I do this FOR ME!

I only compete with myself. I only train for myself. I only strive to be better than myself. If others need to compete with you, that means you are a step ahead of the game and am doing something right. In addition, and on a somewhat related note, DON'T TRY TO BE someone else! You can revolve your entire life around trying to BE someone else, but when you find yourself, it's so much better than the carbon copy of that other person. Moral of the story is...BE YOU AND COMPETE WITH YOURSELF!

There comes a point in life when you become sick and tired of doing what you do for everyone else. Being fit to prove to someone else that you are not x, y, or z. We feel pressure to fit into a mold. That very thing that you want is unattainable, because you don't look like the person next to you. Your "dreams" cause you to be someone other than yourself, and that causes you to desire more strongly to stand out, set a new mold, yet you are always turned down.

In order to take charge of your life and do it for YOU, you must first love and respect yourself enough to see that change happen. Until your desire for you overpowers that desire to please someone else, you will always live a life of discontent.

When you love yourself, you take more joy in your progress along the journey and are CAPABLE of being more patient along the way. Instead of thinking, "Well, I still don't look as good as her/him," you think, "Shoot, I look good!" You take more pride and joy in how far you have come, rather than the fact that you're not where someone else wants you to be. Likewise, when you love yourself, people see that, and you attract people towards you...not necessarily the opposite sex, but people in general!

I have found that through my journey, I have been able to inspire people through just being ME! Doing what I do, and doing it the way I do it! My journey isn't going to look like yours, and that's ok! We have the power to inspire so many people, but the thing that inspires others is not our success. It's how we handle struggle, and failure. People admire someone who is determined, persistent, someone who doesn't settle, someone who desires to keep going. THAT'S what inspires people.  

Instead of striving to look like that fitness model, strive to look like a better version of YOURSELF. Be determined, persistent, and unwilling to settle for the image that someone put before you. Set your own image! You will find that those dreams you THOUGHT you wanted are no longer important. You find yourself along the way, and who you have become is so much greater than who someone else wanted you to be! You are beautiful, and that is where we find true happiness. Cookie cutters only work with cookies! :) Sculpt your body! YOU ARE IN CHARGE OF THAT! Everything you need is inside of YOU, not someone else!

"Comparison is the thief of all joy."
"At any given moment, you have the power to say, 'This is not how the story is going to end.'"
"Difficult doesn't mean impossible. It simply means that you have to work hard!"
"Anyone can work hard & train hard when people are watching and pushing you!! It's what you do behind closed doors, when no one is watching, when there is no praise and no yes men around, no personal trainer! WHAT YOU DO ALONE IS WHAT DECIDES IF YOU WILL BE SUCCESSFUL & SURPASS YOUR GOALS!" - Christopher Power