We can do hard things.

   This last weekend I went with my internship group to complete a ropes course and it was such a neat experience for me and I just wanted to share a few thoughts. There were things we did that were really scary. like falling from 40 feet in a swing scary, and jumping from the top of a tree to a wobbly tall platform 6 feet out scary. As a group we accomplished tasks that of course seemed impossible through creativity, determination, and a little perseverance. At one point I was walking a wire, reaching out to my partner hanging out of a tree just to have enough balance to make the last 3 feet or so to the finish line. Doing all these things was a reminder to me that we create so many limitations in our heads that we let dictate what we do.
    When we were jumping from the tree, one of our research leaders, who is a professor at BYU, talked about how even though we knew we were safe, and harnessed in, some of us really struggled taking that leap. He explained to us that our autonomic nervous systems freaks out like we're going to die when we face something scary even if our conscious self knows we are safe. This is the fancy way of saying that our bodies are wired to elicit certain responses (such as an elevated heart rate, sweating, locking up, etc) when danger is perceived. Knowing logically that we are not in any real danger though, we can recognize our body's responses as a trained reaction rather than something actually rooted in potential harm. Our minds are incredible but it's important to know the difference between what's in our heads and what actually poses a threat.
     It's been said before that working out is 50% perspiration and 50% determination and I fully agree! So much about exercise is in our heads. Motivating ourselves to get moving, pushing ourselves so we can grow stronger, run farther, last longer.  Sometimes I get to a point where my legs are burning and I'm sweating like a pig and the thought pops in my head that I've done enough, I can take it easy on myself and cut my time short for the day. Then I think back on the hard things I've done throughout my life both physically and mentally, and I realize that I take myself for granted sometimes. I can do hard things. In the last year, I've gone from never having stepped foot into a gym, to working out, regularly, for over an hour at a time, on a fairly regular basis. I'm still trying to get into the swing of things figuring out my schedule between work, my internship, and my volunteer work, but I'm doing it! This last year has been tough in ways but I am making things happen and am working my butt off (literally) and it feels great.

It really is wonderful to be young with the world at your fingertips

<3 K