you before your final resolution.

It takes a lot of courage to trust – even a little, let alone completely. But we must hold onto faith and believe as we do all that WE can in facing what faces us and trust that HE will do His part as we do ours. It is a partnership relationship that sometimes you might feel you can give less than you receive, but in doing even what you can and placing your trust in His hands, you are allowing something much MORE to happen and can create much more than you might ever fathom.

© 2014 Rosie Chee

Day 125: If you kick me down, I will only get back up STRONGER!

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Circumstances may cause interruptions and delays, but never lose sight of your goal. Prepare yourself in every way you can by increasing your knowledge and adding to your experience, so that you can make the most of opportunity when it occurs." - Mario Andretti


TRAINING

Cardio - CrossRamp:
10 min @ R10/CR10

Upper Body (30 sec recovery between alternate sets):
Alternate Set A -
1. DB Clean and Press 6 x 15
2. DB Lateral Raises 6 x 15-20
Alternate Set B -
3. Push-Ups (feet on floor, hands on step) 6 x 15
4. Supinated BB Bent Over Rows 6 x 15
Alternate Set C -
5. Seated DB Shoulder Press 6 x 15
6. Seated DB Rear Raises 6 x 15
Alternate Set D -
7. V-Bar Tricep Push-Downs 6 x 15
8. Alternate DB Bicep Curls 6 x 15 per side

Post-Weights Cardio - Rollers:
10 min in 39x18 @ 106 rpm

Stretch 25 min.


COMMENTS

Mood/Aggression: I have been through myriad moods today, covering the entire range of the emotion and mood spectrums. Beautiful things are happening in the world (life is a blessing), at the same time as the most horrific and ugly (please pray for all who live with the daily threat of war, and give thanks when those we care for wake up unharmed after being bombed). Life is in constant balance, a battle. Doesn't it realize though, that every time it kicks me down, I am just going to get back up, stronger than I was and come back fighting HARDER than ever?!

Energy: After the events that occurred before training, my aggression was spiked, and I went into the gym with a purpose, starting out well, but faltering after ~40 minutes, only my drive pushing me through the rest. I just feel shattered now.

Stress: HIGH.

Joints: My superio-medial right knee was still aching when I woke up this morning and has niggles at me throughout the day, but it's not affecting my functionality.

Endurance: Great.

Pump: Strong and HARD and lasting a LONG time.

Vascularity: The BEST ever during training! I want that ALL the time!

Quality of Training: It was a brief, fast spiel on the CrossRamp pre-weights, aggression and determination driving me . . . Resistance session started out well. Talk about PAIN. For some reason, the pain started pissing me off - as well as all the kids running around in the weights room (I have nothing against people taking youth in there to train, teaching them correctly, etc., but when they are running around rampant, getting in the way and adding to irritability, it's another story). LOVED the definition and vascularity I had during training - both which appeared almost from the start. For some reason, I was also REALLY heated re temperature throughout the session, so much that it seriously felt like the fans were blowing HOT air on me! After the first set of Seated DB Shoulder Press, I was ready to pack it in and just finish this session tomorrow. However, I sat there and stuck it out. I was almost in tears by the end of Alternate Set C - not a usual thing for me, and during Alternate Set D my face was a mask of pain and grit (some guy even deliberately walked in front of me and waved several times, as if trying to distract me or maybe elicit a smile - didn't work). 90 minutes of what ended up feeling more like torture than pleasure, but it was done and I am glad I stuck it out. After all, giving in or giving up is NOT an option, and I am NOT letting them win! . . . Brief cardio on the rollers afterwards, just enough to make it a total of 20 minutes re cardio for today . . .

Recovery: I think the extreme flux of emotion and mood throughout today has affected my energy and feeling more than training itself - although my deltoids and biceps' tendons ARE in pain if I lift anything.

Other Notes: Sometimes we seek opportunities out. Sometimes they are given to us. Sometimes what we want is not what we NEED. Sometimes the favourable opportunities presented to us are not so favourable. God is testing both my faith and my heart, seeing how much trust I have in being driven, pulling away the layers to see the truth of my passions, the core of my dreams. Under scrutiny, beneath the surface of one chance I have been given, comes the realization that if I accept, it means compromising my character and who I am, giving up my dream and stepping away from my purpose, only to become the tool of another. Even though I initially pursued this opportunity, I know now that it is not for me. I know who I am and I will NOT give that up. I have my dreams and I will NOT give them away. I understand my purpose and I will NOT stray from that. Sometimes He gives us what we want, so that we can see that it is not in our best interests. Sometimes doing nothing IS doing something. It's a daily surrender, having faith that what is best for me He knows, and will reveal it when I am READY, guiding me in the direction I need to be and should be going.

My Definition Of A Champion

When the going gets tough - which it has - I remind myself that character is built during our time in the valleys, that what we learn and endure is what helps up reach the peaks. Once a Champion, always a Champion, my first cycling coach told me. That may be true, but to ALWAYS be a Champion, one must LIVE it, keep striving and doing their best, what got them to the top in the first place! So, no matter what or where, the mantra of a Warrior beats within me. . . .

Of all the things one can become in life, I can think of nothing better to be than to be a Champion.

A Champion is a WARRIOR.

A Champion NEVER settles; never gives up; they strive through the blood, sweat and tears to overcome ALL obstacles placed before them.

A Champion IGNORES the pain; they are the first to rise and the last to fall; they will keep on going until they collapse.

A Champion NEVER accepts defeat; 'failure' is not defeat, but a lesson on how to do better, how not to make the same mistakes.

A Champion may fall, but they ALWAYS rise again, fighting back harder than ever.

A Champion does NOT make excuses for their shortcomings, but pushes forward, turning their weaknesses into strengths.

A Champion burns with the fire of determination and passion; they dare to dream, dreaming of the stars and REFUSE to accept anything less than such heights as they have set their eyes upon.

A Champion NEVER backs down or strays from their path; they have a purpose and they will do WHATEVER it takes to achieve it.

A Champion has a PURPOSE, forging forward, open to possibilities, forever testing themselves, challenging the 'impossible'.

A Champion gives EVERYTHING they have to their cause, holding nothing back, persistently pursuing their goals, dreams and desires with a vengeance to be the absolute BEST that they can be.

Do YOU have what it takes to become a Champion?