Patience is a virtue...but one that so many of us struggle with. In a world of instant gratification, we often throw in the towel right before a break through can occur. And then we end up in this vicious cycle of beginning, giving up, and starting all over. It then takes a mental toll on us more than anything. 

With health and fitness, I see this happen all the time and I understand it because the struggle with patience was the old me. When I decided to get my health and fitness back in order, my mind was wrapped around the old athlete. But my body was different. I was older, my metabolism slowed down, and I had 2 children. It wasn't going to happen as quickly and I soon learned that I was going to have to be patient. And it was with myself that I would have to learn the most patience because it was NOT going to happen over night. 

Physically, I was going to have to embrace the small victories like having more energy, avoiding a donut (my nemesis), and focusing on the feeling of health, not a number on the scale. When I started focusing on those things, my whole perspective changed. 

When I became a beachbody coach, I realized that my journey was my story. And I wanted to empower others to find their way. I've been there and know what my challengers (members of my online health and fitness groups) are going through. There is a very critical period in health and fitness that you have to overcome in order to see the break through. And it's the mental more than anything. We have been engrained to think of beauty as only physical, compare our bodies to others, and think that there should be a magical pill to fix it all. It's about one thing, balance. And that takes patience and practice. One day at a time. And then the next thing you know, you look back at see how far you've come. 

The same thing applies to life. We have this internal battle of what could have been or what was. I think all of those moments are intended to bring us into our truest self and prepare us for our destiny. Yet we dwell on it so much that we prevent ourselves from moving forward. It is no different than our health and fitness journey. We allow the past and what we've created in our mind to hold us back. And for what? It's only preventing us from happiness. 

We must be patient in everything and seek the lesson. Although challenging, I made a decision that this year would be about living in the moment and being present. With that mindset comes peace and patience for what's to come. So my hope and prayer for you is to exude patience in all you do, whether trials or tribulations, or in the best moments, just be patient and know you are exactly where you should be. And don't give up, whatever you do, there's too much ahead of you. 

Believe & Achieve, 

Natalie Rene