It Does NOT Define Me

happy tuesday everyone! i hope you had a fabulous weekend and are ready for everything you have going this next week. for me, it is "dead week" and i just have LOTS of studying to do before finals next week. "dead week" = DEATH WEEK. oh well, you know what is getting me through? - my daily workout. call me crazy, but it is a proven fact that exercise releases stress as well as "happy hormones". i take out all my stress and frustrations out on my workout. i clear my mind and i absolutely love it :) 

this is the workout that i did yesterday, which was awesome! you should definitely give it a go!

since i was at the field house, there wasn't a place to do jumping pullups so i just subbed in 8 rnds of 5 kipping pullups per round instead.

anyways, i am going to get the point of today's post, "it does not define me". i am going to try my best to make this an organized post, i have a lot of angles that i want to come from so just bear with me. :) 

have you ever associated WHO you are with your weight - the number on the scale? have you ever let it consume your thoughts? ever thought that if you were just a couple pounds lighter you would be happier? if you could just fit into a size smaller at the department store you would love yourself more? sadly, i can say that i have. i have been sucked into that mind set. i am sure many other people have as well. i believe that a lot of it goes to the fact that i have danced for my entire life. and by this, let me explain - as a dancer you are constantly looking in a mirror with minimal/tight clothing on standing next to 10 other girls. it is quite easy to compare yourself to the other girls around you. thoughts such as:  "i wish i had her legs." "i would love it if i could kick as high as her." she has a perfect, flat stomach - if only!" go through a dancers mind. but, i don't want to only say that dancers think like this. everyone has a chance throughout their lives to think like this. but, we need to STOP thinking like this. everyone is beautiful in their own unique way. it is important to be at a healthy and fit weight, but it does NOT DEFINE who you are. your dress size does NOT DEFINE who you are. the size of your biceps or the weight you max out on does NOT DEFINE the person that you are. it isn't always easy to lose that mind set but it has to happen for us to be truly happy and to truly love ourselves. this past summer my co-worker and amazing trainer Megan Wallace wrote an article called "I Am Not My Body" which inspired me to write more about it here on the blog. you should definitely take the time to read it. i hope it touches you like it touched me. and always remember - YOU ARE NOT YOUR BODY. 

people are also being defined by things that don't have to do with their body image. things such a someones career choice, or personal interests or extra curricular activities that they participate in.  i am often only associated by people with the fact that i am an aggiette - "katelyn the aggiette." i used to absolutely LOVE that label. but after i took a break from being on the team i realized that "being an aggiette" is not who i am. it does not define me. yes, i am an aggiette. BUT, there is SO MUCH more to who i am than just that! it is only a small part of me and my life. i don't want to define myself or be defined by others by what my career choice is, or what my extra curricular activities entail, but by how i act, and how i treat others. i feel as if everyone should try to concentrate on that more as well. yes, i am a personal trainer - but i don't do it for the body. i do it to help others live an optimally healthy lifestyle and to find a truer happiness than what they were experiencing beforehand.

don't allow others or the media decide how you should define yourself. there is no "perfect body shape". there is no "perfect career choice" that will define who you are. you are perfect in your own way. learn to love and embrace it. ♥

have a fabulous day!

xoxo,

lil kate ♥