Focusing on progress not perfection

I haven’t even begun to think about New Year’s. I feel like I barely eeked through the holidays this year. In this season of the year, and my life in general, I’m finding it all too easy to be hard on myself for not measuring up to my “old self.” It feels like I’m barely keeping up with all my “have to’s” and not getting enough time for the things that I really want to still accomplish.

It’s probably silly and a bit materialistic, but this watch I received as part of my partnership with Women’s Health and Seiko has really helped my mindset over the past few weeks. It feels like a visual reminder of how far I’ve come in the last 3 years — especially at a time when it’s been easy to beat up on myself.

Fitness is an industry where it’s impossible not to feel like you aren’t good enough to be there. I’m a late-comer, and completely average. I work with amazing athletes, and there is no shortage of amazing athletes and trainers in my community. I admit that I find myself often thinking, “who would want to learn anything from ME?” I don’t train full-time, I don’t really look the part, am I really in any position to be coaching?

Above: First PR post-pregnancy – front squat, in booty shorts. First time really feeling like “I’m back.” Then I managed to sprain my wrist a few days later. 

So what started as a call from Seiko to write about how we’ve influenced progress in our communities, resulted in a few muddled sentences about the past 3 years of my life. At the time, it didn’t feel like a lot.

I didn’t even really think about it until I was selected. Why had they picked me?

Even though it often feels like mostly an uphill battle, the gym I work at has grown substantially in the last three years. And in doing so has been able to grow not only in reach but charitable work as well. We raised well over $10,000 last year for various organizations, and what started as a couple hours a week has turned into what feels like a legitimate part-time job helping with events and communication at the gym. We are always planning something, and looking forward to not only grow the business, but help people live their best lives. It’s the most personally rewarding work I’ve ever been a part of — so much change literally unfolds as you watch, and I in turn have become a person I would not have recognized before taking part.

And since being pregnant and sharing my experiences on training, diet, and now motherhood, I have received so many great emails from people because it’s made their pregnancies easier. I have shared my little bundle of notes and documentation with other trainers and am finding new and better ways to help other women stay active during pregnancy and postpartum. Hopefully this will become something even greater in 2015 — but it was pretty awesome this year. It’s probably the most thorough body of documentation I’ve ever put together. Now if I could just organize it…

In the end I’m so lucky that the clients I have are more like friends and family, and that we share the same values of not only health and wellness, but giving back to the community and putting more positive energy back into the workplaces and communities we are a part of. Sure, it’s not “direct dollars” or an amount raised all at once for charity, but when it comes right down to it, those are the gains that ultimately make a difference.

It was all this, somehow condensed into a few sentences, that ended up on Seiko’s desk. And while at the time it didn’t feel like enough, it somehow feels so much bigger when an amazing company acknowledges it.

So while 2015 for most will be a time to aim for giant leaps forward, I think I’m going to take the year and focus on what is already working, learn to appreciate and acknowledge it more fully, and circle my wagons around areas that I need to realize and appreciate more. In the midst of it all, it’s easy to lose sight, and I just want to thank Seiko for acknowledging me and sending me this beautiful watch. I really don’t own a lot of “nice” things, and I feel so proud to have this on my arm every day.

So bring it 2015, I think I’m ready.

About the Watch

I selected the Seiko Sportura SNDX95, a quartz chronograph that features a mother of pearl dial, 8 diamonds, and a ceramic and stainless steel bracelet. It’s quite sporty too, and has split-time measurement and water-resistant up to 100 meters (330 feet), though I don’t plan to test that feature haha. What I love most is that it mirrors a men’s style while still feeling feminine, and the design feels very balanced and perfect for all occasions.

Disclosure: I am participating in the Women’s Health Action Hero program and have been provided with a watch from Seiko and the opportunity to participate in an ambassadorship program for the period of a year in exchange for my thoughts, awareness through blog posts and opinions about any products or opportunities I partake in.