A couple of weeks ago I was given the opportunity to write a guest post for Ashley. The post resulted in some uplifting, positive feedback, so I’ve decided to share the post here on my own blog with you all today.
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It’s no secret that I’m crazy about living a healthy, well-balanced life. It’s not something I’ve always been passionate about, however. About 2 years ago, I made it my New Year’s Resolution (the first of my life) to exercise at least 3 times a week and start incorporating more fruits and vegetables into my diet. It’s been a long journey (one that I don’t think will ever be ‘over’) in which I’ve made momentous progress, but there were definitely many bumps in the road along the way.
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You don’t need to be “a runner” to be healthy, most definitely not, but so much of what I’ve learned in the past couple of years I’ve learned through running. It proposes so many ups and downs, physically, mentally, and literally, and requires a significant amount of dedication and hard work.
One of the main things I’ve learned through this journey is this:
It’s not supposed to be easy.
It’s easy to not give your all. It’s easy to give up. It’s easy to quit.
But life is supposed to be hard.
Always doing things the easiest way or just plain giving up on them, doesn’t get us where we want to be in life. That’s not how we accomplish our goals. That’s not how we grow as people. That’s not how we become happier.
Overcoming “the hard” is how we learn, how we grow, how we better ourselves.
Slowly making better eating choices into a habit? Hard.
Keeping relationships strong? Hard.
Increasing your weights for that last set of curls? Hard.
Running 13.1 miles? Hard.
Dedicating 15 minutes every morning to read the Bible and pray? Hard.
Worth it?? Every moment.
Think of the last time you pushed through something you wanted to quit. Now think about how amazing you felt after you didn’t give up! We’re all stronger than we give ourselves credit for.
Over the past 2 years, I’ve faced and overcome a lot of obstacles in this “journey” of healthy, balanced living–from disrespectful comments I receive from people, to wanting to skip out on a planned and needed workout. But when I literally say to myself, “It’s supposed to be hard,” I’m somehow motivated, every time, to keep on going.
You know that phrase about the grass always being greener on the other side? Well, there’s no way to know unless you make the trip over the bridge.
All of those cliches in life may be cheesy, but they’re so absolutely true. Don’t let a set back or two win, because YOU get to choose! So chase after your dreams and don’t quit. You’re too valuable to just give up on what will make you happy.
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
So true! Thanks for a great post!
I love the positivity :) Very very true. Thank you so much!
Thanks for sharing, you are right and truly motivate others!
Thanks Jen :)
could not agree more!!!!!!!!! LOVED this
thanks girl!! and thanks again for sharing it on bean bytes :) I feel so honored to be included in that list!
LOVED this post! :)
Great post Danica!:)
Thanks Sunnie!
What a great reminder that pushing through is sometimes not the only thing you can do…but exactly what you are supposed to do!
exactly! It takes pushing through the challenging stuff to get to the good stuff.
I love this post!
“Overcoming the hard is how we learn, we grow, how we better ourselves”. – I think this couldn’t be more true. I found some of my hardest experiences in life (breakups, half-marathon, moving in with my fiancé, etc) led to some of my deepest growth and inevitably my happiest and most appreciated results. 100% worth it! :)
Yes! In the moment it’s difficult/confusing/challenging, but then once you make it through without giving up, you’ve learned and gained SO much!
loved this post!! thanks for sharing this with us :)
Great post, Danica!! So glad you decided to share this with all of us <3 Have a wonderful weekend.
Thanks Jessie :)
Love it! Such good reminders, thanks! :)
I believe I’ve just found a new blog to follow. I love this!! I just wrote a post last week that stirred up some discussion, and part of it was about diets. The big thing I wanted to get across was that if all these miracle, “secret” diets and contraptions worked back in the 1990′s like they said they would, we’d all be in great health. But we’re not. The country’s in trouble, in terms of obesity, and there’s a reason. It’s NOT easy!!! You said it perfectly. (And I love that you mention you don’t have to be a runner to be healthy…but that it’s what’s taught you what you know. I’m a runner, too, and that’s exactly how I see it.)
Thank you so much, Melissa!!
And I couldn’t agree more with what you said…those bad diets/pills are obviously not the answer for obtaining health. Unfortunately, people are looking to get an insanely quick result without being willing to actually make a change in their life, which is what it’s all about! I sincerely hope that our society continues to slowly change in the right direction–people need to be educated on this issue!
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