“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person.  Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”  Albert Schweitzer

Today marks the last day of the Move Nourish Believe challenge put on by Lorna Jane Activewear and FitApproach.  The past three weeks have been so fun and I’m really thankful we have been a part of it at Harmony!  It is amazing how eye opening it can be to actually post every day about our fitness, eating and mental health activities and goals.  I also really enjoyed seeing the other participants’ posts, and experiencing what can happen in a community when we all focus on what we are doing right and encouraging each other in our health.

The mission today is to give a “shout out” to a person in your life who motivates and/or inspires you.  I think there are some people in our lives who are in our main circle and have always been, and will always be, our cheerleaders and sources of inspiration.  And then there are certain seasons in our lives where people move in and out and inspire us at just the right time.  I have a combination of both and want to make sure they all know how much they mean to me today:

– The Harmony girls who took time away from their weekend and families to volunteer at our booth at the Great Aloha Run last weekend.  It used to be I would sit at those booths by my lonesome, promoting Harmony to those who walked by, and hoping to get a chance to sneak off to the bathroom occasionally!  What a great feeling to have fun and uplifting people with me, spreading the news about what we do, and allowing me to spend a little more time at home with my baby.  Thank you to Janice Ng, Winona Godwin, Catherine Dodd, Erika Castro and Yasha Siemienski for your time and smiles!

– Karyn Staples is the owner of ProHealth Physical Therapy and Pilates Studio.  I met Karyn a few years ago when we did a mentorship program together with Brent Anderson of Polestar Pilates in Miami.  We have stayed in contact since then, and she recently finished a weeklong apprenticeship with one of the masters in the Pilates industry.  She spend a week in New York and considered it her birthday present to herself 🙂  I think this is so awesome!  What a way to feed yourself and gain firsthand knowledge in the industry we love.  I’m already thinking of what my birthday present to myself can be 🙂  Thanks Karyn for the inspiration!

– The late Steve Jobs.  No one can doubt his love for and dedication to Apple.  He believed wholeheartedly in the products they created and how they should impact the lives of those around the world.  He had a specific vision for his company, and never deterred from that.  He also knew that for a company to be truly successful, it can’t depend solely on it’s creator.  Steve Jobs made sure Apple would be around long after he wasn’t.  I’ve thought a lot on this lately, and want to thank Steve Jobs for being an example to learn from.

  – My main “shout from the rooftops thank you for being my number one cheerleader and always having my back and helping me know myself better even when I don’t want to and loving me anyway” inspiration is my husband, Brian.  He wholeheartedly supports me in all three areas of the move nourish believe challenge.  He supports my time to work out and will always watch our daughter so I can have that special time to myself.  He eats healthy and supports our family in making conscious decisions about where we get our food, which means we may spend more or be more picky about where we eat.  He doesn’t even roll his eyes at my annoying ordering when we are out to dinner 🙂  The main area he inspires me, though, is in his belief.  His belief in me.  In himself.  In our family.  In the positive.  In energy.  In love.  In our family as his number one priority.  I can come to him with any question or dilemma and he makes time to listen and talk it through with me.  I never doubt that our daughter and myself are his number one priority, and knowing that allows me to leap and take risks in life I wouldn’t otherwise take.  I am forever grateful.

Take some time this weekend to thank someone who has inspired you in your life.  If you can’t thank them in person, say a short gratitude prayer acknowledging what they have done for you.  Thanks to all of you for supporting Harmony!