The other day I was talking with a dear friend about perspective and what time and experience offers us in the journey that is life... Talk about a broad and generalized statement... I know, and, isn't it everything?

Never could I have known what  I do now, about being a mother, until I became a mother.  Simple yet a profound reality.

For anyone that knows me you could attest to the fact that I have always set a very high bar for myself, and with that comes the nagging reality that it can be very difficult for me to not project those same standards onto others.  

I remember reading through content and making judgments about seeing other bloggers have a lapses in time between content, I get it now.  My perspective now is that I am in the new context of mother and business owner, is one of empathy.  

Empathy for myself, for others, and a true “pause and reflect” when I consider others reasoning for their behaviors.  

Looking at myself here, on my blog, and I have not blogged for months! Months! I can hardly stand it.. and, I am fully committed to taking one day at a time and doing what a can each day.  (Easier said than done?!)

With all that being said, I felt compelled to go back through the blogs I wrote this time last year, pre-birth of my son, to see how my perspective has changed, the narrative is below:  

Here is my response to my own ideas, one childbirth, one association birth, and, many many fewer hours of sleep, later. 

Then:

“My husband and I will be expecting our first born in mid July of this year.  What a journey it had been the past 5+ months! My experience of being pregnant has naturally brought up all kinds of feelings and thoughts, and what I really want to share here is the transformational minded thoughts and ideas I am experiencing while moving towards this life change.”

Now:

 I really appreciate my thoughtfulness and the intention I brought to my own personal preparation of having a child.  That thoughtfulness has definitely paid off in the realm of having ideas and intentions to create the most meaningful home experiences for Oliver, My husband and I.  With that being said, I wish it was as eloquent as I described it above.. it is not, lol.  Everyday is different, everyday brings new challenges and most nights I fall asleep while having a conversation with my husband, it isn't perfect and, I love every single minute of it. 

Then:

"The societal pressures and models out there leave something to be desired, at least for me, and I've found my current position on the topic to be "make it up", create a way, a new method and then see if it works! "

Now:

Absolutely true! And not easy! choosing to create a life that is not typical is not easy, and, I have come to realize that if you want to create something totally different for yourself, you totally can.  I don't subscribe to the idea that women have to choose between work and motherhood, and, I don't think it's about taking your kids to the office, there are other options that can be fulfilling... it is all about choices.  These choices have been THE hardest ones of my life, I give a shit, big time, about being wtih my son, impacting the business I have created and supporting WIFA... with that love for all of those people comes choices, I am doing my best day by day!  And, If anyone wants to ever chat about how they have naviagted these waters, I am all ears!

Then:

"Tony Robbins and others talk about ideas like "integration" instead of balance, for people like myself that are deeply passionate about their work and friendships, then it becomes less about choosing and more about integrating." 

Now:

I wish balance was a thing... ha! I personally think that's a racket... choices however, that is absolutely a thing that you can have control over... where does your time in a day go and how does it align with your circumstances. 

Then:

As I like to say, "who you are at the kitchen table is who you are at work"... my kitchen table is about to be set for 3, and I am anticipating the adventure of how that will propel me to be even better and have more to offer in every area of my life. 

Now:

It most certainly is set for 3, my 10 month old son eats more than me! Funny, and, he has a brilliant appetite.  I was telling a mentor the other day that my experience of myself as a mother is one of profound confidence that comes from a place of knowing and believing in myself and what I have to offer the world.  The fierce love that comes with becoming a mother is one that I have never felt before, it changed me over night, and I am forever grateful to Oliver for the transformational quality of "no more BS" that came with becoming his mother.  My ability to be discerning in my work, my relationship and all the communities I am a part of is so profound and impactful, what a gift motherhood truly is!

Have you had a life change that you have gone through that created the space for you to pause, reflect and adjust your sails? I would love to hear about it, it's through community that we can all grow near and use the blessing of empathy to show each other what's possible. 

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Lindsey Rainwater, also known as Lindsey RainH2O, is a sought-after business advisor, Founder, writer & keynote speaker to the fitness and wellness industry.  For more information about Rainwater, follow her on Twitter @LindseyRainH2o

Self absorbed or self aware, have we gone too far? 

Sitting at dinner with friends, looking down at your plate, mentally logging what you see “chicken, black beans, salsa, teaspoon or tablespoon, I don’t know, how much does that little ramekin hold, I ran this morning, that should add up”… while holding your phone logging your food into my fitness pal, looking at your Fitbit to see if you are still within your target for the day. Meanwhile your best friend asked you a question that you completely ignored, looking up you say, “what!? Sorry, I was logging my meal”…

We live in an era where information about our body is readily available via wearable devices and smart technology.  Fitness tests and analysis now reach far beyond the doctors office or the local gym. The modern day obsession with health is more mainstream than ever, at first glance this is wonderful, yes? or is risk involved with so much information?  Of course anything can be taken to extremes, it is more informative however, to evaluate how the information is stimulating self awareness or encouraging self obsession.

