Welcome Back Elle!
My coach once told me “Tough times don’t last, but tough people do.” It was this year I was reminded of this wonderful piece of advice.
I started this blog last year with the aim of inspiring others to set and achieve goals, and to never give up. If you read my last blog, yes it was a while ago, it was all rainbows and lollipops after an amazing 2016. I have written this to encourage you to keep striving for those goals even when the going gets tough.
Shortly after writing my first blog I hit a rough patch, and that rough patch lasted months. It was one thing after another. It all started on a Monday morning in October, by 9am I had been through a break up and been told I may be made redundant the following year. That weekend I thought I would make a cheesecake to cheer myself up and I stuck my finger in a blender which resulted in a trip to ED with a plastic surgeon review and my finger out of action for some weeks after. I was off work, I couldn’t train, was trying to study and I was looking for a house to move to. The fun didn’t stop there!
Basically, I arrived on the door step of 2017 feeling like I had been dragged through a rose bush, rolled up and bowled down a rocky ravine.
I moved to my new house in December (with one hand), got sick twice and as a result of this all, fell behind in my studies. All of my family lives in Western Australia so it was really tough. I am thankful for the beautiful friends that rallied around me, and for the hours of ‘phone-a-friend’ from my family back home. Early in 2017 my beautiful Nanna had a fall, and was admitted to hospital. Shortly after this we lost her. I was devastated.
Honestly, it felt like the 6 months from hell and I was exhausted…. But I got through it.
I am sharing with you one of my low points. (It is not my first low point, and likely won’t be the last). Why? Because I want you to remember this when you hit your next low point, rough patch or disaster and know that it will get better. I want you to read this if you are going through a tough time now and know that you are doing ok, you are not failing, and that things will be ok.
It is during these times, when we feel weakest, that we can lose our momentum, our motivation and become critical of ourselves. Judging ourselves for how we are handling things and what we are not doing. During this time, I was so frustrated with myself. I had all these plans and no energy to execute them. I was trying to study, but not retaining anything because I was tired and stressed. I wanted to be training every day, knowing that it was good for me and would make me feel better, but some days I just didn’t have the drive to get up and go to the gym. It’s funny, isn’t it? When we feel weak, we lack the energy to do the very things that give us strength.
The one thing I refused to do though was roll over and give up. I think it is during times like this, when the goals posts change, that we make a crucial decision. We either decide that the goal posts are now too far away, and we throw the towel in. Or we decide to keep those goals posts firmly fixed in our sight and keep running towards them, however fast or slow that might be. Crawl if you have to! Sit still and stare at them for a bit if you want, but don’t lose sight of them. I want you to remember this when you hit your next rough patch, and I want you to choose to keep running towards those goal posts, no matter how much further they have moved. This is a mindset, and you have ultimate control over your choices.
I had lost so much time on my study, and it would have been very easy for me to decide to let it go with everything that was going on. “Ive ruined my opportunity, there are too many other things happening, I don’t have the motivation anymore.” There is always a way, nd you always have a choice. I chose to push a little harder, and make it work. You see, I remembered what my coach had said, that “tough times don’t last, tough people do.” She was so right.
So here I am, August 2017, and things are completely different to the way they were in October last year. (Surprise Surprise)
My finger has healed, I am settled into my new place and I Iove it here, I am working away at my study, I still have my job, and I am currently training for Season B competitions again this year.
So many things can happen in one year, one month, or just one day. So just hang in there, hang on by a thread, the skin of your teeth, whatever you have to hang on with and keep your focus on where you want to be. Don’t let go of your dreams, goals and aspirations when the going gets tough. Write them down and do one little positive thing towards them every day, or week. That way, when the shit storm passes, you will still have those positive things in your life.
I have listed a few tips for self-care and love below. Little strategies that I found helpful to get me through.
- Phone your loved ones! First and foremost! Honestly, pick up the phone. Your true friends and family, those that love you, won’t mind. In fact, they would prefer that you did. Call them, vent, cry, whimper, whatever. Get it all out.
- Move, daily. Even if it’s just a 5-minute walk around the block, or a 2-minute ab workout, great! Just do something positive for your health, daily. Exercise releases feel good hormones, it will help clear your mind, and at least if that is all you have managed during the day you can tick off the “ive done something positive” box.
- Write down your goals. Write down the things you want, or are working at. Do this more than once if you need. Keep them in the forefront of your mind, even if they have to take a back seat for a short while, keep them in sight. If you can, do one thing towards those goals each week! Motivation comes and goes, taking action is always an option. So even if it is one thing per week, take that positive action.
- Go easy on yourself. Do not judge yourself for lacking motivation or not working hard enough. You are doing fine. Everyone has low moments, and no one expects you to be a superhero. You are allowed to have shit days.
- Take a bath, get a massage, have a night in with a friend. Spend some time in nature. Give yourself an extra little bit of TLC when you need it.
- Honestly – eating crap food when you are stressed or tired, is only going to make you feel worse. Make sure you are nourishing your body with good food. It will do wonders for how you are feeling. Make sure you are getting in lots of fresh fruit and veggies, whole grains, healthy fats and lean meats. Have the pizza as a treat if you want, but nourish your body with healthy food.
- Now, I know this can be a tough one if you are stressed. Just attempt it. There are some great apps you can use where you can adjust the length of your session to suit, and they are guided – so you aren’t expected to sit there and ‘empty your mind’ all by yourself. If this doesn’t work for you, try even just 5 minutes of yoga a day. Even just the breathing associated with the Yoga poses will be enough to calm your mind a little. There are plenty of Yoga videos on You Tube you can watch.
I hope this is helpful in some way next time you hit a rough patch, or if you are going through one now. I hope that you feel less alone, and are inspired to keep trying and keep striving even when things feel hopeless. I hope that you remember those words “tough times don’t last, tough people do.” And I hope that you remember that there are always better days ahead. It doesn’t matter how slow you are going, as long as you are moving forward right? Never give up.
Yours in Health and Happiness,
With Love
Elle x
