Female Empowerment {Strength is Beautiful}

Swoob Dragon Fly Sports Bra 

Runner Pepper Spray with Adjustable HandStrap

Two of my favorite companies out there Swoob.com and Sabre have teamed up together to bring an amazing series centered around women empowerment, fitness and safety. I feel like this is such an important and powerful movement and am blessed to be apart of it. Being apart of this campaign has made me reflect on what empowers me and makes me learn and grow while taking care of this one and only body of mine.

https://youtu.be/y5gheMm-51Q

The first thing that comes to my mind when I think women empowerment is fitness, because that is such a huge part of my life. Empowerment is strength. Strength within and strength on the outside. Strength can mean and be so many different things. One thing empowerment and strength is for sure is beauty. I am empowered through fitness. It gives me strength confidence and is emotionally and mentally strengthening. I started crossfit a year and a half ago and it is the most empowered I have ever felt. It is the best part of my day. It gives me the me time I need as a mom, it teaches me self worth, patience, love acceptance and team building. It gives me energy and the endorphins I release make me happier and a better wife and mother to my two active fun loving little boys.

Life is a journey. We have goals and dreams and the road to those dreams is the most empowering moments. Its important to enjoy those and that is where we grow as humans, women and mothers. Success in those goals is also a journey and road there takes hard work and dedication but is beautiful. There will be those who say you can’t make it, and its too tough and you aren’t strong enough. People will challenge your strength and try to knock you off your path and some will refuse to get out of your way. There will always be those people that do not believe, support or understand you. That is a part of this life. We can let those people define us or we can rise above, believe we have what it takes, believe in the hard work you have put in and your strength and move forward and this where you thrive, shine and are empowered. Those are the moments we empower ourselves and by doing so we empower and inspire others.

My story starts back as a small girl. I have always struggled with confidence I think we all have a bit. I also suffer from anxiety and depression. I didn't get diagnosed until later on in life but it is very apparent that I have lived with these my entire life. Perfectionism and anxiety go hand in hand. I have to fight each day to get out of bed. I have to fight to breathe sometimes and I even have to fight the urge to have to be perfect. My confidence has suffered because of my anxiety and thoughts of always having to be put together and loved by all. These are things that I will struggle with my whole life, but that does not mean that I cannot find different way to cope and try to learn and grow and lesson the effects for these struggles and illnesses. I have found that fitness and surrounding myself with people who support me and have similar goals is the best thing to help me to cope and grow into a better person each day. 

As I grow older I find it more and more important to be yourself. I find it more and more ok to not be perfect. I have even found it to be ok if someone does not like you. But I have also learned to be more loving, despite those that hurt you. I have learned to be supportive of those who may not support you. I have learned to be a good friend, to love more deeply and to understand people are human and to not judge because you just don't know what others are going through. I find that women empowerment comes from helping and supporting those other women and people around you instead of putting people down to be right or to be the one on top. Be slow to judge and say unkind words and quick to love and be understanding. 

So back to fitness being my coping strategy. I was a gymnast and as a teen this is what got me through those hard, developing and a bit awkward years. Im college I took up running and this was my favorite way to blow off steam, think and be in the beautiful outdoors. There was a time when I first got married and started having children I got busy and I lost myself a little bit. I felt like something was missing. I needed that physical activity back in my life but I had no clue what the future had in store for me. Crossfit came into my life at the perfect time, the perfect moment and I would go as far as say that it is has saved my life. 

When I started crossfit I did it just for the exercise having no clue what it could actually do for my life. I have had coaches who have fought for me and believed in me from the very beginning. It was when I started putting in real work, set out goals and believed I could that is when I started to grow. I had zero intensions in competing, but as I have grown this new passion and drive has also grown. I am now competing and my goals in the competitive side of the sport has grown as well. I continue to work toward those goals each day with drive and hard work but also remembering the life long lessons I am taking from this empowering experience by really enjoying the journey.  I have a lot work to do, more experiences that need to happen and more times to accumulate before I will be where I want to but looking back at how far I have already come in a short year and half and recognizing the improvement is what keeps me going and motivates me. I am excited to see where I can go with this and what the future has in store for me. 

Crossfit and any form of fitness is an incredible outlet as it is to many but to me it is so much more than that it pushes me as an athlete but also as a person more than I ever have been. I grow and better my life each day. The life lessons I learn in that gym are incredible. This sport makes me want to push to my limits and reach goals and dreams I have never thought possible for me. I am hard on myself but it grounds me and brings on greatness.

I do crossfit to better me, but I also do it to be an example to my boys and to other women to show the importance of taking care of our bodies. We are only given one body and it is out job to take care of it. The better we take care of our bodies, mind and soul the better the quality of life will be. I do this for my babies. I continue for them. I fight and I do not give up because of them. I want to be that example of health and fitness to them but also an example of going after goals, dreams, passions and hard work. Find you’re the reason. Why is fitness important to your life. Once you find that reason hold on to it and that is what is going to keep you fighting that is what is going to empower you and those around you.

So why? Why is crossfit and my goals and success in it so important? Its important because it has instilled a strength within me. It is important because it makes me happy. It is important because I am able to inspire other to be healthy and that is cool and that is empowering and that is beautiful. I do it because there is nothing quite like the community and family that is built in the walls of that gym. I do it to push myself to my limits while also being there for others and pushing them when maybe they need a little nudge in believing they can. I have found that through doing this sport i want to help others to feel what I feel from pushing yourself to the limit. I want to work with teens, I want to be able to coach them and instill in them the confidence and strength I wish I would have had back then to be able to help them in their adulthood. 

Are there times I want to give up? Yes, more that I would like to admit. There are days and times in my training I swear I will never set foot back in that gym, there are times I feel weak, times I don’t believe I could reach my goals. There are times I feel silly having such high dreams, there are times I let the haters get me down the people that don’t believe I can, there are times I straight up want to quit and prove to myself I can’t but those moments are becoming fewer. The more I push through those bad thoughts and want to quit moments the stronger I become. I grow when I walk in the gym the day after a bad workout. I grow when I pick myself back up. I grow and learn and not just in fitness but in every aspect of our lives. 

So go and do. Not everyday will be great, a lot we will fall short but get back up and set goals and pursue your dreams because they are not stupid and although they take time and hard work I believe I can get there just like I believe we all can if we love it and work hard enough for it. Strength is beautiful. Strength is empowering. Kindness and building others up is empowering. So be the best you so that you can also be there for those around you! Believe in you so you can believe in others. Build your strength so you can help build others. Fitness is empowering. It empowering to do something you never thought possible and it is empowering to watch someone else do something they did think they could but kept going because everyone had their back. Be that empowering person. I try each day to be that person. I try to be my best self and I try to help others to be their best self and show them love and kindness.

Now that I have shared with you my empowerment story make sure to check out Swoobs We Are All Survivors blog post and Sabre Survivor Stories to be empowered, motivated, and uplifted. 

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