#WQW....Theme: Fitness update

It's another week of  Writer's Quotes Wednesday, hosted by Marsha from Always Write. If you're interested in joining, you can find more about #WQW here.

This week we're doing a fitness update. In January we did a #WQW on Fitness Resolutions You can Keep. Find my post here. It has been a few months and I feel like I've gotten back on track with exercising again for the most part, though I tweaked a muscle in my arm last week so I'm not overdoing it with arm exercises. But there's more to fitness than the physical aspect of it, even though the quotes in my last post were mostly about physical exercise and health. It is so vital that we take care of our emotional, mental and spiritual health as well. I think for the most part I do this pretty well, but there's always room for improvement. 

This was a timely theme since on April 1st I started a health and wellness challenge put on by an Instagrammer I follow, Natwilsonfitness. I enjoy following her so much and when she put out this challenge I thought, okay, I can do this. I loved it because it covers every area of our lives and I really needed a kick in the rear. It's called the A.S.P.I.R.E. challenge. It's free and doable. Here's how it works: There are daily tasks and the acronyms are: 

A..attitude: write down 3 things you're grateful for.

S..spiritual: 10 minutes of spiritual wellness..it could be praying, meditating, watching, reading or listening to something.

P..pause, present and productive: 2 hours off phone/social media and being present where you are and with the people who are with you. Perhaps an hour in the morning, an hour in the evening. Whatever works. Being more productive, taking time to push the pause button. 

I...ingest: Eat a veggie with every meal. Drink 80-100oz of water a day and no refined sugar treats 6 days a week...one treat day.

R...rest: 7-8 hours of sleep 

E...exercise: exercise at least 30 minutes 5-6 days a week. 

Since I focused on physical fitness on my last post I'll focus on finding quotes that fit the other areas of the challenge I'm doing. I'll try to limit it one per category, but I have a hard time just picking one. I wrote a lot so feel free to just scroll to the quotes if you want. 

ATTITUDE: Our mindset and how we think are so important. Being grateful for even the little things can be HUGE when it comes to our mental and emotional health. How we choose to view our lives, the lives around us, the world. What is our attitude? I joked with a customer at work one time that I was an optimistic realist when he commented that he was a realist. What do we focus on? Do we hold on to bitterness, anger, hurt, unforgiveness. Practice gratitude and positive attitude. When I was in high school we had a teacher that always talked about PMA. Positive Mental Attitude. I would say the majority of my classmates remember this saying. We get to choose what our attitude will be. 

SPIRITUAL: I have always believed that it is important to have spiritual connection. I happen to be a christian. I began pursuing a relationship with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit (I do believe in the Trinity) when I was a freshman in High school and haven't looked back. My relationship has changed and grown over the years but it has been a vital part of who I am today and how I have overcome things, and made the choices that got me to the point of where I'm at. Do I spend hours praying or reading my bible? No, but I have my ways of spiritually connecting. I love to look at it more like God is not a distant being, but right with me every minute of every day. Music, quotes, reading, listening, and being in nature are just a few ways I feel connected spiritually.

PAUSE, PRESENT, PRODUCTIVE: Sometimes we get so consumed with social media that we forget to take time to enjoy what's around us. We compare our reality to the highlight reels we see on instagram and facebook. I know as a virtual assistant I am tied to my phone and computer way more than I used to be. However, I really do put my phone down when I'm with others so that I can be present in the moment. This really started for me when I went several years with just a flip phone..the only thing I used it for was phone calls and texts, so I had no need to have it out all the time. I do know I need to disconnect more often and be more disciplined with my online work so that I can have more time to be productive in other areas. I also don't believe that "busy = productive". 

One of my favorite phrases is "Be where your feet are". Be present, be engaged where you are and who you are with.

I found the above quote on Louisem.com

INGEST: What goes into our bodies is just as important, maybe some would say more important, than the amount of time we spend exercising. I feel like we do pretty well in this area, but there's always room for improvement. 

REST: Oh, we sure do need rest! Sometimes I feel like I get plenty of it and sometimes not. Even though in this challenge, rest is about sleep, I also believe that rest is not always just getting 7-8 hours of sleep or whatever it is your body needs. It is also taking time to quiet ourselves, take little pauses, maybe to read, just close our eyes and focus on breathing, tilt our face to the sky and let the sun warm us. Maybe it's realizing we don't have to be all things to all people and resting in that. We can grow so weary with the day to day rat race. It's okay to give ourselves permission to just stop. To not do anything if we don't want to. 

EXERCISE: Of course the physical aspect of exercise comes into play. Exercise can have so many forms..you have find what works for you. One of my mottos has been "just do something. It doesn't matter what, just move".  Especially when things get in the way of a normal workout...pulled muscles, just not feeling great.

How have I been doing with it all? Pretty good. I started the challenge on the first and while I haven't been able to workout with weights because I pulled a muscle in my arm, I have exercised and I'm down almost 4 pounds. I'm working at being intentional in the other areas. It's a 30 day challenge so I have lots of time to improve. 

I noticed that Marsha has 3 more follow ups throughout the year so I'm going to think ahead about how I can break some of these things down more specifically. 

With Joy Unquenchable,

Kirstin