The Story You Tell Yourself, About Yourself

The Story You Tell Yourself, About Yourself

I know what you told yourself, but I think you might be wrong

After I had brain surgery a few years ago, I got comfortable knowing certain things were off the table for me.

Even though my surgery was successful, I have days where my brain doesn’t do what I want it to do.

Sometimes I feel sluggish, off balance, and tipsy — without ever having had any of the fun.

My right leg is weak and wobbly, but I’ve learned how to hide it from my trainers.

And it doesn’t bother me anymore that I can’t finish any canned drink (I can’t tilt my head back enough!) or that I have to hold my head to look up at the thousands of bright stars in our backyard.

Sometimes, life hands us things — whether they’re physical, emotional, etc. — that truly impact our ability to do things. Some we’re born with. Others we inherit. Some, we do to ourselves.

But there are true limitations and then there are limiting beliefs.

Big difference.

My brain surgery? It certainly comes with its own set of actual limitations.

But over time, it also created some limiting beliefs.

6 months ago, my personal trainers and gym friends signed up to compete in a HYROX competition in New York City.

They asked if I wanted to compete, too.

“No way! I can’t do any of that because of my neck. Just throwing wall balls would probably make me throw up!” I shot back.

So when their competition day came last June, I took the train into the city on a sweltering hot Saturday to cheer and hold their water bottles and take photos. I thought, “how great for them! I wish I could do that… But that’s a them thing, not a me thing.”

As I watched them burpee and lunge and run for over 100+ minutes of a tush-kicking workout, every single cell in my body lurched to get in on the action.

Here’s the thing:

I’m one of the most competitive people I know.

I’ve been an athlete my entire life.

I’m the weird friend who works out for fun.

There’s no part of me that stands on the sideline…

except the part that had accepted my “I had brain surgery so I can’t do anything anymore” fate.

But after watching them compete last June, I realized: I didn’t know for sure I couldn’t do it, I just assumed I couldn’t because I’d adopted the story and identity I thought I’d been given after my brain surgery.

I figured: what was the harm in trying?

Well, some serious brain damage — that’s for one.

So I started out low and slow — exactly like I recommend you build your business — and trained a bit at a time.

Slowly but surely, I tried the HYROX exercises, adding on more weight as I got stronger and more confident. I started running consistently for the first time in my life. I ditched my weird relationship with starchy carbs and ate to fuel myself.

For the past 6 months, training for HYROX became my part-time job on top of my many others.

I loved every second of it.

But then I got covid for the first time and couldn’t train for nearly 4 weeks…. and then I walked into my hotel bed after a middle-of-the-night bathroom trip and ripped off my ENTIRE big toenail (and couldn’t train for a bit)… and then writing a book is a lot harder (and more fun!) than I ever would have guessed…

Training for HYROX wasn’t perfectly smooth.

The universe didn’t move aside and say, “OK, you decided to do something hard? Let me make everything easy for you.”

That’s not how it works. You know that already.

But I wanted to change my story. My beliefs about who I was and what I was capable of.

And 2 days ago… I competed in my very first HYROX competition in Chicago!

1 hr 40 mins later – I did it!

Turns out, I am the kind of person who competes in HYROX.

Maybe I didn’t do it as fast or as “perfectly” as some other people —

But I freaking did it.

All I had to do was rewrite the story with a different ending.

Good thing I love to write 😉

So, I hope this inspires you to consider where in your life you may be taking yourself out of the “race” without even trying.

What’s the harm in training for it and seeing how it goes?

I’d love for you to comment and let me know if this spoke to you.

Until then, enjoy a few snaps from Chicago this weekend!

PS. I was so excited to share this story with you today, but I’m going to skip the Legal Q&A just this week! I’m pretty sick and need some time to rest. Thanks for your understanding! ❤️

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