self-esteem | GRIT by Brit

Happy_New_Year

Earlier this year I was talking to my mentor about my passion for fitness and vision to create my own workout DVD (have you bought your copy yet?). She said to me, “Brittani, in your head it’s just a dream, but on paper it’s a goal and therefore a responsibility.” Since then, I made a habit of typing up my personal goals, printing them and taping them above my desk. The past few days I’ve been drafting my 2013 goals. Below are just my “fitness/health” goals, but I also set goals for my spirituality, career, relationships and finances…

My Top 5 Fitness Goals for 2013

While setting my 2013 goals, I started reflecting on some key lessons I learned in 2012 which have very much influenced my new goals and outlook on 2013. I’ve turned these lessons into “tips” which I wanted to share with you. I hope these wise words help you as much as they’ve helped me. Those who are closest to me know that I LOVE to be inspired and am walking vat of “1-liners” and inspirational quotes. So, I’ve made a point to scatter in many of my favorite quotes in this blog post.

Brit’s Top 10 Tips for Your Best Year Yet

Strive for EXCELLENCE not PERFECTION – My weight loss journey taught me a lot about striving for “perfection” and the damage it disappointment it causes. Life is about balance. It’s not all or nothing. Whether your New Year’s resolution is to lose weight, save money or run a marathon, you must be realistic about your human nature. The fact of the matter is that YOU WILL SLIP UP. You will have a day that you spend too much money, eat too much or miss your workout. However, your “slip ups” do not define who you are. Your determination to get back on track and keep pushing toward your goal is what makes you EXCELLENT. That’s #GRIT
Set HIGHER GOALS – “You’re stronger than you think you are.” This is my mantra and the GRIT by Brit tagline. It rolls off the tongue so easily, but it can be so hard to believe at times. In 2012 I started to realize that I am capable of doing things far beyond my imagination and, guess what, so are you! We are powerful beyond measure, but our self-doubt and fear of failure limit us. This year I’m going to take more risks and be willing to look like a fool for the things I believe in the most. Be on the lookout for amazing things from GRIT by Brit in 2013 😉 “Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” – Les Brown.
Give thanks EVERYDAY – I started keeping a journal in 2012. On days that didn’t have much write, I just jotted down a list of things that I was grateful for. It could be anything…great dinner with a friend, good workout, a client presentation that went well, sunshine, clean air, etc. It didn’t seem like much at the time, but looking back on my 2012 journal entries really shows me how blessed I am. Having a grateful and joyful spirit creates a self-fulfilling prophesy of more great things. Like the country church folks say, “When PRAISES go up, BLESSINGS come down!”
SERVE OTHERS to understand your calling – This year I realized my “calling” (or one of them at least). To me, our calling manifests itself when we are able to help others by doing something that we are naturally good at and super enthusiastic about. Teaching fitness classes allows me to do just this. Challenge yourself this year to find that thing that allows you serve others and makes you tick. “Helping others is the way we help ourselves.” -Oprah
Invest in PEOPLE not in PRAISES – Many times this year I would find myself getting anxious about how many Facebook likes I had, DVDs I sold or positive reviews I got on Amazon. The fact of the matter is that these “praises” come and go and do NOT create sustaining joy. What really satisfies us deep down in our souls is knowing that we have truly made a positive impact in someone else’s life. When I get emails from blog readers or students in my kickboxing classes that express how I was able to help them lose 20 pounds or have more self-confidence, it is the greatest joy and feeling of success! “The greatest success we’ll ever know is helping others succeed and grow.”
Learn from SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE – I spent a lot of time with “older” people in 2012 and boy did it serve me well. We often think that our problems are “unique” and forget that the world has been turning and people have been living for thousands and thousands of years. Therefore, what we’re going through, someone else has already been through. Talk to people who are successful and have overcome obstacles. Their personal stories and words of wisdom are priceless and powerful.
Stay FAR AWAY from chronically down-trodden and negative people – The harsh reality is that our lives are a direct reflection of the 5 people we associate with the most. Are you struggling with unemployment, depression, anxiety? Take a look around you and there’s a very high likelihood that your closest friends and associates are struggling with those exact same issues. “Misery LOVES company.” So push yourself this New Year to cut the negative ties and develop some positive ones.
SWEAT EVERY DAY – Exercise is like a free happy pill, so take one. You guys know that I’m a fitness junkie. It’s my passion. But even if you aren’t crazy about working out, it’s so important to make exercise a consistent part of your life. It increases serotonin, gets endorphins flowing, reduces your risk for cancer and strengthens your immune system. The key is to find a workout that you truly enjoy. So go pop in a new group fitness class, workout video or something else that gets you sweaty. “Exercise is the cheapest, most effective anti-depressant”… and it makes you sexy 😉
Eat lots of FRUIT & VEGETABLES – This seems so simple, but it can be so hard. Just keepin’ it 100%. Managing my weight became SO MUCH easier when I forced myself to eat lots of fruits and veggies throughout the day. To start off, I just packed 1 apple and 1 orange in my work bag everyday and made sure I ate them both before 5:00pm. Processed foods have too many calories and too few nutrients. When we eat too many of them, we end up hungry and deficient of the nutrients that our bodies need. We also end up having to exercise twice as much to compensate for the excess calories. If you are serious about maintaining a healthy weight in 2013, you must increase your fruit and vegetable intake. “You can’t out exercise a bad diet.”
BE THE PERSON you want to attract – Where my single ladies at? If you’re like me and pushing 30, you often ask yourself the million dollar question, “When will I get married and have babies?” I talk to my dad about this all the time and he always tells me to just “enjoy life to the fullest and focus on bettering myself.” When I turned 16 he wrote me a letter with his top 10 life lessons for me.#1 on the list is to “Keep God at the center of your life” and #2 is to “Choose your mate wisely.” He says it is the single most important decision I will make in my life. So don’t worry ladies (and gents). “Just keep grinding, keep shining and never-never settle!” The law of attraction says that we will naturally attract positive, loyal, loving partners when we truly inhabit those qualities ourselves. “We are single for a season and married for a reason.”

