We Can do Hard Things
/We can do hard things.
I'm listening to the book "Untamed" by Glennon Doyle right now, and in it she talks about how she used that quote as a mantra for a period of time in her life (I'm paraphrasing, but you get the point).
I'm totally stealing that. Right now, life IS hard things. Even the things that didn’t use to be hard, are hard.
Like push-ups.
Today I’m 18 weeks postpartum and I’ve been working out again for almost 12 weeks. 12 weeks?!? How is that even possible? I should be further along by now, I should be able to at least do a couple solid sets of full push-ups, right?
Says who? The critic in my head, that’s who. And it’s hard.
But we can do hard things.
At the beginning of last year I dreaded bench press day. I knew it was good for me, and I wanted to get stronger, but it was really hard, and I hated it. But as I gradually worked on increasing my upper body strength and control, I began to (gasp!) not only tolerate bench press day, but actually like it!
I loved how strong I felt as I pushed the bar up. I loved the feeling of accomplishment each time I was able to add an extra five pounds to the bar. And yeah, I loved the looks I got as I added more weight than the "bros" at the gym expected a "girl" to add to her bar (eye roll).
But a pregnancy and almost 18 weeks postpartum later and I'm back at square one. I'm still re-teaching my body to do a full push-up with good core support and good form.
And you know what, it's HARD. Like- I don't want to do it hard. Like, I'm so freaking embarrassed at how hard it is hard.
But you know what. We can do hard things. And every day I'm getting a little better. Call me crazy, but I’m actually looking forward to the day I can get back under the bar.
You may not be 18 weeks postpartum, but this year has thrown lots of hard things at all of us. And maybe you’re just getting back into a new routine after falling out of your old one months ago. And maybe, it’s hard.
But we can do hard things.
Just like I can’t expect my body to magically be where it was pre-pregnancy (I spent 41 weeks growing a human, y’all!), you can’t expect your body to immediately be able to do what it was doing before. Take a deep breath, take a step back, and start from square one.
Take this time to get reacquainted with your body. Heck, this is the PERFECT time to start at square one. Many of us are still at least semi-quarantined. There’s no one watching, so we’re our only critic.
Instead of trying to do “More, Bigger, Better” take this time to check in with yourself. How is your technique? How is your form? How do you feel? Yes, it may feel like a step backwards, but trust me, it’s not. Yes, it may be hard, but (one more time for the people in the back) we can do hard things.
You know what the coolest thing about this mantra is? It can be applied to every area of our lives.
Virtual learning? Hard. We can do hard things.
Working from home in a less-than-ideal space? Hard. We can do hard things.
Staying on track with our nutrition while in the house all day? Hard. We can do hard things.
Getting back into an exercise routine when life has been anything but routine lately? Hard. We can do hard things.
We can do hard things.
We CAN do hard things.
WE can do hard things.
I believe in you. You can do the hard things. You are amazing. You’ve got this.
P.S. If you have read (physical or audiobook) Untamed, what are you waiting for? Seriously, add it to your cue or wish-list now and thank me later.
