How do you Measure Your Best?

People always tell you to do your best - your parents said it, your teachers said it, your friends said it. We tell our friends and our children. It's encouraging, right? But how do you know when we are really doing our best?

Here's the thing: We are often our worst enemy. We try our hardest only to measure that effort to our own standard and fall short of the outrageous standard we created for ourselves. That's when we fail or simply give up because trying to reach our bogus ideal isn't feasible. It's why diets often fail. It's why we stop exercising after one week because we just can't work to the point we think we should. 

It's why we don't reach a goal that we think is really important to us. We are, in fact, our worst enemy. 

So, how do we actually measure what our best is? It all starts with goal setting. We have written many posts on it (read

here

,

here

,

here

and

here

), but before you commit to a change in your life, take a moment to walk through the steps you will have to accomplish to make that change. Even if it's taking part in an event - it's a change from your norm. 

Mentally or Physically Map out the Steps to Meeting Your Ultimate Life Change/Task/Goal

Set Small Goals Pertaining to Each Step

Determine a Reward Structure to Reinforce Completion of Each or a Few Steps at a Time

Reach Your Ultimate Goal and Do your Best!

Tiffany

Motivation To Go The Extra Mile!

Need a little motivation to get up off the couch and lace up your shoes? Or maybe you need a little extra motivation to push through that first or last mile. Motivation comes in many forms but we personally love inspirational quotes and wanted to share a few of our favorites!

What are your favorite motivational fitness quotes?

- Whitney

Need a little extra help with incorporating strength training with your runs? Don't want to think about your workouts? Let us be your personal trainers with our She Sweats 12-week Run Builder and increase your mile time. It guides your workout each day and has everything you need! Find out more!

Have you been following the 2-week Runner's Event?

Don't miss these posts!

• How to Extend the Life of Your Running and Athletic Shoes
• Strength Training and Running: Why You Should Do Both!
• What to Eat Before & After Your Run! Plus, is Carb Loading Necessary?
• Cardio Explained! Plus, Ways to Mix Up Your Cardio Routine!
• FREE Running Apps You Need to Have On Your Phone
• 4-Mile, 10 Minute Pace Playlist

It's OK to Fall Off the Wagon

I recently received a text message from one of my best friends that went a little like this: "I need some motivation... I've fallen away from my workout and good eating kick!!! I need some serious accountability!!!!..." Want to know my response to her? "Don't worry. Take a deep breath. Do something right now that's good for you - even if it's a walk to the mailbox, and make good decisions from then on out!" I then when on to ask her what she has been doing and what does she REALISTICALLY have time to do going forward (

girl 

has 6 children to take care of - 

life 

definitely gets in her way!).

You see, it's one thing to try to back yourself into a corner of what you should be doing, but sometimes, when we box ourselves in SO much, we don't leave time or the ability to veer from our normal path. This is dangerous! Not really dangerous in a skydiving or a driving 100MPH in a 25MPH zone sort of way, but dangerous in a self-sabotaging way. When you fall off of the wagon from this, you are going to fall HARD! It's going to make it even harder to get back on. 

Let's talk about the wagon you are on: What does it look like? Is it realistic? Did you try to make yourself or your "goals" into something that you aren't or shouldn't be? Is it too far from what you feel you can actually accomplish? Did you set one big goal or smaller ones that will lead up to a bigger one? You need to evaluate this. If something doesn't seem attainable, squash it - you won't get there. SURE - Dream the impossible and reach for it! However, people don't accomplish the impossible by starting on a direct path to it first. They overcome little hurdles that ultimately add up to the big shebang! 

How about the road you are driving the wagon on? What does that road look like? Did you give yourself 3 weeks to run a half marathon? 1 month to lose 20 lbs? If your goal looks like that, you've set yourself up for failure before you even started. Think about your goals and the things it will take you to get there, what's going on in your life (vacation, obligations, responsibilities, time constraints, etc) and determine the road that looks best for YOU. Not a group of your friends, but YOU!

What happens if and when you fall off of the wagon? You see those posts on Pinterest and Facebook all the time - "So and so lost 75lbs in 3 months because they were FOCUSED." Um... first of all, that isn't healthy, but I digress... If it's actually true, do you not think they had times of self-doubt? Think they sneaked in a night of too many calories or drank a glass of wine? Most likely. If it's actually true however, they learned how to pick themselves up off the ground, get back on the wagon and move closer toward their goal. The OVERALL goal became BIGGER than their immediate desire (not need - if it's truly a need, don't ignore it). All you have to do is have the courage (and maybe "gumption" if you are in the South) to get back up, brush yourself on and persevere toward the finish line. 

What does your wagon look like?

Tiffany