Mood

What's your workout mood?

Me? I'm grateful to be able to get in the gym 5 days a week this past month, but I'm also feeling like not working out when I don't want to.

Not in a take it easy just chill way, but saying that I am sometimes just tired and that's okay. The other day I went to Shred415 just DREADING the idea if breaking a sweat. I even told myself (and my boyfriend) that I would just leave after 30 mins.  By the time there was just 15 mins left on the clock of the 60 min class, I had a talk and decided I'd already passed my plan of "just 30" and I was feeling so good that I just had to finish it off!

Yesterday, however, I really just passed on the sweat. It had become work by the time it popped up on my calendar.  I was going to squeeze in a workout and shower before a dinner and after having been up since 5AM.  It just wasn't gonna a work.

So that's my mood. When I'm moaning and complaining about the opportunity to sweat, I get after it; but when it's making me angry and anxious, maybe it's time to just chill and come back the next day!

Today I was moaning and complaining so you know what that means!  It's a sweat date!

Melissa

Shifting

I talked with my co-worker about her "energy".  I consider myself an extremely positive person, but I never claim to always be peppy.  Even when I'm my most stressed and attitudinal, pretty much all positive thoughts are going through my head, I just am typically choosing not to squeal or smile because I just don't want to.

But I have this coworker who is ALWAYS on 10.  And not in the irritating way.  She just is legitimately always living in choice, always staying above the line, and even when she's not at 100 (I'm good at seeing that stuff) her temperance makes you feel like she's approachable and in a good mood.

So I asked her how she pulls it off most of the time and she said that she quit giving her time away in the mornings.  Usually we all jump on Facebook, check work emails, or even talk with our loved ones, but she says that that typically begins to leave an impression on our mood even when we don't mean for it to.  She mentioned that she just journals or writes visions for the day and finds them later in the day or month because she sorta hides them away to be discovered again after the thought may or may not have left her mind.

She also talked about shifting her thoughts.  Going easy on herself when she makes a mistake or a road block pops up unexpectedly.  Not taking error personal.  Not taking herself too seriously.  That part really got me.  I am really good at laughing at myself, but there are moments...very serious moments...where all things are important and crucial and nothing but the best is acceptable.  And I realized that sometimes I laugh at myself and sometimes I am laughing AT myself.

Regardless.  This post is a product of that convo.  I had a 6:15AM class this morning and I stayed committed to not using social media before 6 o'clock and when I got a little restless, I started typing.  Getting thoughts out and I'm happy that these words fell to the keys because it shows how having this shift is such a huge thing to me even when I'm playing it cool.

Another cool theory is by my girl Katarina Arneric, she talks about "small change, big shift".  How looking at a situation just one degree farther to the left or right can completely change up the experience and the good in it can be found and used to fuel you through the day or to the next moment.

:)

hooray for having friends who are so dedicated to peace within themselves and the world.  it sure does come in handy!


Melissa

Sideline Insight

So I have pretty much been completely sidelined by a foot injury for almost one month.  I've done a few workouts with some trusted trainers in the city, but other than that I am just turning into a sexy ball of fluff!  haha

In this time, however, I've learned a few things.

I've learned that exercise is necessary.  The science behind movement is nothing compared to the emotional benefit of working that bum!  A good mood, inspiration behind your diet, confidence.. all are heightened when you are active and working toward goals that push you physically or even just mentally to DO the physical part!

I've also learned quite a bit about feedback.  HAHA  From work, to love, feedback is important.  Not being passive aggressive.  Not being a nag.  Not putting someone down.  But real feedback, when you're talking to someone about something they did (no right or wrong) in hopes that it helps them be more effective the next time around.

I got some feedback at work.  First it was tough, but then I looked closer and realized that it was really just a group of people saying:  "Hey, we know you well enough to know that this is unlike you AND that if this is fixed, then the sky is the limit for you."  And I'll tell ya, folks, it took it haaaaaaaaaAAAAAaard!  I was upset.  And confused.  I gave my feedback on the feedback, lol.  (Which I still think is good stuff to take home. lol)  But yeah.. I was just so lost.  Not me.  There's nothing that I need to change and at this point in my life.. there's nothing that I CAN change, right?  I'm just me!

