Great Expectations

When I created this blog it was an opportunity to share exercise tips and workouts that I've created for the many classes that I have taught over the years. It was also an opportunity to talk about the things that we experience as we move through this life. One thing that I have struggled with is dealing with disappointment when I have come short of my expectations. When I was in my late twenties, before I started teaching fitness, I did a life reset when I decided to move to Toronto to do a post-graduate degree in public relations. After completing school, I got a job and moved to downtown Toronto. As young as I was, I still felt that I should be doing more. Because I was older than my school-mates and had more work experience, I believed my job position should be impressive (e.g., job title - lead public relations strategist to the CEO), I thought I should be living in a very nice condo apartment, and I thought I should be dating a guy who worked on Bay Street. Instead, I had an entry-level position at a non-profit (job title - coordinator of nothing), I lived in a basement apartment with low ceilings and one small window, and I was single single single. It was beyond depressing. For most of my life in Toronto, I really struggled with where I was in life because of the expectations I put on myself to do and be more. Where did these expectations come from? These expectations were my own informed by the expectations of my parents, society, and all of the other influences in my life. Fast forward to today, I am older, I've learned more, I've experienced more and I understand that where you are where you're supposed to be in life. However, and this is a big, however, I still find my self going back to the thoughts, "at this point of my life I should have x, y, and z." I need to take Elsa's advice and "let it go!" Great expectations in fitness I find that I have certain expectations of what I should look like and what I should be able to do. For example, "I should have perfect six-pack abs and be able to run an 8-minute mile." Well, I don't have a six-pack and I for damn sure cannot run an 8-minute mile. Dealing with multiple injuries has been a struggle for me but it has taught me to change the things I can, and let go of the other stuff. In other words, let God lead the way. We all have different motivations for working out for some we just want to maintain a certain level of fitness, for others, it's about changing your appearance. If you're working out because you of an expectation on how you should look, then examine that thinking. Now if you want nice arms or booty great, you should go for it, but try not to get tied to achieving physical results. I think if we let go of our expectations it opens space for us to learn and let other possibilities flow into our lives. If my expectations were met when I was living in Toronto, I wouldn't have learned humility, patience, and the value of being independent. I wish I had this clarity when I was in my twenties, but of course, I didn't because I was in my twenties. Lol. Do you relate to what I've shared above? If so, I would love to hear from you. Please send me a DM on IG. You can find me at @ghanagirlproductions. Until then stay well and blessed -GhanaGirl