Hi everyone. I hope this finds you all well. As the BEYOND LIMITS Appalachian Trail Adventure preparations keep chugging along, I keep thinking about how its message really relates to everyone. We all have unique experiences, but that is what makes this message so great. We all have had times in our lives when we felt that something was impossible. And it’s only because sometimes finding a way takes a little more effort and creativity than would seem readily apparent.
I have always been a relatively healthy person. My parents always insisted that I eat healthfully. And I carried that with me into adulthood. But the one thing that I have not always placed as a priority in my life is being active. When I was little and right on through my middle school years, I was always on the skinny side. Sounds great, right? And sure, it was convenient. I could pretty much eat whatever I wanted. But I would get the comments from my peers about how “she’s so skinny” and “she can eat whatever she wants.” It could have been jealousy. But it felt that I just looked different from everyone else.
That all changed toward the end of my high school years. I just stopped growing, and the weight had no place to go. Now, I didn’t get to the point where I was really overweight. But I also didn’t really have the motivation to work out. I was never into sports, and I just wasn’t concerned. But as I got closer to starting college, I decided to start working out. It took a couple of years to develop a routine, because I would stick with it for a little while, but then I would get busy or lose motivation. It really wasn’t until last year that I really started to take it more seriously.
The summer after my freshman year, I started exercising more frequently. And I’ve really tried to continue that. Every week is not the same. But I try to work out at least three times a week. And you know what? I look and feel so much better. My self-confidence is higher, and I feel as if I’ve accomplished something.
So why am I telling you this? Well, I decided to push through what was hard and not always pleasant, but I pushed through. Am I a supermodel? Absolutely not! But that’s not the point. What I did was do something that was good for me. I became a better version of myself. And that is what BEYOND LIMITS wants for everyone. We aren’t perfect. But when we do something to better ourselves, we become better inside and out.
So next time you have something that you’d like to do but that seems hard, DO IT. Don’t be afraid to fail. Try something new. Enrich your life by making the most of it.