But then it clicked.  AHA! #eureka  Nobody was ganging up on me.  Nobody thought that I was less of a person.  Nobody was asking me to change.  They were just asking me to get better.  Be me .. but BETTER.  Keep it steady.  Keep it real.  And not that I'm not enough.  They want me to know that I'm "all that" and with these tools, I can be the bag of chips, too!

It all came full circle today.  I am spending my birthday with my mom and we stopped by her job for a meeting she has with her boss.  While talking with his secretary, she shared how much vision he had (another learning about leadership) and also how much leadership he tried to cultivate at all times.  In that she talked about how she's had to give feedback.  She said that she HATES the idea of having someone be mad at her, but is she doesn't share then "it doesn't make them grow."  And that's what I now know!

Constructive feedback sucks arse but without it, there is no later.  Why?  Because you'll be living the same story over & over & over again if they let you tell it while using that same simple vocabulary that you know.  You will be building the same doll houses if you stick only with your tacky clue and cardboard and never pick-up a nail gun and some pinewood!  (Is pinewood what people use to build houses?  lol)

So you probably get the point right now.  GROW.  Whether you grow "up", or "out", or "wiser".. that's relative.  JUST GROW and do it NOW!  Let go of your ideals.  They are excellent and have served you, but it's time to apply the loving guidance given by your peers and family (etc.) over the time you've been on this earth.

I'm happy that this all came to me on my birthday 'cause this is a great day to start the rest of my life.  And better. *smile*

I hope this helps you as much as it's helped me!

LOVE YA!

melissa 2.7

BHAG

Where I come from, we have this things called:  Big Hairy Audacious Goals.  Another place I come from calls you to: Be Authentic.  Be Unreasonable.  Be Extraordinary.

If I had to say one thing that I want to do/be that I don't see myself capable of being, it's a fitness model.  I want to compete in a few fitness competitions, but more than that.. I want to do this: 

I want to do it because I LOVE marketing/branding, and there are some great companies out there that not only make wonderful product, but they also make a huge impact on the world EVERY DAY.  I want to represent those people and I also want to inspire others the way that these images & companies inspire me!

It doesn't have to look just like the image above.. but I want to do it in some form or fashion.  As a model, as an ambassador, as a partner through my blog(s). 

It's scary.  But I'm going to take a shot at it.  The good thing is that I can wait forever because then I'll just model active wear for Chico's or something.  lol  :  P

Okay.  Bye! :)
#vulnerable #daringGREATLY #beUNREASONABLE #beEXTRAORDINARY #elivate #GREATNESS #dreamBIG #doBIG #nervous

I love my job. Grace. Enlightenment.

So this week I did another level of training at my job with some cool peeps from all over the region.

In it, we talk about communication and goals.  The lovely thing about it is that we actually learn it in a way that we can apply it to our personal lives as well as to our guests that we encounter at least 15 hours per week.  After listening to one of the recordings, I say, "I love this company."  I honestly wanted to hold back, and keep the glee to myself, but I just couldn't help it!  This was on Thursday.

Just a few days before that day, my company sent me to Landmark Forum where I, with at least one other person (of 145), had the opportunity to SHIFT my perspective and transform my 'self', as I know me, into this NEW person.  THAT was a great experience.  I can explain the encounter, but won't ever have words for the feelings that I have since that weekend.  So appreciative of that moment.

So now it's almost two weeks later and life has settled in again.  The new way of thinking is still there, but doubt and fear are trying to creep their way back in to my thoughts and behavior.  Gratefully, I am able to now capture them and examine them.  Sometimes they get past, but most of the time I send them back to where they came from (the pits of hell?  the North Pole?  Detroit?  lines at the Department of Motor Vehicles?) and I'm happy that I can really do that these days.

