#wycwyc is not about excuses.

by

The other day I skipped out on life and had coffee instead.

I sat.

I didn’t fit in fitness.

I mindfully chose to have a saltier, crappier (technical term) snack I’d thought the morning would bring.

And, because I am who I am, I scrawled this on my cup.

A reminder to me:

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My taking a break was a choice and I owned it.

More than that I knew–no matter how it appeared on the outside–I was doing what I could when I could in that moment.

I needed the rest so I could “do” the rest of my day to the level it demands.

Here #wycwyc (and life) is about prioritizing.

Prioritizing and acknowledging choices have a cost–some things might not get done–yet being OK with the undone stuffs.

And pausing to celebrate what I did do.

Resting that day was OK.

It was more than “OK” — it was enough.

As I sat I considered the the fact I had *zero* guilt over doing nothing.

#wycwyc wasn’t offering me an excuse to take the morning off it was providing me opportunity for acceptance.

#wycwyc gave me a platform and a community to aid me in recognizing what I did that day (rested. recharged.) was a choice.

I could meet my choice with love and unconditional positive regard or I could meet it with disappointment in myself.

I always choose acceptance.  I choose self-love. 

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Doing what I can when I can includes self-care.

Doing what I can when I can isn’t offering a ready made excuse (I’m tired. I’m skipping everything. Whatevs! WICKWICK!)

Doing what I can when I can reminds me small steps add up to huge change (and NSVs!) even when the step is choosing to hit pause & remain in place for a few beats.

We all know people looking for an excuse will always find one.

I’m pre-WICKWICK proof of that:

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Yep. My tee is COVERED!

Now my life (work to working out) is created by daily tiny shuffles forward and an awareness *that’s* what provides me momentum to effect big change.

I know.

I get overly filled with zeal, but this mindset has changed my life & I’m grateful to have a name for what Ive lived for decades.

And you?

Do you choose a place of self-love?

  • Are you able to do what you can each day and know, by virtue of that, it’s enough?

 

 

Our wycwyc podcast is officially up on iTunes. 

If you’d prefer to peek into my kitchen  behind the scenes it’s available on youtube now, too.

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Comments

  2. I couldn’t agree with you more Carla! The pool was closed yesterday. My boys were both at home with their girlfriends so I got some pizza for them. I took a break and mindfully had some. Self -care and self-love also includes making the toughest decision of my life this year. Self-love comes in all forms and I choose to embrace each and every one!

    • I like what you share here.
      It does take different forms and it is no one’s place to tell you that your is wrong if it looksl like pizza LOL

    • For some reason Ive always intuited how much REST MY BOD NEEDS.
      I think it is because I started out too fulltiltGUNGHO with weights and overtrained and saw what happened?
      Now I realize there’s no guilt.
      There’s only listening to what my body demands on a given day.
      xo

  4. Yes to this! I’ve been doing a 40 days until 40 challenge for myself of doing LESS of something each day. One thing, for one day, for 40 days…and I am loving it!!!! Except today is ‘social media’ – oops! 🙂

    • ID LOVE IT IF YOU DID (she shouts). I need to do it again here too with my writing…
      Let me know what they think.

  6. It must be in the air because I recently had a day JUST like this. And it was wonderful, probably because it was much needed. This is why I don’t set running mileage goals or even track them very well. Because I know that whatever I do? It’s enough. Love this!

  7. Post 3rd baby it took me longer to come back to my usual workout energy levels. I felt a bit down on myself for not pushing harder, however, I havd never had a problem with motivation. I realised it was more to do with my body just needing extra recovery time. And now I am back in full swing!

  8. Pausing, resting. This is where I have trouble. Re prioritizing tasks I can do. Owning choosing a workout over dishes is not a problem. Feeling okay in the “pause” is still a struggle.

  9. I’m getting there. Truly feeling okay about taking a break isn’t totally there yet, but I can recognize it. There’s still judgement toward myself about how “productive” am and how I’m maximizing time.

