The Story You Tell Yourself, About Yourself

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After I had brain surgery a few years ago, I got comfortable knowing certain things were off the table for me.

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Even though my surgery was successful, I have days where my brain doesn't do what I want it to do.

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🥂 Sometimes I feel sluggish, off balance, and tipsy -- without ever having had any of the fun.

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🦵 My right leg is weak and wobbly, but I've learned how to hide it from my trainers.

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🥤 And it doesn't bother me anymore that I can't finish any canned drink (I can't tilt my head back enough!) or that I have to hold my head to look up at the thousands of bright stars in our backyard.

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Sometimes, life hands us things -- whether they're physical, emotional, etc. -- that truly impact our ability to do things. Some we're born with. Others we inherit. Some, we do to ourselves.

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But there are true limitations and then there are limiting beliefs.

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Big difference.

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My brain surgery? It certainly comes with its own set of actual limitations.

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But over time, it also created some limiting beliefs.

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6 months ago, my personal trainers and gym friends signed up to compete in a HYROX competition in New York City.

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They asked if I wanted to compete, too.

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"No way! I can't do any of that because of my neck. Just throwing wall balls would probably make me throw up!" I shot back.

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So when their competition day came last June, I took the train into the city on a sweltering hot Saturday to cheer and hold their water bottles and take photos. I thought, "how great for them! I wish I could do that... But that's a them thing, not a me thing."

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As I watched them burpee and lunge and run for over 100+ minutes of a tush-kicking workout, every single cell in my body lurched to get in on the action.

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Here's the thing, Reader:

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I'm one of the most competitive people I know.

I've been an athlete my entire life.

I'm the weird friend who works out for fun.

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There's no part of me that stands on the sideline...

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except the part that had accepted my "I had brain surgery so I can't do anything anymore" fate.

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But after watching them compete last June, I realized: I didn't know for sure I couldn't do it, I just assumed I couldn't because I'd adopted the story and identity I thought I'd been given after my brain surgery.

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I figured: what was the harm in trying?

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Well, some serious brain damage -- that's for one.

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So I started out low and slow -- exactly like I recommend you build your business -- and trained a bit at a time.

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Slowly but surely, I tried the HYROX exercises, adding on more weight as I got stronger and more confident. I started running consistently for the first time in my life. I ditched my weird relationship with starchy carbs and ate to fuel myself.

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For the past 6 months, training for HYROX became my part-time job on top of my many others.

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I loved every second of it.

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But then I got covid for the first time and couldn't train for nearly 4 weeks.... and then I walked into my hotel bed after a middle-of-the-night bathroom trip and ripped off my ENTIRE big toenail (and couldn't train for a bit)... and then writing a book is a lot harder (and more fun!) than I ever would have guessed...

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Training for HYROX wasn't perfectly smooth.

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The universe didn't move aside and say, "OK, you decided to do something hard? Let me make everything easy for you."

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That's not how it works. You know that already.

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But I wanted to change my story. My beliefs about who I was and what I was capable of.

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And 2 days ago... I competed in my very first HYROX competition in Chicago!

Turns out, I am the kind of person who competes in HYROX.

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Maybe I didn't do it as fast or as "perfectly" as some other people --

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But I freaking did it.

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All I had to do was rewrite the story with a different ending.

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Good thing I love to write ;)

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So Reader -- I hope this inspires you to consider where in your life you may be taking yourself out of the "race" without even trying.

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What's the harm in training for it and seeing how it goes?

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My inbox is open - I want you to hit "reply" and let me know if this spoke to you.

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Until then, enjoy a few snaps from Chicago this weekend!

PS. I was so excited to share this story with you today, but I'm going to skip the Legal Q&A just this week! I'm pretty sick and need some time to rest. Thanks for your understanding! ❤️

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