This year has whizzed past as I spent so much of it either on my butt recovering from surgery or traveling. I spend a lot of time thinking about what kind of life I want to craft for myself. This is a huge driver in both fitness and fashion – they are both things that are necessary in order to feel the way I want to feel… and then to do the things I want to do. (I know, I may have gone a little woo-woo on you there.)
Over and over my thoughts lead back to 2 core words: inclusion and experiences.
Inclusion: I want to fit in comfortably when I get on an airplane, hop in a small car, or get on a roller coaster. I want to feel like I belong there. So much of this is mental, but some is physical – physically being able to fit in a space. I'm headed to NYC again tomorrow and for the umpteenth time this year, my airplane anxiety has hit. It's exhausting and sucks the joy out of what should be something I'm looking forward to. The feeling of not physically fitting somewhere is hard to shake, no matter how much confidence or body acceptance I have. Should we as a society work toward inclusion for all? Of course. Will it make a difference in the amount of time I want it to? Unlikely.
Experiences: One of my biggest motivations is to live a life full of experiences. To travel, see things, be with amazing people, and basically do things besides work on my computer 24/7. I feel like a lot of my life is spent coasting – and I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way. It's easier to go with the everyday rhythm of things instead of shaking things up (I know this very well as an introvert who gets drained by new situations), but then you're left with ordinary instead of extraordinary.
This past weekend I shared an experience with some awesome people I am honored to call friends, and all of whom I know because of blogging. Connections through a computer monitor or 140 character Tweet don't seem like they can be that deep, but after several years of blogging and going to FitBloggin to have “real life” interactions, I know these connections are some of the most real that I have.
A crew of 6 assembled to complete Tough Mudder Kentucky. I was originally on the team, but can barely walk much less run 12 miles and do obstacles, so I played the role of cheerleader. I also played hostess to Jimmy, Tiger, Roni, and Alan, which was super fun (links below). Other amazing mudders were Ann and Megan. All 6 of them inspired the hell out of me. Majorly.
Jimmy, Tiger, Roni, Me, Alan at Keeneland
We had fun at the races.
They were curious to see Castle Post in Versailles
How Roni could look so happy after jumping in a dumpster of ice water and back into the 45 degree air is beyond me.
My boot wasn't exactly all-terrain
Seriously. How awesome is this? (Photo via Roni)
Alan is one of my BFF's, and a master of selfies
I just left the weekend with gratitude. Grateful that I have amazing people in my life that do awesome things and inspire me infinitely. I am thankful for the inclusion and experience. We're doing Tough Mudder Tampa 2014, so maybe I'll feel even more inclusion then. But for today, I'm left craving more experiences with amazing people like this.
Even though it's frightening as hell, I'm branching out to a new experience this week as I head to NYC for LuckyFABB, a conference put on by Lucky Magazine. I have fears of not fitting in, not being stylish enough, or having my normal wallflower syndrome, but I have to push myself. Fingers crossed for a week of inclusion and experiences.
