Do what you want to do and OWN it!

On the fourth of July, I was chatting with a good friend about working out…cause what else do meatheads talk about?!
She was telling me about her new gym and how she has been feeling really motivated to go workout recently. Her gym is also on her way home from work and it’s so much easier to make it a priority.
But she also told me that she’s been suuuper intimidated to go to the weight room and lift, especially the squat rack. She explained that all of the guys in the weight room make her really nervous and she feels so weak next to them as they swing around the big plates and heavy weights. But she really wanted to get back into lifting, she loves doing it, but for a while she felt too scared and not confident enough to do it.
 
I was honestly a little surprised to hear these concerns from her. A few years ago, she was working out with a personal trainer on a regular basis, utilizing all sorts of weights and definitely getting in the squat rack! I just figured that someone who had experience in the gym and had professional training would be confident and eager to get back into the weight room.
And that’s very naïve of me to assume someone would feel that way. Getting in the weight room, can be intimidating and be a big leap out of your comfort zone. I’ve become deconditioned to the intimidation factor of the weight room and I’ve forgotten what it feels like to be an outsider looking in. But I remember feeling very nervous to lift weights by myself the first few times; it’s like anything else we do or try that’s new to us.
 
My friend did eventually get the courage up and got in the weight room, used the coveted squat rack and felt amazing about it (yay!). She also said that once she was there it was no big deal. No one made a fuss that she was in the weight room or using the rack, no one commented on what weight she was using, it was just business as usual in the gym.
 
And isn’t that typically the case when we are scared or nervous about doing something?
 
We think that everyone is going to stare us down and watch every move we make, but then that’s totally not the case! Everyone just keeps doing what they were doing and they barely even notice we are there, especially in the gym. In the gym everyone is focused on themselves (except for the occasional creeper) and how they look in the mirror. It makes sense that no one would pay attention when we walk into the weight room, most of the people are too busy checking themselves out to care what we’re doing!
 
Most importantly, my friend got up the courage and went to the weight room cause she reeeally wanted to, even though she was scared.
She got in the squat rack, loaded up her normal weight and owned it!
 
As women we often think that someone is going to judge us for doing something out of the norm, such as going into the weight room (which I think sucks that it’s not considered a norm for women, but that’s another topic). Really we just need to have confidence in the actions we’re taking and no one will notice otherwise! If you’re nervous to do something, OWN it and you will look like a pro.
 
Haven’t we all been in this position at one point or another? We bought some trendy heels or a flashy lipstick color and in the store it seemed like the best idea. But then when we’re home and actually put the lipstick on, we second guess ourselves and suddenly think that it looks terrible. How can that be?! It looked amazing in the store yesterday!
 
If we  have confidence in those situations and take the risk, own it, we can find some amazing results. More than likely, it will be business as usual, in which case it was a success because no one noticed how nervous we were. Or we can get some compliments or start a new conversation with someone about it, in which case it’s a super success because no one noticed how nervous we were AND they appreciated what we were doing!
 
I know I can learn a lesson from my brave friend and I see women all the time second guessing themselves, so I think they can learn too.
 
Be yourself.
Own it!
 
There’s no reason to hold ourselves back from what we really want to do or be because we are worried what someone or anyone else will think.
We spend a lot of time investing our energy into what other people think and what we think will make others happy. But we have to live with our own selves for the rest of our lives, so doesn't it make sense that we should do stuff that makes us happy?!

It’s okay (in fact, it’s really awesome) to stand up tall as the person you want to be and do the things you’ve been afraid to do. And it can be nerve-wracking or it can be exhilarating, but either way jumping out of our comfort zone a little bit makes us feel like a badass in the end.
Why worry about impressing others when you can impress yourself?
 
Whether you need a little push to get your booty in the weight room, or a go-ahead to wear those daring heels, this is your reminder that it’s going to be worth it.
 
And always remember…
Love yourself.
 
 
Tomorrow is the last day to buy my new program Just Strong! Get your copy at http://unbouncepages.com/juststrong/
 
Thank you to everyone who has purchased and supported my introductory program so far!
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