  10. I’ve never been one to feel too guilty about ordering what sounds good, sitting out a workout when it sounds good, etc. If I REALLY want something, I’m happy to do what it takes, but ultimately, I go where I’m led to be HAPPY. And I’m a better mom/wife/friend/person when that’s the case

  11. Oh, I needed to read this today.
    I’ve been busting my bum training for a 50K. In the snow. On the ice. In sub-zero temps. It is now taper week, a time to heal and run less miles. Woke up at 4:20 this morning to -12 degrees. I went back to bed and have been battling guilt ever since.
    Today, I will yoga my fatigued muscles and not make my legs run or eyelashes frost.
    Thank you, Carla. Seriously.

  13. Pretty sure that I’m gifted and talented at giving myself permission to slack. But not so good at rejecting guilt.
    There’s got to be a balance, right? Of doing what needs to be done, followed by times of rest, as well.

  14. I have definitely learned to take time for me. Every weekend I take time for that cookie EACH DAY & coffee even if I only have 30 minutes of free time. Now with the work away from home & so many other things going on behind the scenes, I definitely sit for a few vs. jumping on the computer or doing Twitter chats which were never my thing or giving up sleep for a post. I have had to learn these past few months that I just don’t have the time to keep up with all the blogs, FB pages & IG – if I want sanity & some rest and peace of mind PLUS getting what needs to be done at home.

  15. But it does kinda SOUND like it is about making excuses, I think.

    I agree that self acceptance is a wonderful thing but that doesn’t mean I don’t WANT more, that I don’t want to BE more.

    I am afraid of complacency. How do you balance wickwick with that?

  16. Yes to WYCWYC! My official word for 2015 is “self-reliant” and this fits it perfectly. When I am truly self-reliant then I do what I can when I can without worrying or even thinking about what others think. I either do it for me, or don’t do it at all….

  17. I have had moments in my life when taking time off felt like the right thing to do, and I was free of guilt. Other times, I love the intense schedule of working my tush off. Self love for me, comes in the form of writing and running, that is a break that I give myself that fills me up from the inside out. xo

  18. I’m pretty sure yesterday just DIDN’T happen for me. I didn’t check out so much as buy the kids unnecessary toys, eat food court food, and drink 3 gals each of coffee and tea.

    and sometimes, that’s ok.

  19. Coming to a place of accepting that life isn’t all or nothing, and that I have the freedom to choose what I’m doing – even if what I’m doing wouldn’t be a great EVERYDAY choice – is the hardest part of growing up for me. I’m trying to internalize that days like that – days where maybe I CHOOSE to eat less heathfully or skip a workout or have an extra glass of wine – aren’t cheating, but choosing something different that I need in the moment.

    You and wycwyc are such an inspiration to me. I’m trying REALLY hard to say instead of “Oh I don’t have time” for whatever instead “Oh, that’s not a priority.” It’s interesting how easily that helps me re-prioritize. 🙂

  20. Love this. I’ve had months of getting up and out and running in the whatever most days (I ran 20 miles 100% in the pouring rain 3 weeks ago and then 16 last weekend in the feels like 80 and sunny). I just couldn’t face the cold yesterday so I cycled. I can’t seem to make myself do it again today, so I’m running on the treadmill. You only have a finite amount of give-a-$@* every day, so you have to decide how to spend it.

  22. In some areas of my life I can do this with no problem but in other areas I feel almost overwhelmed with guilt if I try to skip something in order to cut myself some slack. Love that you live your life this way and are such a great example to your daughter – hopefully she will grow up always knowing that #wycwyc is the way to live!!!

  23. I am getting better at this…during the week it is go go go and sometimes I would let this continue through the weekend, but NOT I take that time on the weekend to REST, to sit my butt on the couch, to slouch, to just be. I know I need to do it more often, but baby steps….

  25. Some days we all need a break, and I think it’s so much better to take a break every once and a while instead of always being stressed and rushed. Hope you enjoyed your coffee and salty snack! 🙂

Trackbacks

  4. […] #wycwyc is not about excuses. by Carla – #wycwyc stands for what you can, when you can and I love this explanation from Carla that it is not about excuses. It provides you the opportunity for acceptance. Carla and Roni have a #wycwyc podcast out – I encourage you to start from the beginning and listen to it. Then preorder the #wycwyc book from Amazon. […]

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