Heyyy there! Before we get started, I wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who already picked up a copy of Body Weight Burn! I can’t wait to hear how you do with it 🙂

How was your weekend? We had Shane’s family staying at our house, so it was a low key couple of days at home for us. We went out to eat, had drinks at home, and got to spend some time together. I also got out for a solo run, a trail run with Heidi, some mountain river time, and some lifting in.

I’ve been on such an outdoor kick this month, getting back to the gym and lifting some iron felt so good!

What is it about water and mountains that are just so dang peaceful?

Always love getting out with this girl 🙂

Yay weekends 🙂 Sorry about the vertical pictures – All of these pics are from my Snapchat=TrainerPaige, of which I have a slight obsession with, even though there’s a good probability that I post a little too liberally. Hey, it disappears in 24 hours! That means I can give precisely 75% less thought as to what I choose to post, right? 😉

Anyway.

Did I tell you about my July ‘goals?’ Well, basically, my aim is to soak up every last bit of the month, and if that means going for a mountain-view run at 9am because it feels splendid for my soul, even though I should probably lift, I’mma do it.

Ahhh. Just looking at that again makes me feel so damn grateful.

So the other day I was in a downright all out piss poor mood. Some things had happened that just put me in a foul mood and I just wasn’t able to see clearly enough at the moment to snap myself out of it like I usually am. So, I relied on one of my tried and true tactics of self-soothing: a good hike.

Exercise is my drug of choice for getting endorphins flowing, but it’s not the antidote I’m referring to in the title of this post.

Anyway, I did one of my favorite hikes here in Boulder, for convenience-sake: Royal Arch. It’s a good butt-kicker, but not too long or too difficult. It’s tourist season here in Boulder, which meant that my Saturday hike was going to be crowded. I met a woman from Hawaii who extended her work trip in order to experience Boulder, but the majority of it, I spent in my own head.

Within minutes, I was completely out of my funk. It’s not because of the exercise. It wasn’t the fresh air. And it wasn’t even being in nature, although all of those did contribute.

What was the antidote to being in a funk? Nine letters: G-R-A-T-I-T-U-D-E

Gratitude

I was in the mountains in Colorado in nature. A few years ago I’d had to have driven 18 hours to do that – not 15 minutes. 

I was trekking it up a mountain, pain free, with working legs. There are quite a few people who can never walk again. I was huffing and puffing and breathing. So many others out there can’t breathe without a tube.

I had a backpack full of water and electrolytes. Many in this world don’t have access to clean water.

I had a complete Saturday full of free time. There are thousands who have no freedom at all.

And on, and on, and on.

The thing is, the majority of people on this earth would pay a million dollars for our troubles. Oh, so you got in a fight with your best friend? You HAVE a best friend. You’re stuck in traffic, making you late for a very important meeting? You have a job. Heck, you can DRIVE.

Abundance Mindset

And It’s not just being grateful; it’s having an abundance mindset. This means knowing that there are enough resources out there to sustain you. According to Covey, who started the whole “abundance mindset” mentality, means knowing there are “enough resources and success to share with others, when looking at optimistic people.”

To me, this means being able to celebrate the victories and successes of your friends and competitors, and knowing that you can be successful, too.

How does abundance relate to gratitude?

Well clearly, if you’re coveting what someone else has or has accomplished, you’re not being grateful for what you have or what you have accomplished. Any moment that we spend wrapped up in negativity over what we wish we had, or wish we could do, we’re not standing in gratitude over what we have and can do.

Additionally, I’ve personally found that the more abundant I am in being grateful, the more abundance in my business, in my relationships; in my life. It goes hand in hand with my principle to surround myself with positive people who have a good outlook on life coinciding with my optimistic outlook.

Apply it

You might agree with everything I’ve said so far (or you might not, whatevs) but clearly, it’s much easier said than done. Especially if you tend to have a highly reactionary personality and let little things, petty things rile you up. It can be tough to see clearly through all of that muck.

The first time I remember applying this was actually when I knew nothing about the abundance mindset and had never even thought of studying gratitude. I had a health scare and had to have surgery for it back in 2007. For the first few weeks, it felt like my world was crashing in on me. I was scared I had cancer, that my life would be forever changed, and so on. It sounds kind of funny, but I remember peeing, and thanking God that I could at least pee normally – and not sarcastically either. I was truly grateful! For some people can’t! lol

Now, whenever I’m feeling at odds with reality or in a down and out mood, I think of the first thing I’m grateful for – even if it’s for my breath. And think about how blessed I am because of it.

Practice makes better with this. The more you do it, the more natural and easy it will become to pull yourself out of that funk.

With all of that said, thank you for reading this! I appreciate every single one of you who took the time to visit my blog today. I wish I could comment and thank each of you individually!

Enjoy the day 🙂

[Tweet “The Antidote to Getting Over a Funk – via @TrainerPaige #fitfluential”]

Question: What are you grateful for right now in this instant?