It’s been one of those days. The world around you has lost its mind. The kids are crying. The boss is demanding. The clerk is rude. The line is long. The traffic is bad. The partner is cranky. The weather is dreary. The neighbors are touchy. And you are…. Exhausted.
Tired and weary bones cry within you as the hasty world bustles against you like relentless atoms too busy to be worried about the ecosystem spinning around inside you. How could you possibly have anything left to give on a day like this. When the bed calls to you from across the house just begging you to curl into it, pull the covers over your head and let the world turn without you for just a few moments.
Or days.
How can you do anything else on these days? When the world has pulled from you until your cup is empty and you find yourself saying you have nothing more to give?
A workout? Now? When you feel so weary? When you are dragging your day behind you just trying to get through it?
Perhaps rest is truly what you need. There is no shame in that. Rest is a pillar of health and you should be fiercely protective of keeping it a part of your world.
However, what is it that needs the rest? Your body? Or your heart?
Many times we view a workout as something we have to go do. Another thing in our day where we have to pour ourselves out. Another demand on our gas tank that is already running on fumes. Burpees and pushups. Jumping Jacks and Squats. Even a grapevine or a shimmy requires us to pull energy from somewhere. So, we avoid it. We stay home. We put it off. We don’t want to be around the people. Don’t want to pretend we are having fun. Don’t want to fake one more smile or listen to one more comment about the weather outside.
What if, instead of avoiding the workout, you make today a receiving day?
Listen, I get it. We’ve been taught since we entered the planet that we should put everyone else in the world ahead of ourselves. Our hearts and our feelings have been categorized and pushed into little boxes and corners and we are only allowed to pull them out and have them on our own time. Most of our days are as much of a performance as any show on a television. Even among those that we love, our role is most often as a servant. With big hearts and warrior minds we try to do it all.
So even when we show up to a workout we are in “give” mode. Smile at the Tribe. Encourage everyone around us. High fives and hugs. Laughter and dancing. And most of it comes from a place of genuine love and camaraderie. No one wants to be the “negative Nancy”. No one wants to be the one with the long face bringing the group down. So, you put yourself in that little box, put everyone ahead of yourself and bring that same warrior spirit you have faced the day with. You are going to pull this workout from somewhere!
And by the time you leave, you sit down in your car and make the drive home. You did the workout. You can be proud of that. But now you are more drained than ever. You are about to walk back into the world of demands that were banging down your door to begin with and all you have is a few burned calories.
Let’s change the story. Let’s make the workout about a little more than sore muscles.
Take that moment to acknowledge where you are at. Don’t put on the happy face. Don’t tie your mask on tight. You are weary and you don’t just need burned calories.
A good workout has so much more to offer than slimmer waists.
Remember that workouts offer endorphin boosts and help reduce stress and anxiety. They help with depression and confidence.
They aren’t just about beating yourself into the ground and going as hard as you can to get in shape.
Especially at Grind2Fit.
When you walk into these doors we want this to be a safe space for you to put the cares of the world away and focus on yourself. Not to put on a performance and be some fitness model of perfection. We want you to be able to laugh and shed some tears if you need to. To get some hugs and refill your cup.
So, in a world where you are so often being asked to give more and do more, remember that this can be a place for you to receive. Borrow some of the energy from the community around you. Take some of the smiles from the Tribe to replace the ones you’ve lost. Let the love and the laughter warm your heart. And maybe everyone’s struggling that day. Maybe everyone’s running on empty. That’s ok. Because we are in this together and when we come together, we recharge one another anyway.
It is ok to lean on those around you and draw your strength from those that can pour it out today. Because we know that there will come a time where you will have strength and others do not and they will be able to borrow some of yours.
If you stay at home, curl up under those covers and hide from the world you might be able to recharge your body and even your mind. You might gain strength from that solitude.
However, you’ll miss out on the hefty charge to your heart and spirit that a good dose of Tribe Love can offer to you when you take yourself off of “ON” mode and allow yourself to receive the benefits of your membership fully.
Show up, reach for what you need and let your cup be filled by the energy and community around you.
Your tribe is waiting.
