Checks & Balances

My life mantra has always been: every experience can be an awesome adventure, or one hell of a story to tell later!! & let me tell you, I've had more than my fair share of great stories! I like to jump into things head first (& usually eyes closed) & I've practically perfected the ability to go with the flow in any situation. 

 With this being said, in life, everything has checks & balances... & it's up to us to be able to self-check, & keep ourselves relatively in the center of the half-pipe we call life. We have to be able to call ourselves out on our weaknesses, & make decisions that keep us centered. This is by FAR one of the most difficult things we need to do in life, & unfortunately, no one is perfect. Not a single one of us. Some of us are really good at managing time, others exercise & eat healthy every day of their lives, & some people are always optimistic, & some of us (me more often than not) feel like you are constantly juggling a bunch of balls in front of your face with a blindfold on! I want you to know, it's ok. It's not only "normal" but it is exactly what we are here to do with our lives!! 

 I have had some struggles in life. I'm pretty much an open book about that. I was raised in a religion that checks & balances your entire life out for you (in my opinion) & when I started to make decisions that were outside of those boundaries, it was like I was on a skateboard for the first time, in the biggest half pipe of my life. I was young, & had no idea what it was like to be out on my own, & be able to make any choice I wanted! Thankfully, I was raised by amazing parents that raised me to be a strong woman, with a good head on my shoulders, & to know when I was getting myself into trouble. Don't get me wrong, it was a LONG time before I was really able to get some balance in my life, & I still struggle with a lot of my past demons. I want to say that I was incredibly lucky that I came out alive (or out of jail/rehab)- but I have to give myself more credit than that. I knew when I was putting myself into sketchy situations, & I am proud to say, that I had the balls to stop, realize what I was doing, & make the appropriate changes to put myself in a better place. Like I said, it took a LOT of time, but it was each small check & balance that put me where I am today, & I am overwhelmingly grateful for that. 

Now that I am 26 (with my golden birthday on the 27!!!) I have a completely different life. I have the best man that I know, to call my own. I have a beautiful house that most people my age would die for, dogs that greet me with love everyday, a job that I have security in, & an amazing group of motivating friends that continue to help me grow, & get better everyday. But again, just because life is better than ever, doesn't mean I don't have an exponential amount of growing to do! 

This last year has been an interesting one. I think I'm one of those people that kind of had a fairytale view of life. I would fall in love, get married, & live happily ever after. For those of you that are married, try to stifle your laughter... But even though I was blessed with an amazing man, & a great relationship, I still struggled a lot, inwardly. I had quit the Crossfit gym I was going to, changed my birth control, was hearing nothing but my biological clock tick so loud it was causing a head ache, not getting enough social time & ultimately, was forgetting to enjoy the ride. 

So, I've checked myself. I joined Crossfit again, jumped on board to a company that is filled with fun, positive people, & have told myself to sloooow down, & enjoy the day to day. It's literally a choice I have to make every day, but every day, I become happier, & a better person for it. I've learned sometimes you have to break down your life to the smallest choices, then check to see if that's what you really want, & get your life back into balance. 

ally