What I've learned to do is separate my story from the truth of what's happening.  To not let one bad encounter spiral into the backdrop of my entire day, life, or perspective.  (It's deep, y'all.)  It's freed up a lot of time and energy because I am able to focus on the moments that I'm in as they come to me.

I have to admit, there has been a convo in my head about:  WHAT IF I THINK A NEGATIVE THOUGHT?  What if I forget the strategy?  This could happen, right?  Moments where we awaken to a bright day and every now and then when a bad mood strikes that day or week, we get the chance to compare the two paradigms and see that we lost a little control there or here in this present moment because of X, Y, or Z? 

But isn't that what happiness and anger are?  Losing control?  Super happy experiences usually happen because something happened to you.  You can't create those mornings where you imagine that you're Cinderella and all the doe are prance around while blue birds tie your hair into the most PERFECT messy bun.  Those mornings usually just happen and you always seize the opportunity to just bask in it, don't you? You do the same thing when you're angry, too.  You're living your life and suddenly something happens and your mood just sets. you. off.!  You feel attacked and defensive, suddenly you want to just FIGHT or FLEE!  Or YOU CAN'T DECIDE WHICH TO DO..so you shut-down altogether.  Sometimes this is on the same day, or maybe a few months later. 

Do you see how thin the line that I'm drawing it?  Sure you can create happy and sad through action and thought, but never the experience because the feeling happens as a result of what you THINK might make you happy or sad.  You usually find yourself waiting around for those results!  (HOLY doctor's clinic waiting room!  Right?  haha)

And that's where at least one point of this post is about to be presented...

BUT THEN THERE'S GRACE. 

In the Christian belief, 'grace' is:  "the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings."  (According to my MacBook.)  I also think that it's safe to say in the non-Christian belief, people understand one of the definitions of 'grace' to be this (+/- God) as well.

So you're in one of these places of happiness and anger.  Or forgiveness, bitterness, courage, or fear, right?  You might feel like you should be more consistently peaceful and if you DO get any bad vibe, you should handle it a certain way as your new and glad self should not be phased by others or external influences.  And a brand new struggle abounds within your psyche between gladness or irritability.  Never you fear dear reader--dear friend-- now you have a new standard that frees you from this vicious cycle of 'would haves' and 'should haves'.  YOU have the ability to remind yourself of 'grace'.  Undeserving, unwarranted, favor for your life.  No matter what you do.  What you say.  Where you are.. the good things that are coming to you in your life are going to come despite any slip that you take into a positive or negative mindset in your moment!  You can't do a thing to stop God's plan from succeeding, my love.  It's going to go down whether you like it or not.  So why even begin the self-abuse again?

Perfection is boring, truly impossible to reach, and relative anyway.  Have you ever been a guest at an event that went off without a hitch?  You loved the music, ambiance, food, and crowd?  THAT'S because the event planner dealt with rip-offs, no-shows, spoiled food, and party-crashers BEHIND the scenes for at least a month and even on the night you are there hobnobbing with your peers and loved ones!  Thankfully, someone in our lives is in a control like this even beyond our experience.  Someone who has set it in place that you will have a good time in this life (and in my Christian case.. another that's coming after this) as long as we just promise to show up every day and experience it with that guarantee in mind.

This morning, when I started to get a little upset w/ myself because I hadn't really applied the lingo of Landmark & my development course to my life in a few situations over the weekend, I simply remembered a mantra created by this cool chick named Emily Ley that says:  I hold myself to a standard of GRACE not perfection. 

OF COURSE I want a great life.  I want peace.  I want to manage.  I want to smile.  I want power.  I want to lead.  But, if I get hung up on doing those things perfectly, I won't get there.  YES.. I might 'get there', but it will take a lot for me to hold to strings that tie it all together.  If I simply apply great truth to my life, go out and live it, let go, and .. LET GOD.  THEN I will truly have those chances (plus more) in my great life where I do great things, hang with great people and feel great hope and wonder every day.  WHEW!  WHAT. A. RELIEF!!

