I have said it before, and you are probably thinking, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Here we go again.”

Maybe so!  But I have been really digging deep the last couple of weeks, all while actually being on vacation and adding an additional FIVE POUNDS to my already squishy and bloated body, but a few things seem to have really sunk in.  Plus I am going to have a great support group starting on Monday that I hope will help everyone in it get on track with their nutrition. ***Message me at bodybybrendat@outlook.com if you want in that group. Shakeology and being my(or a member of my team) Beachbody Customer is required.***

As I drove to work today, I was listening to You Are A Bad Ass by Jen Sincero, which I have done at least 3 other times, but I HEARD something different today.

“When taking GREAT leaps forward, life often turns to shit before it turns to Shinola!”

WOW!  I mean WOW!!!!

As I FINALLY took the leap to open my own studio, it seemed the minute the purchase went through, the stress started.  I faked it on the outside, but truly was not ready to believe that I could ever be successful in business.  That was my past full of failures coming back to haunt me.  But I pressed forward.  As I did, the stress grew, and my drinking started to get a little out of hand again.  Not quite where it was in the past, but enough that not only was I wasting calories on all the booze, but I started making poor food choices.  I was sabotaging my own success!

After finally opening the studio, by Thanksgiving, I was starting to get sick.  By Christmas, I was sick enough to finally go to a doctor for meds.  By January, I was driven into the ground!  2 rounds of antibiotics and steroids it would take just to get the bugs out and start the healing on my lungs.  I was BEAT!  And I seemed to have overnight gained about 20#!  I was already heavier than I wanted to be from the stress of the months leading up to the opening, and here I was packing on MORE!  I felt, and FEEL, horrible.  I needed something to wake me up and snap me out of this “Failure Funk”!

Well, it happened!  As I was preparing to take this next leg of my journey, I got a slap in the face!  I am STILL letting not only my past, but the energy of those around me, AND the fear of rejection and failure rule my present life.  Sometimes it is those closest to you that try to hold you back the most.  My advice to You AND ME, is DON’T LET THEM!

If you KNOW someone or something is a bad influence in your life, take whatever steps you must to SHUT IT DOWN!  INSIST that the people in your life, from you parents and spouses, to your casual acquaintences on Facebook, respect your goals to be healthy and happy!  And if that means that you have to end up leaving a few people who make you feel bad about yourself behind because they have no desire to help you grow, then it is their loss.  Bless them to go on about their lives and release them from your circle.

Life is a rollercoaster.  without the work to get to the top, you will never feel the full thrill of the ride.  There will be ups and there will be downs, but if you have the courage and the drive to work up to the top of the next hill, the ride on the other side is sure to be filled with “throw your hands in the air fun!”

GOALS