Category: Motivation

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This Sentence Will Prevent You From Success

I hear this sentence repeatedly from everyone around me. It’s a kind of magic sentence that everyone, and I mean EVERYONE has in their vocabulary. And the funny thing is that this isn’t even true.

I believe that this sentence is the number one reason people don’t go for their dreams, don’t reach their goals and don’t succeed regardless of which area of their life we’re talking about.

And the sentence is: “I don’t have time”.

I hear this soooo much, especially from mums. So, let’s just pause here for a second.

I totally understand that mummy’s life is busy. I know what’s like to be a mum. I’m a mum myself, so I get it. I really GET IT, for real.

However, I also know how to make the most out of my time, how to prioritise, how to be productive, how to know what I need to do and when I need to do it and how to make it happen. And I know many amazing mums who know that too. And the results show up in their lives all the time.

Every time when I hear “I don’t have time” from a mum, I’m asking “Okay, so tell me how your day looks like”

Oftentimes mums feel so overwhelmed with their duties, feeling stressed, worried of not being able to get things done…and they keep thinking about it and worry about it instead of having things done. That’s wasting time.

When asked about how much time she spends watching TV, it’s a lot. 20 hours a week. If you take that 20 hours a week and times that over the year, that’s 1.5 month of her life. Wasted on watching TV, soap operas and other meaningless stuff that brings no value into her life.

When asked how much time she spends on chatting over the phone that’s 2 hours a day. That’s 14 hours a week, which is another month in a yearly time frame.

I want to be very clear in here, I’m 100% into spending time doing the things you love doing, having some ME time however how about doing the things that bring some value into your life. If you have dreams, if you have goals you want to achieve, then prioritizing what’s important is crucial.

There’s no such a thing and “I don’t have time”. You do have time, you just choose to spend it in the wrong places.

You’re not going to lose weight, getting the body you want to, taking part in that running race and smashing your fitness goals if you’re sitting on a sofa (eating pizza and drinking coca cola). If you spend that time exercising, going for a run, doing a quick buggy workout, you’ll be amazed how quickly your body is changing and how great you’re feeling.

You can spend that time doing yoga, having relaxing bath or reading a book. You can have quality time with your partner or your kids, you can go to the playground with them or play together in the garden. Spending time on stuff that actually are going to change something in your life. Bring value, to yoirself and your loved ones.

Time is your most valuable asset, you’ll never get it back, so don’t just waste it.

I encourage you to take “I don’t have time” completely out of your vocabulary. At least for a month. You’ll be shocked with the results…

Your life is precious, make the most of it.

 

If you liked this post please share it with other mums, they may need it and like it as much as you do. You can find Active Happy Mama on Facebook or follow me on Instagram.

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To Get What You Want You Need to Know What You Want

Have you ever noticed that if you ask anyone what they want, they will tell you a list of things they don’t want? Isn’t that fascinating? Many people complain that they don’t get what they want but the truth is they don’t really know what they want. How about you, do you know what you want? In relation to your health, life, business, family, relationship, growth, passions? Do you know your dreams, places you want to visit, people you want to meet, experiences you want to be a part of, things you want to have? And I mean, do you really know them? Do you have a Bucket list?

The end of the year is great time to reflect on the passing year.

Whether it was a good year or whether it could have been better, whether you gave it all you’ve got, whether you’ve achieved all you wanted, whether you reached your goals? But to do so, first you need to know what those goals have been. Did you set up any for 2020? If not, how come will you know whether you’ve achieved them?

Few years ago, together with my hubby, we started our personal development journey. Since then we’ve been reading tons of books, going to seminars, working with coaches and we can say that our life got transformed, for the better. We’re still doing so.

One of the things we implemented was to go away for a few days end of December to reflect on the passing year and set up goals for the next one. This is also our quality time as a family. I love this and each year I’m looking forward to this.

After setting up yearly goals we create a vision board – with pictures that are visual representation of what we want and plan to achieve. This is displayed in our bedroom, so we can see it daily. I cannot stress enough how much more we managed to achieve since we implemented this whole process. Setting up intention of what you want is crucial to achieve it.

Dreams don’t come true, we make our dreams come true

So, if you’re ready to bring more of what you want into your life, spend some time before year end and plan on how to make 2020 incredible. You are worth it.

Follow these steps:

1. Set up goals for the next year

  • decide on what you want in all areas of your life: health, sport, family and friends, intimate relationship, work/career, finances, growth, contribution, pleasure/leisure, fun/social life.
  • Make sure your goals are SMART

Specific – what exactly you want

Measurable – how you will know you’ve achieved it

Attainable – within your reach

Relevant – worthwhile for you right now

Time framed – what is the deadline to reach it

Example of a Smart goal: “By the end of April I will lose 6 kg to look amazing in bikini when I walk on the beach of Majorca”

2. Write your goals down

3. Create a vision board – cut pictures from magazines/internet, make it bright and beautiful (doing this is so much fun)

4. Display vision board in a place that you can see it every day (set it up on your mobile too)

5. Every quarter check where you are with your goals, whether they need refining, updating

6. At the end of the year reflect on your goals, check what you managed to accomplish

7. Celebrate !!! small wins are to be celebrated too!!

8. Set up goals for next year… and the story starts all over again 🙂

So Now… Open your calendar and SCHEDULE the time when you’re going to do so. What gets scheduled gets done. Allow yourself enough time.

