Strength

What do you think of when you read the word "strength"? Muscles? Physical condition? Perseverance? Mental muscle? Typically, I think of a muscular physique when I think of strength. That is, I thought of muscles until the last few years of my life.

Physical strength is something you can improve, increase, and control somewhat. Physical activity, gyms, strength training, P90X, and ChaLEAN Extreme are all ways to increase muscle and strength. I've spent many years working on my physicality. I've spent countless hours in the gym, in front of my TV with a DVD cranking, I've invested in weights, pull up bars, push up stands, drinks and pills that increase muscle growth, and educated myself as to how a body works and what makes it grow, tone, and define. I've modified my nutrition to be knowledgeable about what "good" and "bad" things are and try to choose wisely. I signed up as a distributor (consultant) first for AdvoCare and then later as a coach (consultant) for BeachBody. I've helped countless people on their journey for physical conditioning.

You can photograph muscular strength. Time stamp its growth. Document its presence (and its absence). You can push yourself physically to the point of collapse, exhaustion, and shut down. Many people are aware and cognitive of their limitations while many more have never pushed themselves to discover what they are truly capable of. The human body is an amazing thing and its brilliance is what I refer to as a "God thing." Muscle recovery, broken bones healing, conception and subsequent birth of a child, recovery from serious illnesses, the intricacies of internal organs, and so much more are astonishing to me. Many people underestimate their physical strength and determine they are unable to do something without an attempt at accomplishing the feat. Programs like P90X and other BeachBody programs give a person a chance to test their physical strength in the comfort of their own home. People that embark on this journey and are able to see it through to its finish marvel at their previously unexamined strength. It is an awesome moment when you pick up a weight that you used to struggle with and yet can now lift it easily and have the chance to bump it up to the next level.

Mental/emotional strength is a whole 'nother game. Many people have lived lives where their emotional strength has been pushed but not truly challenged. Many more of us have been pushed to the brink of total meltdown and annihilation. If you had told me 5 years ago what these past 5 years were going to hold for me, I'm not sure I would have opted for this path in my life. Of course I am aware of the blessings these years have held for me but...wow...I was not prepared for the pending complete overhaul on my psyche. We all have our skeletons, our pasts, our familial secrets, our crosses to bear. We all have made mistakes and lived moments that, given a chance, we would happily eradicate from existence. Chances are, you're reflecting on one right now.  The beauty of those moments, those trials and tribulations, those crossroads in life that force us to choose a path to take; is they also force us to grow and strengthen emotionally. Those challenges will bend us and contort us like a Gumby doll and leave us wondering if we will ever be the same again, all the while knowing that we would indeed NOT be the same. Moments like those push us into becoming something new. It's a rebirth, of sorts, for many and can also be a death. For me, it was the death of a person I used to be (one that I thought had served me well) combined with a birth of a new woman who had learned, grown, and was strengthened by life and its challenges.

Marriage, birth, death, loss of a parent, loss of a child, divorce, career changes, illness, disease, terminal illness, loss of home, loss of job, loss of stabilitiy, caring for a parent or grand parent, filing bankruptcy, recovering from bankruptcy, drunk driving citation, court battles, custody battles, teenagers, returning to the dating scene as a mature adult, joining the military, deployment of yourself or loved one, returning to civilian life past military, and so many more life altering situations will force to either wither or grow.

I chose to grow.I still choose to grow.

The fact remains that if you continue to do as you've done you'll likely get what you've gotten. This is a perfect scenario if you're loving your life. Notsomuch if you're not. Change happens--it's how you respond to it that makes it a change you can survive or a change that buries you.

I, like countless others, did not know my own strength. It made me crazy (and still kinda does) to hear people be in awe of my strength because the woman inside of me felt like I was at my limit and, at any moment, would succumb to the weight of my life and the pain and not be okay when it was all over. Strong? I don't know about that. Survivor? Hell yes, I am a survivor.

My point in all of this? Our bodies are miraculous creations that can create life, heal from heart failures, surgeries, and serious illness. Additionally, our minds are limitless--if you can dream it you can do it--and you can likely do more than you give yourself credit for. You can likely withstand much as you are a resilient beautiful creature that has unique skills and talents that make you a wonderful addition to this planet. Through honesty with yourself, love for yourself, patience, tolerance, faith, some great friends and perhaps a good bottle of whiskey you can overcome much.