So I invite you to hold yourself to a standard today.  A standard where you allow yourself some wiggle room to be authentic.  Experiencing real life.  Loving moments that are really happening to you.  All this because you work at it.  Not to do all of these things perfectly, but to do all these things knowing that your efforts will pay off, and when you forget to apply them, it doesn't matter because you're still in good standing with the most high--and that's all that matters.

I hope you're encouraged to be yourself today.  I hope that this post brought you overwhelming peace.

God bless.. here are some pictures of me living my life imperfectly..

LOVE YOU GUYS!  Have fun taking it easy on yourselves!  :  )

xoxo
Melissa

at the Moet Rose Lounge w/ great peeps!

driving range :)

Black Girls Run! meet-up pre 5k race!

Back To Basics

So I created this blog to help inspire myself and others, yet I find that my "energy" is in the purgatory of attitudes.

I don't complain much on here and I'm not supper peppy, and phony; but at the same time, I know that I don't like the way things come off.

I'm not going to change anything on purpose, but I will be more aware of the message I send and the sound of my posts.  If in fact that means that a lot of things change, then so be it!  If anybody knows that life changes when you're a little more aware, it's me.  The fitness experience is probably one of the few that literally permeates all parts of life.  It's a great way to philosophize and metaphorically speak on character, yet at the same time, it's a great way to just talk fitness!

So yeah.  I'm gonna stop posting so much with a "life happened to me" attitude and start posting more about what I did that happened to LIFE!

So yeah.  I'm only a few months deep on this blog, but it all counts and starting now things change for the better.

Hooray for life and health!

xoxo

Melissa

BETTER LIFE: SAY IT, DO IT #1

So there's this chick I follow on the Twitter.  I think she does the Manhattan something or other...

**I just Twitter searched her and it's actually called, "Fit Chick In The City".

ANYWAY!  I don't really follow blogs.  There are ones that I like and ones that I don't like.  The ones that I like are the ones where I will follow 'em on Twitter, read a few posts, look at the titles of old posts and then come back in a few months.  With this practice, I feel like I get just enough of that 'community' feeling that I need to keep pushing, keep blogging (and keep working out).  The young lady in charge of the Fit Chick In The City blog has this "Say It, Do It" thing that she does where she claims to the public what her workouts will be for the week.

Might as well be handcuffed to workouts with cute fuzzy ones!

I never really read that posts, but when I see her tweet mention "say it, do it" or "SIDI" then I get excited for her to be successful at accomplishing whatever it is that she set out to do at the beginning of the week.  There's something about holding people accountable and people holding you accountable that just creates a great since of community, right?  And this is why I started the blog after-all. 

SO HERE'S MY FIRST "SAY IT, DO IT"!  (Reviews her format...)

OKAY!  Here goes...

Sunday:  2mi run + 30+ min yoga
Monday: 1mi run + strength
Tuesday:  2mi run
Wednesday:  Rest or Yoga
Thursday:  1 mi run + strength
Friday:  1mi run + core workout
Saturday:  2-3mi run & strength

**and then shes asks her audience a question...

What workouts are you committing to this week?  Leave it in the comments below! ;)

xo,
Mel

BETTER BODY: F**K THAT *Kendrick Lamar voice*

B-DAY WKND w/ my sis :)

When people find out that I've lost 30 lbs, they always ask me how I did it and when I think about it, one of the main keys to my success was my DIET (and sleeping).

Changing the way that I was eating changed my mind and my body.  I was clear, light, happy, shedding weight, and I really felt quite mature because I was making healthy choices left & right.

The catch is, however, that I never really made a crazy big change beside cutting out fast food/restaurant food and making sure I ate less from packages and more from my own skillets.

The other day I was walking down the street and had wanted to satisfy my craving for late-night style tacos and dropped into a random joint to grab some super unhealthy handheld munchies.  NOT a good idea.  I honestly don't feel bad about eating it, but my body definitely rejected them LOUD & CLEAR!  haha

I definitely don't eat as clean as I used to when I began my journey, but I definitely still do 75-80% healthier choices (even if it's food from 7-Eleven).  I was so surprised by the physical reaction that I just knew that eating clean is pretty much my only choice at this point.  It's definitely something that I want to keep up, but for a second I was becoming a little anal, and it really scared me, so I backed off in a major way.

