You've got to have heart!

Today was a great day. Today was a long day. Today was an exhausting day. Today was one of those days where I was proud of my employer and the great things we do in the community. Today is one of those days that I really could have used a nap. Today was a day I was thankful for an amazing team of co-workers, with whom I truly enjoy working. Today was a day when I tried something new. Today was a day I sacrificed to get my workout in. Today was a day I was uplifted by time with my teammates. Today was a day that zapped my energy and renewed it all at once. I made the most of today.

Isn't it funny how so many emotions can occupy our heads all at once? I know I probably can seem scattered or flighty at times, but I've realized that being true to ourselves means embracing each day as it comes, and loving it for what it's worth.

We had an awesome work event tonight -- Covenant's Heart Truth Wear Red Gala at West Town Mall. Lots of lovely ladies modeled awesome fashions from various stores in West Town Mall, and Belk. The event was to raise awareness for heart disease in women, and promote that tomorrow is National Wear Red Day! Over 200 folks came out to support the event ... and the great swag bags put together by the mall! Several of the models were Heart Champions trained to spread awareness about heart disease in women, and several were heart disease survivors.

So...the trying something new part I mentioned above. I tweeted & facebooked live throughout the event on behalf of my company. Now, I can use social media with the best of them ... but, I'd never utilized it this way for an event before. All-in-all, I think I did a decent job, minus the few typos I found after the fact (stupid fat fingers with my iPhone).

My training has helped me realize something about myself that's been hard for me to accept throughout life ... I'm not perfect. I won't ever be perfect. This doesn't mean I'll give up trying to do an awesome job at the things I do, or that I've accepted defeat or anything, it just means I've started to set realistic expectations for myself.

Tonight towards the end of our work event I had to speed out to head to our group training session with Chris. At the beginning of training I think it was obvious that most of us were just plain tired. We all have demanding jobs and other obligations that pull us in a million different directions on a daily basis. Some of us aren't seeing the weight drop on the scales, some of us feel like we've hit a plateau, some of us feel that our fitness level isn't up to par with others ... but you know what, we're showing up! That's worth more than all of the stories we're telling ourselves in our heads about why we're not as successful as we think we should be at this point.

So tonight instead of focusing how tired I am, or how sore I am, or even how sore I am going to be tomorrow, I'm going to focus on the fact that I'm glad I'm tired because I pushed myself to be better today ... both professionally and physically. I'm going to focus on the fact that feeling sore means that I'm feeling something ... and that means I've alive! I'll take it! I'm going to focus on the incredible support system I have in my life ... my family, my co-workers, and my teammates, you all are awesome! I had one of our event models, who is a  heart disease survivor stop me this evening, and ask if I was on this year's Biggest Winner Team, and I told her yes. She told me how proud she was of me, and to keep up the good work! I won't lie ... it felt great!

Thanks for sticking with me on this one ... I know it's been a bit rambling. Don't forget to wear your red tomorrow to support women's heart disease awareness.

Don't forget to try something new tomorrow, and be thankful you have a tomorrow!