“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly. Theodore Roosevelt “Citizenship In A Republic”, delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on 23 April, 1910

Law 1 | Being in the arena

When we choose to pursue a healthier life, we also choose the problem of getting our ass kicked. We are human and sometimes we fail at sticking to that diet or fall off the gym or workout routine. No matter what we choose we have to deal with the problems that come along with it. Pursue health and get your ass kicked from time to time or choose not to and deal with disease.  This is why, I have no doubt that choosing to pursue health is choosing to be brave and courageous.

Law 2 | Vulnerability is about winning or losing, it’s really about showing up with no control over the outcome.

I think this is something I struggle with. Whenever I start eating better or exercising some sort of competitive nature takes reign and, in that space, failure is not an option. That six pack is the goal, weight loss is the goal and when I fail somehow getting up is so much harder because this competitive nature has a very condemning nature.

This has become my new mantra; Aimee this is not about winning or losing, its not about being in control of the outcome, its actually about being in the arena and daring greatly, choosing to be courageous ……. and in comes law 1 all over again!!!

Law 3 | A lot of the seats in the arena are filled with people who will never actually join us on the floor.

There are so many times when people around me, people whom I love and who love me have said things that have discouraged me on my journey. It is not healthy to become cold hearted towards cruelty because feeling is a healthy part of living wholeheartedly. It is important to be wise in our choices of the people who have the right to give us feedback. A good place to start is someone who is in the arena. Someone who is actively pursuing health too !

Brene Brown Rising strong