Enjoy the process and MAKE IT HAPPEN.

Wishing you all the success in New Year, YOU deserve this.

 

If you liked this post please share it with others, they may need it and like it as much as you do. You can find Active Happy Mama on Facebook or follow me on Instagram.

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Make Yourself a Priority Mama

As women, we are so ingrained to do everything ourselves. We believe that we must be the perfect mother, the perfect wife, the perfect daughter, the perfect friend, the perfect employee or the perfect business owner who can do it all. And on top of that we must be in a perfect shape, off course. Somewhere along the way, we forget about ourselves. We give it to everyone else and end up an emotional burn-outs instead of the woman we’re meant to be.

Especially us mums… When you just had a baby, the reality of your days may be far from what you have expected. It is unpredictable; often the day is not going to go by exactly how you planned it. You may want to lose that baby weight and start exercising, but you have no idea how to do that. When and where to train and what’s even more important how to find energy and TIME to do so…

I get it, I know how BUSY, TIRING and OVERWHELMING being a MUM is, especially when you’ve just had your first baby. I’m the one myself. It’s a giant roller coaster; one moment you’re feeling you’re on top of the world and the next moment you’re crying your eyes out feeling completely powerless! You look after your little baby but you have no time and energy to look after yourself…

Let me ask you:

  • How many times have you been putting yourself last, looking after everyone around you but yourself?
  • How many times you wanted to look after yourself and your body but never really had time to do so?
  • How many times have you said: “I’ll start tomorrow” only to find out that tomorrow never comes?

You know what…they say, “you cannot pour from an empty cup”, so if you don’t look after yourself, sooner or later you won’t be able to serve the loved ones around you. There is a reason why all airlines ask you to put your oxygen mask first before you put one on your child.

Let me tell you this: If something is important to you, you will make time for it. And your health and well-being must be in your top 5 priorities. You need to make healthy eating habits and physical activity part of your life; it’s not either or, it’s not a hobby, it’s your responsibility Mama.

Active lifestyle doesn’t need to end when you have a baby. Eating healthy and exercising is not only important but crucial for your physical, mental and emotional sanity. When you look after yourself, you will not only look better, you will feel better, you will find your confidence back, and you will be ready to rock the world. You will be the best role model for your child and the strong foundation for your entire family.

Happy Mama = Happy Child

When is now, better time to finally do something for yourself?

You are worth living the life you want, you are worth having the body you want, you are worth being the best version of yourself and the best role model for the ones around you.

Make Yourself a Priority Mama to be:
* FIT mummy who loves her body and is able to fit in that favourite jeans
* HAPPY mummy who enjoys doing something for herself without feeling remorse
* CONFIDENT mummy, who knows how to combine healthy lifestyle with motherhood without turning your life upside down
* HEALTHY mummy who is a role model to you little one/ones and the entire family

No excuses Mama, YOU need to start living the life you want and deserve NOW instead of waiting for the “Perfect” moment.

If you liked this post please share it with other mums, they may need it and like it as much as you do. You can find Active Happy Mama on Facebook or follow me on Instagram.

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How to pick yourself up when your confidence hits rock bottom?

Last year, I was dismissed from my job in a way that I would never want anyone to go through… One day I was respected by a company and the second day I was told: “you’re leaving NOW, we’ll get a taxi to take you home”.
When I was saying good bye to my employees they had tears in their eyes, they couldn’t believe it…

My life stopped.

Quickly after that I started a new job and thought it was a dream come true. It wasn’t. Not only it was completely not my cup of tea, it knocked down my self-worth to the level that I didn’t want to wake up in the morning.

One day they told me that our cooperation wasn’t working and on that very same afternoon I went through a traumatic miscarriage of our second baby that we’ve been trying for, for over a year.

My life stopped again.

My confidence went even lower…not only I was rubbish at work, my business at that time wasn’t making any money, I felt like a failure as a woman and as a mother…

Within 5 weeks, we packed our 8 years of life in London and came to our home country Poland. For me to heal.

And then I got a diagnosis of avascular necrosis of femoral head… which simply meant that I had to walk with crutches and can forget about any type of sport for a loooong time, with running most likely forever…

Me – sporty one, who was running with buggy, motivating people to be active, planning to complete 6 World Marathon Majors, with a ballot place for Chicago marathon this October…
It was devastating news for me.
My healthy image collapsed… how can I even continue with my business Active Happy Mama now?

My life stopped again.

Was scheduled for operation but it couldn’t happen, as it turned out that I was pregnant, again…not for long though, ended up in a hospital with ectopic pregnancy…

WTF?

My life stopped again, for the 5th time…

I had enough. It wasn’t fair. How can one person go through so much in such a short period of time…?

