Last week, I saw a Facebook post from my friend Tara that said, “Why are female wellness/fitness coaches fixated with our #1 struggles? I mean, are they saying that women are always struggling?!! I'd like to be asked about
my #1 achievement of strength and how I nurture it. This female isn't sinking. She's sailing :)”
I thought this was super perceptive on her part. And I want to explore it more, because it’s actually true: many online fitness and health bloggers will ask email subscribers to respond back with their biggest struggles. I ask this all the time.
And I love the responses I get! I have a dozen folders in my email box dedicated to the
feedback I receive.
Why is this important?
It’s not to remind you of all the stuff you aren’t doing well. At least, that’s not my intent. And I’d hate it if someone felt worse after answering that question.
And maybe they do, but I still have to ask it.
Why?
Because as someone who writes an average of 10,000 words a week online (as most bloggers do), I am constantly
looking to offer better value, more solutions and tools for the women who are showing up to JillFit.com.
And I can only create those solutions and write about them … if I know them.
Sure, Lord knows I have plenty of my own struggles to write about, lol, but I want to be in touch with the exact mindset, challenges and literal words women are saying in their heads.
This is
important.
For example, the 4-Week Food Obsession Boot Camp course was born out of answering the needs of women who were writing in to me for 9 months straight sick and tired of being held prisoner by their meal plans. The #moderation365 course was born out of the frustration and sadness I read about from women that didn’t feel permission or have the tools to eat anything but all-or-nothing.
And the countless tools, insights and solutions at
JillFit.com are written from a place of trying to understand the person who is showing up to read those blogs.
And so I ask.
And the way I see it, it’s a service for all.
But Tara’s comment got me to thinking … she’s absolutely right in the sense that we also need to remember our wins.
It’s easy to only focus on the things that we’re struggling with, and forget so many of the things that we
do do well. Usually simply because when we do something well, it becomes second-nature and feeling gratitude for something that’s part of our everyday reality is hard. It’s so much easier to focus on the one single part of our eating day that tanked instead of congratulating ourselves for the other 95% of the day that we ate pretty dang healthy ;)
Gratitude is a game-changer.
It’s a perspective-shifter so powerful
that two people can experience the exact same scenario and one feel happy, at peace, relieved and lucky, while someone else might view their circumstances as painful, confusing, sad and through the lens of insecurity.
One woman can feel grateful that she’s a size 12 with an amazingly strong body that can perform in the gym and maintain that size with relatively healthy and enjoyable nutrition. Another woman at the same size and with the same outcomes may feel frustrated,
unworthy, fat, unhappy and not good enough.
Same facts. The difference is perception.
And a change in perception is only one single choice away. You can make up your mind right now that you are good enough.
Whoa nelly! Scary, right? It’s simple, but maybe not easy. And I get that.
But gratitude is simply a perception shift.
Practicing gratitude daily has
been shown in research to increase feelings of optimism, happiness and even change things at the physiological level but lowering stress hormones! Incredible, right?
One practice is called The Three Gratitudes.
You can do The Three Gratitudes when you wake up or before bed. It’s simple: you write down 3 things that you are grateful for that day. They can be anything. But the key is that they have to be different from day
to day. You can’t just say, “My friends, my family, my health” every single day.
Get creative with this!
Today for me, my 3 gratitudes are:
- This incredible weather lately, plenty of vitamin D, leisure walking and awesome sunsets.
- My friends and family who always show me that they love me, are thinking about me and appreciate me.
- For you, the person reading this email, and with whom I get to start a conversation of
solutions and cultivate a relationship. I am forever grateful for anyone who interacts with me over the web.
See? Not hard. And actually kind of fun!
Ready to send me yours?
YOUR 1-MINUTE CHALLENGE: Right now, I want you to reply to this message and send me 2 things:
- First, what are your 3 gratitudes for today?
- Next, what is the #1 thing you are struggling with as it pertains to your health,
fitness, nutrition or mindset?
Can be anything, there are no right or wrong answers. I want them both. Yin and yang. Solutions and struggles. Flow and ebb.
Take 1 minute, click “Reply” and send them to me. I read every single email that comes through.
Thank YOU, and have a great week!
Xo,
Jill
P.S. Don’t forget to write out your Three Gratitudes every
day!