One Step at a Time

For the past several months I have made a concerted effort to get healthier through better diet and exercise. I have made a pretty substantial dent in the diet end, cutting out sugars, most carbs and eating mostly organic and raw fruits and veggies with lots of seeds, nuts and healthy grains. I admit, I have felt better and had more energy and stamina.

As far as exercise, I was pretty discouraged when I started going to the gym and "suffered" through Yoga. That just shouldn't be! But I persevered and now love it so I moved up to cardio only to be frustrated when I could barely run a mile without supplemental oxygen!...again, I persevered and can now run as effectively as the 78 yr old man who uses the treadmill next to mine...It was a proud day!

I felt as though I needed to take it to the next level so yesterday I decided to join in on the Zumba class. (Zumba is high energy and basically Brazilian dancing). I was totally intimidated (with good reason) but saw 2 of my hubby's adorable cousins (who are respectively in their early 20's) and jumped right in...I thought I was going to DIE...No really...drop dead of a heart attack!

Again, I persevered as long as I could and made it but not without ridiculous humiliation. I was a complete and total SPAZZ...I was so focused on trying to get the steps and keep up that finally I left the middle of the pack and moved to the back of the room where a few of us "more mature" ladies were.Good move on my part! The lady next to me was just as clueless as I was and we ended up laughing together as we huffed and puffed our way through the class. We ran into each other, which by that point was OK and in some odd way that comforted us as we struggled to keep our dignity!I felt so disappointed in myself when I got home, because I had such a hard time because once upon a time I was in such good shape. I beat myself up.

But I have realized that Zumba, like everything else in life, needs to be taken one.step.at.a.time! Nobody in that class had time to even pay attention to me or worry about what I was doing...they were all just taking their one-at-a-time-steps. They were just keeping up, some better than others, but still the same, they were just keeping up!

I guess that's exactly how life is. You just take one step at a time and sometimes you feel like you're going to die. Sometimes we need supplemental oxygen. Perseverance is the key...hang in there...keep trying...It will all be worth it...at least that's what I keep telling myself. Sometimes we are just "keeping up" one step at a time...and that's OK.