I am a truth teller, always have been always will be.  I know that at times the truth hurts.  I also know that the truth can set us free. 

In the midst a lot of push ups, sprints, burpees, and bench presses I am committed to forcing the women in my pods to do mental exercises.  This particular exercise was so good that it was worth repeating.  I asked my podstars to share a lie (or lies) that they believe about themselves.  It is often difficult to distinguish between a truth and a lie…here are a few distinguishers.  Lies are never constructive.  These particular “lies” that I am speaking of are things that you run over and over in your mind.  They can be all-consuming.  They are almost always negative.  They are rarely motivating or a good use of our thought lives.  These words or phrases actually defeat us and can effect the way we interact with others and live out our days.  Because we fail to recognize them as lies, we allow them to sabotage who we we desire to become.  

As we all know, and what I have been able to experience in a very real way in my studio, is that the physical, the psychological, and the spiritual are all intertwined and are not meant to be separated.  Since the women in my pods sense this as well, they did not restrict themselves to lies that simply related to fitness and nutrition.  Instead they shared lies that pervaded all parts of their lives including the physical.

I discussed with my girls that I hoped they would be willing to share some of their personal lies so that others in the group might be able to shed light and speak truth over them.  Anonymously they gave me their lies and then I posted them throughout the studio.   The job of the women in pod was to combat those lies.  They were to pick several lies that were not their own and speak truth over them.  My sweet pod girls were tremendously raw and transparent.  I was struck by their candor and I realized it would be “blog worthy” as I am certain most of these lies are common if not universal. 

I am going to share only a cross-section of these with you for the sake of this remaining a blog and not turning in to a novel…but my hope is that you too might be courageous enough to be honest and ask yourself tough questions.  My hope is that you might be willing to dig deep with the intention to find truth. 

Tonight I will leave you with the themes of my next 4 blogs…

Nutrition – I will never be as disciplined with food as I am with exercise.  Food controls me.  I am an emotional eater.  I cannot eat or I will gain weight. 

Weight Loss, Exercise, and Body Image – I have to keep losing weight to feel beautiful or to feel like I am accomplishing my exercise goals.  I will never get rid of my pudge, double chin, belly fat from having kids, etc.  I will never be at my desired weight.   Skinny is beautiful…nothing else is. 

Feeling like I am never enough – job, family, wife, friend, etc.  I give all I have but still feel defeated at the end of each day.

Balance – between work and being a mom…this will probably be posted on a Mommy Confessions Monday in the near future! 

I hope you will join me on this journey as I share my collection of truths.  Truth that I was able to share with my pod girls and truths that they were willing to share with one another.   The truth can set us free.