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fortune favors action: why I’m doing what I’m doing and why I refuse to stop.

~ loveandlunge ~ Leave a comment

I don’t think I have ever been this busy or stressed out in my entire life, but I’m weirdly okay with it.  Yesterday, I was so overwhelmed with stress my eyeballs physically hurt.  It’s not easy working a full time job while working on business school applications and examinations and teaching spinning and blogging and traveling.  It’s just not.  But this is where I am right now and I don’t want to give any of it up, so I am dealing with this somewhat difficult time.

What’s keeping me going?  When all is said and done, I am working hard for a goal in every aspect of my life.  Everything that I do, I am doing with purpose and intention and no matter what, I’m giving it my all.

Fortune favors action.

I read this quote while reading a book on the train into New York for a function and it resonated with me hard.  I have never been a lucky person.  Opportunities rarely if ever have presented themselves to me flat out and I’ve had to work for everything I’ve achieved in my adult life.

Leaving my undergraduate with a degree in Vocal Performance didn’t do me a lot of favors in terms of landing a job.  I went on countless interviews my senior year, only to be turned away because I didn’t “fit” with their organization. I knew they were wrong and I still know they are wrong, but I landed a job and I was determined to make that job proud that they hired me instead of dwell on those who didn’t.  And I worked my butt off.  I came in early everyday, I always ate lunch at my desk that I had pre-packed, I spent my time focused, driven, and tenacious in everything I did.  And I continued to work and work and work until I was no longer the most inexperienced person in the room and I could hold my weight in conversations and be influential on a company-wide level.  So now, I’m pursuing an MBA because I want to be able to bring even more to the table.

Maybe it’s that drive and tenacity that drove me to wanting more in my non-professional life as well.  My first few years out of school, I struggled managing a hefty commute with the stress of my first real job, so all time spent outside of work was spent watching Netflix, working out, and hanging out with friends.  When I made the decision to pack up and move across the country, my priorities outside of work changed.  There was always something in the back of my mind saying “Do More.”  So, I started adding on extra-curriculars that weren’t binge-watching based.  I started coaching for Girls on the Run, I started taking the steps to become a personal trainer, I started investing time in reading anything and everything I could find that was fitness related and I loved it.  I put weight into my education on a topic that interested me like no other and I never looked back.


Teaching Spinning was not really on my radar until I got injured.  A girl could only stationary bike and elliptical to keep her cardio endurance up so many times before she goes mad.  They didn’t offer any Spinning classes in the morning when I went to the gym, but I had taken my fair share in the past and decided to hop on the bike and see what I could do.  After a couple of months playing around, I decided to look into how I could make this serious.  In no time, I was reading through manuals and course material and learning all there was to know about this particular area of fitness and after a whirlwind 9 hour training session, I was a Certified Spinning Instructor.

But just having the certification does not a Spinning Instructor make.  No.  I had to find a place to do it.  I started googling, researching, diving in to any and all gyms in the area that had Spinning programs.  I crafted a fitness resume, I sent emails, I made phone calls, I scoured online job postings and Craigslist ads until I finally convinced a local gym to let me sub during the summer months.  So, for the past few months, I was on retainer until they needed me.  But I didn’t get complacent.  I kept pushing and searching for a gig that would allow me to teach my own classes.

But why?  Why go to all this trouble?  Because I genuinely enjoy it.  There is something about sitting down in front of a group of people and having the ability to move and shape everything that is about to happen in that room for 45 minutes.  I have to read what works and what doesn’t work for the attendees and make changes at the drop of a hat.  I have to come prepared because the last thing I want is for my students to see me sweat (not literally of course because that is absolutely 100% inevitable).  And I have to motivate them until the very end of class.  All of these traits that I have grown to love while teaching Spinning are traits that undoubtably will help me in my business pursuits further down the line, which is so funny to me.

Fortune favors action.

I didn’t wait for things to happen to me, I worked hard to make them happen for me.  There is still a lot I haven’t done that I would love to do, but I’ll be damned if I’m not proud of myself for how far I’ve come and how much I’ve grown since leaving college.  I’ve got a lot of work on my plate right now and a lot of balls in the air, but I’m going to keep going because I’m not the type to give up.  I’m doing what I’m doing because I am truly passionate about what is on my plate at this minute.  Does that mean life is going to be overwhelming and sucky for a little while? Yes.  But I am taking action and am doing the best I possibly can.