So now I leave you with my favorite song to get you “fired up” for the New Year. Remember, the best is ALWAYS yet to come. Here’s to 2013, your best year yet!

Be blessed.

Lots of love, Brit 🙂

4-week Shape-up Challenge: Lakshmi’s Final Update

I’ve spent 4 weeks on the Grit by Brit shape-up plan and in the infamous words of Ms. Brit, “I’ve seen some things.” Maybe more accurately, I’ve learned some things – about myself, my habits and my goals:

Success is a commitment – I’ve finally realized that when it comes to my body and my health, achieving a goal does not happen at a finite point in time. It’s a continual commitment. There is a reason that the phrase is “healthy lifestyle,” and not “healthy moment.” Achieving a healthy lifestyle requires commitment to a healthy life. It’s not one of those quick fix wedding boot camps – be intensely committed for 3 weeks, look buff for the big day and then stop once he’s passed you the ring. Being healthy is something that I need to consider every time I want to eat something or be active (or not active).
It takes a village – Hillary Clinton was so right – you can’t do this alone. Get supporters to cheer you on when you’re doing well. And to scold you when you’ve fallen off the wagon. Talking about my healthy life goals reinforced them in my head (the whole “speak it into existence” idea) and helped make those around me accountable for my success, too. No one wants to watch someone fail in health. If you tell people about who you want to be, they will enable success.
My body is smarter than I am – My brain is my worst enemy. It tells me I’m hungry when I’m not. It tells me I need to stop cycling when I shouldn’t. It tells me to not get out of bed when I need to. Turn the brain off. I learned to listen to my body. Am I hungry? Let me ask my energy level and stomach. Can I go further? Let me ask my legs and heart. Sometimes the answer is “Yes, stop! You’ve worked too hard” and other times it’s all “Lakshmi, please, your grandmother could keep going.” Whatever the question, I learned to let my body answer instead of my brain.
I am not perfect – Brit was continually telling me to not be so hard on myself. I find that when I hold myself to the expectation that my healthy behavior must be 100% compliant with the plan, I fail hard. And once I fail, I can’t pick myself back up. I need to lower the expectations of myself and minimize the impact of the failures so that I can get right back on-track.
I am perfect – You all read about how a woman mistook me for being pregnant. My self-esteem after that episode was low. WAY LOW. But then I realized, I am who I am. I am a fertile looking woman, who is great as she is. I have (finally) realized that the whole idea that people come in different sizes isn’t necessarily because they have varying abilities to portion control. Instead, it’s sometimes just because you were handed those genes. I was at the Levi’s store this weekend (amazing transition from genes to jeans) and noticed that all their fits had positive names (Slight, Demi, Bold, Supreme Curve). This taught me my size – no matter what it is – is awesome.

Thanks friends for reading! And thanks Brit for being both my good cop and my bad cop.