“Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.” ~Author Unknown
With 2017 well underway, I suppose it is time for me to talk about my intentions for this year. I don’t set New Year’s resolutions. Instead I set intentions that I hope to guide my life throughout the coming year. For 2017, I’ve decided to use my power word as my intention in all aspects of my life.
I want to be more #fearless:
In my personal life…we all have $hit that we need to own and face to improve upon, which means it is likely a difficult topic since we aren’t facing it.
- One life area I want to be more #fearless in is saying no to drinking alcohol. Other than loving the taste of a good beer, nothing positive comes when I drink alcohol…I don’t sleep well, I don’t feel well, I further dehydrate myself, my already “no filter” self completely loses my filter, I get mouthy, I don’t like the person I become when I drink alcohol and neither does my husband. I am not one to drink a lot…except for maybe the offseason. When I am training, I am pretty good at staying away from the sauce. I have dreams to chase and goals to fulfill. I don’t have time to get less sleep and dehydrate myself more than what I already do with my training.
- Another life area I want to be more #fearless in is facing those things that truly scare me head on so I can try to overcome the fear. I am afraid of multiple things, but one I’m willing to openly share with you is my fear of heights. Hello head spinning, light headed/dizzy, sweaty palms, blurred vision…I have experienced all of these at some point while being high in the air. Standing at the top of the Sears Tower in Chicago…I want to throw up just thinking about it and I almost did while I was there! So this year I’ve decided to incorporate more rock climbing into my life. Climbing isn’t the hard part…it is looking down and letting go of the wall trusting the auto belay to lower me gently back to safety. This has been a scary adventure, but I’m determined to overcome the fear and become more and more comfortable with each climb.
I did make it all the way to the top and then didn’t want to let go…but I did! #fearless - Be #fearless and not worry about what others may think or say about me and my body. Sure, I don’t have six-pack abs and my body is not that of a super model, but as Jana recently reminded me, “six pack abs don’t equal speed!” Thank you Jana! I needed that reminder! I don’t want a super model body. I want a strong, fit, healthy body that takes me on all kinds of fun and crazy adventures. Thankfully, that is exactly what my body does. I need to thank it more often and not fear or worry about what others may think or say. Becoming more #fearless in this avenue of my life will help build my confidence…who doesn’t want to be more confident?!
Stepping WAY out of my comfort zone by posting this pic. I need to learn to feel more comfortable in my own skin and #fearless about what others may think/say about me and my strong, fit, healthy body.
At work…there are always things that happen at work where I think, “I should have done this” or “I should have said that.” It’s time to do and say more!
- We are teaching new science standards this year. This is requiring me to step out of my comfort zone, learn new things, and become more #fearless. How so?! It’s ok to tell the students that I don’t have all of the answers…I’m learning too!
- It may come as a surprise to you that I am NOT a “touchy, feely” kind of person – or maybe it doesn’t. Most middle school students respond best to people who are “touchy, feely.” I want to become more #fearless as I work on connecting with humans more…thinking about their needs and desires, to build a relationship that gives a sense of belonging. While I notice my lack of human connection more at work when working with middle school students, it is also something I can improve in my everyday life as well. Human connection is uncomfortable for me, but I know it is an area of my life that I might even learn to enjoy if I just work a bit harder at it!
During training and racing…courage over comfort is what I preach and try to live by, but it sometimes evades me and I don’t push myself as hard as I should have. It’s time for change! Step out of the comfort zone and make change happen!
- I want to be more #fearless to push myself WAY out of my comfort zone! After all, they say this is where the magic happens! Every time I push myself WAY out of my comfort zone I learn more about who I am…qualities come out that I didn’t even know I had in me. That’s when I find out who I am. When everything else is stripped from me, I learn more about what I can overcome and accomplish. I can push myself out of my comfort zone by working on my inefficient swim stroke, by pushing watts on the bike until my legs don’t turn over any more, and by running at paces that make me want to puke. All of these will help me get stronger and faster come Ironman Mont Tremblant race day! They will also help me become more confident in pushing myself out of my comfort zone on race day!
So happy to have pushed myself WAY out of my comfort zone and survived! - On race day, I want to be so #fearless that I go HARD and am NOT afraid of a DNF because I leave it all out on the course. In order for me to get closer to achieving my dream of one day racing in Kona, I need to become comfortable with the uncomfortable and learn to leave it all out on the course!
By becoming more #fearless, I am risking all kinds of possible outcomes. It is time to not worry about the “what if,” but rather live in the moment and find the courage to try – the willingness to stand up, let go, try, screw up, learn, grow and start again. This is the only way I will learn what I am truly capable of and learn more about who I truly am!
What are your 2017 intentions? Do you have a focus word for 2017? If so, what is it?
PushMyLimits 
Great post Kecia! Love your focus on “fearless”!!! My focus for the year is to “do the work”! Specifically, like you mentioned, pushing my comfort zone. I know that we can stay committed to that for the year and reap the rewards that come from that.
Thanks Lee!! Excellent goal!! We will definitely reap the rewards!! Cheers!!
What a great post-I can tell a lot of your heart went into it! Yes, I’m doing the same thing with alcohol-even one seems to have an negative effect on me the next day. My body doesn’t seem to respond well to pushing it to the brink, so this year I’m slowing down and listening to what my body is trying to tell me. I want to have fun and challenge myself, but be gentle with myself-that’s why I think the swimming goals are a great focus for the upcoming season.
Thanks Amy! I think it is excellent that you are slowing down and listening to your body! I’m so excited to see how the swimming goes for you this year! I think it is a great focus for you!
Great intentions!! I like the idea of having a word or phrase for the year…I will have to think about that!! 🙂
Definitely becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable is the name of the game…its how you get stronger!! 🙂
Are you doing a 1/2 iron this year?
Thanks Leslie! Becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable is definitely where it’s at! We are doing a 1/2 iron, but haven’t signed up yet. We are waiting to hear some details of a training camp 3 weeks out from IMMT on similar terrain before finalizing the rest of our race schedule. Are you doing a 1/2 iron or 2?
Nice! I’m pretty set on Victoria 70.3 but I haven’t signed up yet. The other 2 in my area don’t get my excited. I liked Victoria and I think it will be similar to Copenhagen. So hopefully it works out! 🙂
Excellent! You’re going to have a fantastic year!
Absolutely!! You too!!! Can’t wait to see what you decide!
Thank you!! We’ll hopefully know in the next few weeks!!
This was really open and honest. You talked about a lot of things that maybe you would not have. I dont know for sure. But you are loved just as you are and will be ten years from now when you are still you with new and different goals. I enjoyed this post.
Thanks Kori! It definitely took more courage to hit “post” than it did to write. You are also loved and will be always! I’m glad you enjoyed this post. 😊