-sj

in light of recent running events and Trekz Titanium Review

~ loveandlunge ~ 1 Comment

Hi, friends!  This week, man.  This week has been busy busy busy.  I was in Philly last weekend for the CityFitGirls FitRetreat and then jet-setted off to Dallas for work.  Traveling always takes it out of me, but I kept with my workout schedule and managed to kill some awesome runs while I was out of town.  The best part of my week?  Accepting a position as a Spin Instructor at my old gym.  If you’re in Piscataway, NJ come hit up the Retro Fitness on Tues/Thurs at noon or Saturday at 11am!  I’m stoked to continue teaching on a more regular basis.  It’s truly something I enjoy and I’m looking forward to crafting new classes and sharing my knowledge with a whole new crew.

Now for the bad news, my headphones died on me.  Yes.  The headphones I had been raving about here, died.  I guess that’s what I get for consistently buying $16 pairs.  No shame.  Except, it is getting quite annoying to have to keep contacting the companies to get replacements.  You get what you pay for.  So, I was ECSTATIC (I’m not overexaggerating in the slightest here) when I remembered that Aftershokz was sending me a pair of their new Trekz Titanium Bluetooth headphones.  They honestly couldn’t have come at a better time.

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They couldn’t have come at a better time for a multitude of reasons.  Aside from the fact that I was in desperate need of something Bluetooth and fancy, there have also been an unsettling amount of women running who have been murdered, so safety while out alone doing my morning runs had been a bit more of a concern than usual.  If you knew me, you’d know that I am a worrier.  My mother is a risk manager and, oh my god, did I inherit that gene.  I’m the type of person who looks for the nearest exit in the room, has to sit facing the door at a restaurant, and locks every single possible door when I go to sleep.  That’s why these headphones are such a godsend.

Aftershokz aren’t your usual Bluetooth headphones.  They don’t actually go in your ear.  Instead, they send vibrations through your cheekbones to emit sound.  That means you can actually hear what’s going on around you.  That and you’re not blasting sound straight into your ear which is always a concern of mine since I’ve been known to pump the volume up a little too high on more than one occasion.

I put them to the test.  I took them out for a run on the treadmill.  I wanted to test a couple of things: were they comfortable, could I actually hear my music, could others around me hear my music, were they going to die on me like so many before.

Verdict:

Comfort: They are pretty comfortable!  They wrap over your ears and around the back of your head.  Unfortunately, I have a kind of tiny head so they aren’t as snug as they could be.  They do offer an elastic thing you can buy to tighten them and I’m seriously considering going down that path because I really like these bad boys.  They hurt my ears only when I was running on the treadmill because of the up and down motion, but running outside and doing circuit workouts/ellipticalling/spinning/weights were a non-issue.

Sound: This is where I was most astonished.  You guys, they actually work.  They are loud and you can hear your music really crisply which I was not expecting given the fact that the sound is going through your cheekbones.  Seriously so cool.  Also, no, people around you cannot hear your music.  I tested it out by taking a video while playing music at the highest volume and also having my boyfriend listen in.  You can’t hear it anymore than you would someone’s regular headphones on full blast.  Another key factor: these are great for phone calls.  I work remotely and often take conference calls in all sorts of places.  I’ve had issues in the past with headphone speakers and people not being able to hear me, not the case with these.  They even cancel out other sounds around you so the person on the other line can only hear your voice.  Check and mate.

Durability: I will be ASTONISHED if these don’t last me. There is a clear level of quality with these headphones.  You turn them on and there is power there.  There are also a variety of different functions that these headphones can do that my previous headphones could not ie. dial a previous number, put a caller on hold, skip songs, etc.  These are not cheaply made headphones in the slightest.

Overall, I’m a huge fan.  I’m even more of a fan because, through Oct 31st, AfterShokz will donate 25% of proceeds to Bright Pink – a non-profit that focuses on breast and ovarian cancer awareness and education.  They will also be donating anytime anyone uses the hashtag #AwareWithPink.  I love it.  Philanthropic organizations always get my kudos.

These are my real and honest thoughts regarding this product and, honestly, I’m impressed.  I have been using them for everything including, most notably, my walks with Boo.  I can’t tell you how nice it is to still be aware of your surroundings while listening to a podcast or music.  PS.  Happy National Dog Day from the BOO!!!