Tuesday, December 16th. My alarm sounds at 5am. I gently look, take a quick body scan of my mental and physical, slide to snooze, and close my eyes.
Yesterday took a lot out of me, and though that’s not an excuse, I give myself the 15 minutes with no guilt. 5:15 — I’m up. Because I did allow myself the additional rest, I will do a 5-minute warm-up and get busy.
Rows, deadlifts, shrugs, and curls. 1 round down and I’m awake now. Sweat dripping from my brow, salty as the sea. I dive into my second round.
“You got this,” I tell myself while taking my 90-second break. “2 more rounds and you’re done. Let’s go!”
• •
I’m getting into a nice rhythm with my rows. I lose count, drifting, thinking on a thought. I end up doing about 25. I shake my head and move on.
My hamstrings stretch deep. I can feel my glutes and lower back also activating. Deadlifts are beginning to be my second favorite exercise. Pushups being my first.
I wrap up the round, rest, and jump into round 4 and tell myself: “Let’s do As Many Reps As Possible” — AMRAP. I push it on every exercise for max reps. When I’m done, I feel accomplished and know that I can always perform higher when wanted or need be.
I have deep reserves of will, strength, and endurance.
• • •
I chug some water and go to hit the shower. Prime time — I set the day. “Today will be a good day. I love myself.”
I rinse off and get into my routines. Right before leaving out, I make a shake: 2 scoops of pea protein, soy milk and ice, and a dash of cinnamon. I grab my lunch bag, jacket, phone, and headphones. I’m out the door.
I’m in a good mood. My energy is high. I stand at the makeshift bus stop due to construction. Across the street, I can see the bus stopping at the light before approaching me and a few others. The light changes. I step up and he goes right past us as we all throw our hands up in disbelief.
No time to complain. I quickly get moving and walk to an alternate spot to take a different bus. From there, I walk 10+ minutes to my destination. I arrive at work 10 minutes early, and that’s when it hit me: I forgot my shake on the table.
Damn it! I wanted that shake, but at least I had breakfast.
• • •
Throughout my day, little snags would pop up, but each time I would adjust. Not complain, not bicker — but get busy finding a solution and overcoming the problem.
In a nutshell, that’s the kind of day I had. But I never reacted — I always responded with positive self-talk, logic, and action.
I can tell I have changed a lot just by how I handle things differently now. The old me would have had a fit, bitched and complained. Not me. Not anymore. I get busy. I move. I get shit done because I’m responsible.