Lifestyle choices, habits and activity is obviously an individuals journey. Question being, at what point do the scales tip and we are over our head informed and not simply living in the moment. What is helpful, and what is noise?

“It is important sometimes to reflect on our thoughts and feelings, monitor them, and make sure they are taking us where we want to go. However, a constant state of monitoring will lead us to be too self-conscious. If we are always worried about “What am I thinking?” or “What am I feeling?” then we can never engage in our surroundings with full consciousness. This is when self-awareness becomes more than just self-awareness, it becomes self-absorption, and this can end up being very detrimental. Self-absorption is when we are too preoccupied with our inner world to appreciate our outer world. It is when we find ourselves chatting away in our heads and making petty judgments, instead of letting go and living presently with what surrounds us. -Self-Aware vs. Self-Absorbed-Steven Handel

Availability to data driven metrics used to evaluate our behavior has the potential to create a “constant state of monitoring”.  When aligning the ability of the device with our long term goals, do we see the trend being that our self awareness is stimulated or are we simply becoming more self absorbed? 

If logging food has become a higher priority than dinner company, is the enjoyment of human engagement getting lost in the muck of a noisy brain? 

How does one know if they are on the right track to learning more about themselves or are over stimulating their mind with data driving erratic routines and more self absorbed thinking. 

As Fitness professionals, is it more important to demonstrate self awareness stimulated by the desire to know oneself better, and data is a tool to accomplish the aim? or are we demonstrating self absorption stimulated by the need to gain external validation? this being stimulated by the desire for outward appraisal judging our lack of inner self awareness? 

Food for thought, what do you think? is the fitness industry demonstrating a sustainable model for personal growth? or self obsessed routines leading to narcissist behavior?

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Lindsey Rainwater is an experienced consultant and coachto the fitness and wellness industry.  She specializes in business development and leadership. Currently she is working with the Fitmarc Team helping Health Club owners all over the south central region of the united states propel their business forward via group exercise solutions.  For more information about Lindsey, follow her @lindseyrainh2o

Totally Trendy Tuesday, VLOG addition! Watch the Video below to learn about my tips for Health Club operators around wearables and community enhancement! 

Would love your thoughts!

cheers,

Lindsey

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Lindsey Rainwater is an experienced consultant and coach  to the fitness and wellness industry.  She specializes in business development and leadership. Currently she is working with the Fitmarc Team helping Health Club owners all over the south central region of the united states propel their business forward via group exercise solutions.  For more information about Lindsey, follow her @lindseyrainh2o

Pretend with me for a moment that you are a person that just joined a health club to start working towards your fitness goals in the new year.  You purchased a wearable fitness device, you are tracking  daily nutrition and activity.  Now, you walk up to the elliptical, select an option and start moving.  Then a disconnect occurs, the machine is reporting to you what is happening on the monitor and so is the wearable on your wrist, the activity is being tracked twice, but not syncing. You begin to wonder why?

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At the center of what I am discussing is connectivity ability.  Consumers are purchasing wearable devices and measuring their daily activity while exercising at health clubs and at this point the consumer is not able to easily connect or sync their device with equipment in the gym.  

This presents a large gap in our industry and consumer understanding.  The places to go exercise are not connecting technologically to what the consumer is using to track their activites.  What an incredible opportunity!  to create apps and systems within fitness equipment that starts to connect actual workouts with tracking systems.

I am not the only one thinking about this dilemma.  Thought leaders at the Fitness Technology Council (Fit-C) are working hard to develop and promote technology standards for fitness equipment.  You can team up with them by joining their council.  

In an era where Quantified Self  is becoming a highly used term, the internet of things is driving consumers activity.  The Fitness industry has room to respond with connected equipment and more technology centered functions to meet the consumers needs.  

If you are interested in purchasing a wearable device it is becoming easier to decide which one to go with.  The Warby Parker Style try on system  for wearables, Lumoid gives you the ability to check out each product individually to see which one fits your fancy! 

It is very exciting to be a part of the ever expanding fitness industry, wearables and connectivity is a large opportunity and one I look forward to seeing traction in the coming months and years. 

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Lindsey Rainwater is an experienced consultant and coach  to the fitness and wellness industry.  She specializes in business development and leadership. Currently she is working with the Fitmarc Team helping club owners all over the south central region of the united states propel their business forward via group exercise solutions.  For more information about lindsey, follow her @lindseyrainh2o