I don't want to set a rule for my diet, but if I had to, the idea would be to eat clean 80-90% of the time and eat really really dirty (in a good/quality way) about 10-15% of the time.  I was headed down the road towards vegan, but it wasn't really founded an anything sturdy, so at this point--with all of the understanding of clean eating that I have--I imagine that I will be eating vegan/veggie/pesky (that's my way of saying PESCETARIAN) most of the time.  I think I'm mostly afraid of never eating pork bacon, hamburgers, and steak again.  (Not in a negative way but in a...I REALLY LIKE BACON, HAMBURGERS, AND STEAK, kinda way.)

I also don't think I'll be going vegan because I wanna be prepared for whatever is in store for our nation and world.  Part of the reason that I train and the reason I eat well (and want to keep beef, chicken, & pork in my diet) is because I'm afraid of being in some DOOM situation where it's 2059 and we HAVE to eat fake cow meat by government ordinance.  I just want my stomach to be ready for that... AND SO I'll practice with real beef & pork now!

lol

The beef, pork & chicken intake will not be high at all, but when I want it (or if it's the only option) then I will have it!  And I will try to make it at home vs ordering it.  SIMPLE!

My way of achieving this lifestyle is:

• buy salmon/fish once a week
• buy spinach for eating & smoothies once a week
• trying new recipes OFTEN ... not once a week, I can't commit to that
• make a staple shopping list over the next few months for my "no brainer" dishes
• eat 3 homemade meals a day for 4-6 days per week (If I eat out, it has to be a light and big salad for at least 6 out of those 9 potential meals.)

I have always envisioned myself as a veggie/veganesque girl, but I also think it's important to make sure I'm doing it the healthy way.  I have SO many vegetarian friends who only eat packaged food and that's just so backwards to me!  Eating clean is where it's at and it's possible and affordable enough for ANYBODY to do.  I'm still going to have the cravings, I'll just have to develop a little discipline to make sure I just cook those meals myself and not spend the $3-$50 dollars on them at places outside of my home.

Manifesto from the book In Defense of Food #reminder

So goodbye, JUNK FOOD!  Chips, pop/soda, and multiple fast-food stops, that snuck back into my life.  You're banished!  I love you & I'll visit from time-to-time at Super Bowl parties, but you gotta go and I gotta stay true to the happy, healthy, thug in me. 

If you are on some kind of fitness/diet journey.  It REALLY suggest that you read the book IN DEFENSE OF FOOD:  An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan.  I really helped me to change my mind about my thoughts on food w/o really trying.  VERY good book.  VERY good notes.  ENJOY!

Much Love!

Melissa B. :)
xox

POTENTIAL

Yesterday I posted this image to my personal FB wall...

It's very very true.

With that said I'm excited to announce that I sent out my first fitness newsletter today!  :  )  I will open it up more and more over time.  I am very excited to get the feedback and for the base to grow.

I'm very nervous, but pursuing a career in the fitness industry is very important to me and I know that the internet is a great avenue.

Besides that, I'm on a new workout schedule and already seeing some great side-effects.  Thanks for reading the posts, so far!

How can you act out your potential today?  Start a blog, start crunching numbers for that raise you want to ask for, call that friend that you admire and talk collaborations...  A closed mouth doesn't get fed, child!  Get a move on!!

P.S.  You can join the newsletter below and get in on the action next month!

Lots & lots of love,

MB

    Subscribe to the WELLTH & HEALTH newsletter!
   
   

BARRE!

I have done SO much barre these past two weeks!

a.)  My butt looks amazing.
b.)  It's not for the faint of heart!
c.)  I really want to get better at a lot of the moves.

WHEW!!!  So sore.

