Girl Grit and Sign up for Something...

April's  (2011) Women's Health Magazine Editor-In-Chief, Michele Promaulayko, had some great quotes and theme from her Letter from the Editor this month. 

Smart Things Women have said about having Grit- even if they didn't call it that...
"Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn." Harriet Beecher Stowe- Love this one.

"If you really want something, and you really work hard, and you take advantage of  opportunity, and you never give up you'll find a way." Jane Goodall

"We can do anything we want to do if we stick to it long enough." Helen Keller

"If you have an idea and a vision and stay with it and doom the naysayers, you can have a tremendous impact."

Her letter from the editor highlighted the theme of "grit".  It is a human trait which all of us have, but just different levels of it.  I liked her idea of tapping into "grit" to accomplish something great.  She talked about "gut out" hard situations in all areas of our lives (home, work, friends, exercise/sports).  I will think more about tapping into my own "grit" when I need to in all of these areas of my life.

Sign up for Something... this idea came from Dawna Stone's founder's note in the March 2011 Women's Running magazine. She said the 2 most frequently asked questions people voice to her are: "How can I stay motivated? and How can I lose weight".  Her response- "pick an event".  I totally agree with this idea.  I find that if I sign up for something be it a 5K, half-marathon, full or tri-sprint, I am much more apt to stay with my exercise routine.  I'm also more apt to have a better diet/lifestyle, because if I don't that makes the training that much harder.  Dawna admitted that her running has ebbed and flowed over 30 years of running, which is refreshing because I think it is real life.  We all have things that come up ( for instance my lovely daughter who was up 2 times last night and now is refusing to nap :).  These real life disruptions to our schedule make us tired, stressed, and break the routine/plans we had to accomplish our goals.  So... we can use our "grit" to "gut it out" and get back on the horse and "getter done"!  So if looking for a way to get yourself back on the track/path of health/training I agree with Dawna- sign up for something.  You'll be amazed what signing up for something will do for you.