origninal-bike-photo-kyle-sparks1I just spent a weekend on a spin bike, training for my spinning certification. It was hard. But I loved every minute of it. Within the first fifteen minutes of arriving at the studio I met one of my classmates. She was a competitive cyclist and when she talked about what made her a first place winner which was the climbs. She said it was a huge thrill to ride a hill, passing her competitors struggling to embrace the challenge.

That set the tone for my weekend. I was prepared to embrace the hours spent in a bike saddle, learning the various drills while my legs burned in protest and my bum shrieked at me to leap off.

I stayed and found a way to not only cope with the pain and challenge, but to love it. Becoming certified in the future will be an accomplishment, but the real treasure is in knowing I just did something that most people wouldn’t tolerate for an hour, let alone a 14 hours.

There are a select few that will not only get out of their comfort zones, but to seek out opportunities to be uncomfortable, terrified, unsure and to ultimately grow stronger than ever before.

What’s the point? I’ll tell you – by running into the heart of your challenges, determined and stubborn to succeed, you have more control than ever before, you have more guts to reach out for bigger and better things and you essentially know what you can handle. You know where the edge is. Occasionally you might have teetered over it. But more often than not, you will have pushed that edge out farther, making your life bigger and bigger to allow for more amazing things to take root.

For example, most people when they start working out – like me – can barely do 20 minutes on the elliptical machine. When I started working out about 10 years ago, my workout was 30 minutes. Later, I overcame my fear of weight training and starting toning my arms. I then tried group fitness classes – cardio conditioning, spinning and bootcamp. To the point where I am now – becoming certified to teach classes. Had I not lifted those five pound weights one Saturday afternoon or walked into a spinning studio, I wouldn’t be as fit, happy and excited about my career as I am now.

I usually know what challenges I need to face. It’s usually the one that is looming over my head and I’m rebelling by avoiding, rejecting and making fun of it. It’s the thing I always tell my boyfriend I’d “never” do. Once the walls come down my dukes come up and jump in fighting.

So what keeps harassing you? What makes you roll your eyes?

Love,
Danielle

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I’m Danielle Williams, the  Toronto-based Holistic Lifestyle Coach that heads up Selan Fitness. I recently lost (and kept off) 45 pounds which ignited my passion for fitness and living a life of health and vitality. I help women shape their body and their lives with custom exercise routines, nutrition advice and wellness coaching delivered in your home. I can be reached at info@selanfitness.com