25 Things I'm Grateful For On My 25th Thanksgiving Day

1.  God's grace.
2.  My family.
3.  My friends.
4.  Being able to do the work that I do every day. (And getting paid for it!)
5.  My health and my body.  I mean 'body' in the most shallow way possible, too... IT LOOKS GOOD! SHOOT! lol
6.  Love.
7.  Life.
8.  Music.
9.  Forgiveness.
10.  Peace.
11.  The Bible.
12.  Being born and raised on the South Side of Chicago.
13.  Laughter.
14.  Good food & drink.
15.  Developing a true and deep relationship with God this year.
16.  Being able to forget.
17.  Time.
18.  Airplanes, cars, trains, buses, etc. ... They get me closer to the people and places that I love most.
19.  The ability to dream. (BIG)  I have an awesome amount of optimism.  I'm good at executing, too!
20.  Memories.
21.  The good & the bad.
22.  Growing up in a home with both of my (married) parents.  That's a special kind of love.
23.  My crazy, mixed-up, imperfect, strange, wild, and odd life experience.
24.  Knowing what bad, hurt & darkness look like so that I can truly appreciate the goodness, healing and light of life.
25.  Living on Earth right now & in this age.

why not?

SO you probably know me in some form or fashion.  You might know me as Melissa Thompson but I bet if we've met in the past few years, you know me as Melissa Billions. :)  It's a name that I like a lot and it's just stuck with me over time.  It came from being inspired to do "billions" of things.  Ya know... Save billions of lives.  Make/give/raise billions of dollars.  See billions of things 'n' places...  Do you catch my drift, yet?

Well... Now that intros are out of the way, I want to get on to the important part.  I'm making this blog because I so desperately want to do three things.  They are:  inspire other people, stay encouraged (by documenting workouts, thoughts, etc.), and to be encouraged even more by the readers and other bloggers, too!

Currently I am studying to become a NASM certified personal trainer, I teach fitness classes all around the city of Chicago and I work at a super duper cool yoga & running gear store* (amongst other things) in the city of Chicago--which is the city that I live in, by the way.  I wear my hair in a natural style most of the time, I want to go vegan and I did my first pull-up EVER on 11/19/12.  I have tried blogging quite a few times and as much as I love it, I don't think that I was ever really talking about things that really mattered to me the way that health & wellness matter to me.  Someday, I'd also like to share story & tell you about my life's journey and how it lead me to the fitness industry and has kept me here.

TODAY I ran 3.2 miles in my neighborhood and while I waited for the shower to warm up (maybe a minute or two TOO long--thanks Facebook) I did seven push-ups.

Here are a few pics of me doing healthy-looking things (lol!) all around the city...

Here I am cheering people on at the 2012 Chicago Marathon! I was so inspired that day.

Me & my Black Girls Run! Chicago running group

Opening my heart up. I was at the TITLE IX 9k in Chicago demonstrating great stretches for runners... this isn't one, lol!

Me and my cousin DENNIS at Nike's DAY OF GREATNESS/GREATNESS GAMES in Chicago!  I won!

Climbing trees #counts

pre-YOGA SCULPT at CorePower Yoga (my fave yoga stu in Chicago)

Here, now, is when I start talking again...

SO, now you know me, now you see me and you have gotten a taste of my intention.  I can't lie, I really hope that this blog becomes something amazing to you, and to me as well.  While we wait for that to happen, I'll be sweating off the internet (and sometimes with the help of the internet) and bringing all the good stuff back here to the blog every time the good stuff happens to me in real life.  Thanks so much for stopping by!  I really do appreciate it and I really do know that you really don't know how much I mean that, but you will learn... trust me.

'TIL NEXT TIME!

tons of love 'n' hugs 'n' kisses from me to you!

xoxo,

Melissa B. (SKYPE wave)

*I think that according to my working contract, I will have to tell you the name of the store that I work at--which I don't mind AT ALL (I LOVE IT THERE!)--but until then, it shall remain nameless, K?  K.  Thanks for understanding.