Prioritizing Leads to Success
- Sep 10, 2018
- 5 min read
Some BackgroundI am a full-time college student. I have a limited budget. I work 6.5 hours a week at a local health clinic making minimum wage. I am a Beachbody coach trying to build a health/fitness business. I am fighting chronic Lyme disease daily. I am a type 1 diabetic. I spend more than enough time on the phone with companies who are supposed to be in the business of helping people. I am a brand ambassador and Sole Mate for BANGS shoes. I try to have a social life, but usually that’s what I sacrifice. I have goals and dreams that I am determined to make my reality. I have a passion for fitness/health/wellness.
There’s a lot going on.
But, I am so grateful to be able to fall back onto an incredible team when I feel like I’ve lost control, when I feel inconsistent and my goals seem to get fuzzy and out of focus. I have learned something very important from my short time that I've been with Team Wholehearted, Team Root to Rise, and team Beachbody as whole. That is that I am not going to make any progress, nor will I succeed without priority.
Being HonestMy biggest challenge right now is getting my workouts done despite physical pain and fatigue. I don’t always feel good enough to do my workouts. I don’t always feel good enough to go to work. I don’t always feel good enough to attend class. I simply don’t always feel good. And I have to remind myself that I can’t beat myself up about that. I have some amazing people in my life who constantly remind me that I shouldn’t apologize for being sick. I shouldn’t be sorry that I can’t control how I’m feeling. But rather be appreciative of what I am capable of and share my obstacles and illness, because other people could use my help and experience. Because of this challenge, I struggle with commitment.
The PointThis struggle with commitment has taught me that, personally, prioritizing is critical for success. For me, prioritizing has three levels. Level 1: I have to plan my week out so that I can visualize when I have places I need to be, what needs to be done, and when I have time for rest. Level 2: Each day I have to make a list of the time-sensitive things, along with places I have to go and their times; and a list of things that need to be done at some point whether it’s that day, or someday (depending on energy and pain levels). Level 3: Then, I go on a one-to-three-hour basis of how I am feeling; checking in and being intuitive with my physical state frequently is vital in my productivity.
While this planning thing can seem to be a little over the top, I assure you, it’s not. At least not for me. I have it down to a practice where level 1 takes about ten minutes, level 2 takes three-five minutes, and level 3 takes thirty seconds to two minutes. For my health, it’s important for me to prioritize my free time and do what makes my heart happy. With that said, much of what I do that is planned does makes my heart happy (taking classes that I know will benefit my future career, working at a health clinic that is giving me essential experience relating to the field I’m interested in, and working out and building my health/fitness business). However, it’s important that I do things that make my heart happy that are low stress (or no strings attached for lack of a better term). For me, this means doing things that I don’t have to plan – practicing yoga, going for a walk, spontaneous road trips, local adventures, or simply watching Netflix in bed.
Getting PersonalThis last week I felt quite sick every day. I called in sick to work one day because I felt so crappy. I slept a lot and took it easy on my body. I skipped two workouts – one of which I plan on making up this weekend, and the other probably not. I didn’t socialize much and I’m pretty sure I was sleeping with my eyes open in a couple of classes. I slacked a whole lot in building my coaching business, neglected to check in with our accountability group, and simply did not prioritize that area of my life. I was freaking out a bit and panic-emailed my coach, Leanna, with my concerns, and she responded with two things. One of which was amazing, personalized support and encouragement, and the second being an important reminder of the obvious – reach out to the accountability group, that’s why it’s there, to support and encourage you through the highs AND the lows. Personally, it is so important to remember that I have that outlet and the opportunity to talk to people who are strong, who have different perspectives, who have great advice, who have struggled similarly to me, and who are simply there for me. That community has given me peace of mind and has given me calm in the midst of (quite a lot of) anxiety. I felt a bit like a failure this past week, and I was focusing too much on the negative parts of failing. While failing means a lack of success, it can also mean gained perspective. I realized that I cannot know the joy of succeeding without experiencing the downfall of failing.
With being more sick than normal, school work is picking up, pressure to be more on top of things at the clinic, and my want to help/invite people and grow my business is increasing, I have to give myself the chance to pause. With these pauses, I turn to the Beachbody community, where I am reminded that I am capable. I am becoming a better person (and coach) through this whole process. I am learning more and more about how to listen to my body, about how to reach out to other people, about how to prioritize my commitments, and about how to be flexible with my schedule.
To ConcludeWhen all is said and done, four weeks ago, I spent invested $180 into myself and my future. While I am a student with not a lot of money, that $180 gave me so many things:
an incredible workout program - LIIFT4
access to hundreds of virtual workouts
the option to start nutrition programs that are based on your goals and body type
Shakeology - which I was so skeptical about at first, but am now in LOVE with
the opportunity to connect with tons of other women who have varying perspectives, goals and life paths but who all share a common interest – fitness
and the ability to be led and supported by an amazing, Godly, strong, loving (and might I add absolutely gorgeous) woman named Leanna.
If you've gotten this far and would like more information about this whole Beachbody thing, if you want to invest in yourself and start this journey of becoming a better you, or you simply want to enhance your fitness and/or nutrition plan please don’t hesitate to contact me: email – elise.hendrickson@icloud.com, or Instagram DM – @elisehendy.
Reminder: this is open to ANYONE. Girl or guy, home gym or apartment floor, workout junkie or not, health-nut or not. You don’t have to know anything about fitness and nutrition. You just need to want to start and better yourself – whether that be nutrition wise, fitness wise or both.
I would love to work with you and support you. Let’s make your heart happy.
Elise Hendrickson
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