Matan
Well-known member
Alchemist
Posts: 896
That and Jesus. I wouldn't be here without Him.@FlowersandPetals So your family, your husband and daughters are the real answer to my question. They are the reason you keep going and pushing through life.
Honestly? I was always in awe of people like you, loving and caring no matter what.
We're definitely on the same page with potato chips though.
Me too, a lot, and I can't even properly take care of myself...I cry.
There's the question. Why shouldn't I?Just never give up!
Because you matter, @Matan .There's the question. Why shouldn't I?
I used to teach a pre-choreographed group exercise class. (Meaning that someone else developed the choreography, four times a year, which I then memorized and presented to my classes.) Teaching this class was a shit job. Seriously shit. The pay was shit. And it was only ever for one hour at a time. Often I was asked to teach at clubs that were over an hour's hike from where I lived. And I was not paid for my travel time. I was expected to show up early for every class and stay late afterwards in case there were students who had questions. But I was not paid for my time talking with students before or after class either. Also, because my class was usually the last one of the day, and the classes before mine had a tendency to run over, my classes almost always started late and finished late, racking up even more expense on my time that I was not paid for. And of course I was expected to teach looking nice--not with my hair disheveled from the wind, or my clothing soaked with sweat or rain or sleet or snow or mud. So I also spent a bunch of unpaid time changing my clothing and grooming my hair before every class. This resulted in the actual cost on my time to teach a class ranging from 2 hours to 4 hours -- for which I was only ever paid for 1 hour! (And this is before you factor in all the time I had to invest--again unpaid--to learn new choreography 4 times a year. Or the fact that I had to purchase, four times a year, the training videos and the music necessary to teach the class--from my own employer, no less, who charged me more money to ship the materials to me from an office literally one block away than I had previously been paying to a 3rd party distributor who had been shipping the materials from another country!. I also had to purchase my own batteries that were necessary to run the sound system in my employer's fitness studios.Can I ask you something? How do you find strength and motivation to keep pushing
I have hard time believing that.Because you matter, @Matan .
And because what you do matters.
This is why you need to do it! The point is to train your brain to see the good stuff and even to start fixating on it, instead of fixating on the bad stuff all the time. If it was easy, you wouldn't need the exercise.I will try your Gifts & Blessings "challenge". It'll be super tough, because I'm not good at noticing patterns like that.
Dear Secret Santa.
I'm going to admit, I wasn't good this year.
This was a crazy year. Some things completely broke me mentally and physically. I'm still trying to recover.
As you may already know I had some problems with my shoulder recently, and because of that I'd appreciate if you'd avoid any strenuous upper body exercises.
I'd be fine with most lower body stuff. Haven't done any side lunges in a while, so they could be a fun challenge.
Thank you.
Matan
Matan, I went through grade school and high school telling everyone I wanted to be a neurosurgeon. And everyone assumed I truly would become one. When other kids said they wanted to be medical doctors, the teachers and guidance counselors all said, "Have you thought about what else you might like to do? Medical programs are extremely competitive to get into." But not me. I had the grades. Everyone assumed I would get into med school easily.At that point you had it figured out what you want to do in life, what's important to you.
There's no deadline for figuring these things out. It's a lifelong process.The problem with me is that I've never figured it out for myself, I don't know what I want, I don't know who I'd like to be.
This is a skill you can learn.I just can't fight for myself, never could.
What an actual f**k?? What a bastard...this situation
I know. I'm sorry.That was not my intent in sharing my story at all!
But they're like math. Not everyone can comprehend it.Strength and resilience are not things any of us are born with. They're traits we build over time.
I keep failing that exercise though. Every time I'm trying to do it I can't think of anything. It's just emptiness...And you are stronger than you think you are. (Hence why I'm suggesting the exercise to help you see your strengths better.)
It feels like a prison.Where you're at now is just where you're at now. It's a starting point, not a prison.
I know. I read the stoics...But change has to come from within. (You can only control yourself--not the people around you.)
No worries. I am good.I know. I'm sorry.
I have tutored students who were failing math but aced their exams after working with me.But they're like math. Not everyone can comprehend it.
Start someplace easy. Like DAREBEE. There's so much good being flung around this place we're tripping over it every day! Every time you make the effort to read someone else's check-in thread and congratulate them on completing a program, wish them well in some challenge they are facing, or even just leave a thumbs up of support, those are all Gifts you are giving of yourself. And every time someone in the community comes here to your thread, and leaves you congratulations or messages of encouragement, or a thumbs up, those are all Blessings you are receiving. Gifts and Blessings are everywhere!I keep failing that exercise though. Every time I'm trying to do it I can't think of anything. It's just emptiness...
I understand it feels that way to you. Hence why I have encouraged you to work to change this thinking.It feels like a prison.
Well then. It's up to you to decide what you're going to do with this knowledge.I know. I read the stoics...
No worries. I am good.