Back in March I thought all my progress would be derailed, but I decided I wasn’t going to stop. Instead of @ufcgymnycsoho (which I miss dearly), I turned @prospect_park and my apartment into my new gym - using the skills and foundation I got from my coaches and my own discipline. I had to work harder for it, be more creative, try things I used to hate - but the progress stayed as consistent as I was, and I’m thankful that I turned a year that threatened to beat me down, into a year that I found new abilities, strengths, joys and reasons to be grateful. I’ve improved every aspect of my body and mind despite the challenges of a pandemic, a furlough, raised rent, remote learning, deaths in the family, and civil unrest. What I learned was that before this year, part of my mind was asleep/distracted by meaningless routines that sapped my energy and attention by leading me through habits that didn’t necessarily serve my best interests. I found more of myself that I had let lay dormant, and with that discovery came a reinvigorated drive to improve. You see, before the pandemic, I was too busy. I worked too much, had lots demands at home, always something to do, somewhere to go, something to prepare for, etc... I basically ceased to be me and just became duties and work in the shape of a person. Because of that, I felt like I was losing touch with things and people in my life. I wasn’t able to truly be present, ever. The truth is, I don’t think I would have broken that cycle had the pandemic not upended my life and forced me to slow down and really fully experience myself and my reality again. The lesson: never let yourself drift along life without living with purpose and fulfillment that you deserve. I didn’t realize how many things I wanted to fix, but would never get around to because I was in a routine of over abundant busyness. I was able to tune into health again - for my family as well. We’ve all lost weight from being active and eating better. I was also able to find joy in my work again - I was so busy running around managing people that I never got to really enjoy the process of creating. Summary: 2020 sucked, but mine didn’t because I didn’t let it 💪🏽 (at Brooklyn, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/CJJu0X6DQrr/?igshid=1x5sln2hmqr3k