BUT…

In the middle of it all, I started to really look after myself and prioritizing myself. Listening to my body and my heart, working with energy, shifting my mindset, implementing new habits that were serving me.

I made a decision to truly love myself and to believe that whatever life throws at me, good or bad, I’m able to cope with. I trusted the Universe. Even though I still didn’t understand it.

And everything changed.

With crutches, I started teaching English. Helping people prepare for job interviews, helping Polish coaches improve their English, so they can start working with foreign clients. I got more and more clients week after week.

With crutches, I rebranded my business completely and started helping others improve their self-worth and confidence, so they can become unstoppable in all areas of their lives. Sharing the work that helped me change my life. And the clients started to come.

I went from hitting rock bottom in terms of my confidence level to moving to Spain, which is a dream come true, rebranding my business, starting a new one, and creating a lifestyle that I can work from anywhere in the world.

And, within 3 months from walking out of hospital, one week, I literally doubled my income. DOUBLED. And it keeps growing.

So, what I’ve learnt on my journey… how can you pick yourself up from hitting a rock bottom with your confidence…

1. LOOK AFTER YOURSELF AND PRIORITIZE YOURSELF

Really look after yourself and prioritize yourself.

In the middle of my traumatic experiences I started listening to my body and my heart, working with energy, shifting my mindset, implementing new habits that were serving me. I made a decision to truly love myself and to believe that whatever life throws at me, good or bad, I’m able to cope with. And everything changed.

Yes, looking after yourself and prioritizing yourself is crucial. Miracles will start to happen. If you don’t look after yourself, no one will. Sooner or later you won’t be able to look after the ones around you. Put your oxygen mask on first. As you’re so worth it.

2. FEEL GOOD

Your number #1 priority is to feel good. Do what you feel like, even if it’s not logical.

Feeling good in every moment of your life is crucial. Make it your priority. Really. When you feel good, you change the vibration in your body and you start emitting the frequency of happiness. In turn, you become a magnet, attracting more things to your life that will make you feel happy too.

Let me give you an example. Couple of weeks ago I was a bit stressed about money, things were not working out the way I wanted them to be.

So, I put a hand on my heart asking what to do. The answer was “Go for a swim”. What? My son is in the kindergarten, so I “should” work on my business.

But I decided to listen and went for a swim. It felt sooooo good. I was relaxed, I was happy, I was grateful, I felt blessed. I did that for few days in a row. And you know what happened? Clients and money started to come my way. I literally got messages for clients to work with me when I was in that swimming pool. And that week my income doubled. DOUBLED. By me feeling good and doing what wasn’t logical…

But it was needed and it shifted the flow of energy in my body for amazing things to come.

3. LISTEN TO YOUR HEART

Listen to your heart, to your soul, to your intuition. Don’t listen to your mind. Your mind is stupid. Listen to your heart. Your heart knows.

Really, when you feel stuck, when you don’t know what to do, put a hand on your heart and ask for an answer. You’ll get it. Sometimes it may seem completely illogical (as with my swimming) but your heart knows. When we ignore our heart, our intuition, when we decide to listen to our mind and do what we “should”, often times it doesn’t work. Everything is energy and in order for the energy to flow, there has to be a flow. Sometimes we need to unlock something in one area of our life in order for the things to start flowing in another one.

4. TRUST THE UNIVERSE

I’m a big fan of manifestation. Knowing exactly what you want, saying it out loud into the Universe, and believing that it will come your way.

And then just trust and wait for the miracles to happen.

Don’t question it. Don’t be impatient. Everything happens exactly in the right moment for you. I know, I know, most of the time we want it here and there, but trust me, it will come to you when it’s meant for you. And not necessarily in the way you were thinking.

5. SHARE YOUR STORY

You never know who is watching. For me, sharing my story took months. I needed to work it through myself.

But that’s not the whole truth.

I believe that I was ready to share it much earlier than I actually did.

So, why didn’t I share it earlier?

Because I was afraid.

Afraid what other people would think of me.

Afraid that people may say that I shouldn’t share such personal and painful events from my life with others on social media.

Afraid that my “perfect” image can collapse. After all people have always known me for the one who is always successful, confident one, who is always positive and happy. Right? So, how can I be vulnerable…

This is BS, it’s only in our heads. Being the real you is what people want, this is what attracts people your way.

Let me repeat this, you never know who is watching.

You can inspire more people than you can imagine. After sharing my story, I started getting messages from people that I haven’t spoken with for years, that my story moved them, inspired them and was a turning point in their life…

So, think about who you can move, who you can inspire, who you can help, who can benefit from you sharing your story. Focus on your message and how it can impact the world.

So, my dear, if I could use the lemons life was throwing my way to make a lemonade, maybe you can make one for yourself too?

I believe in you and wish you all the happiness in the world <3

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What Have I Learnt By Not Reaching My Goals

At the end of the year, together with hubby we do a summary of the passing year and we set up goals for the New one. Then we create a vision board that’s put in our bedroom, so we can see it every day. It works!! This year, however, I must admit that I haven’t reach quite a few of my goals for 2018.

How come? Why? Reflection came in together with lessons.

So, what have I learnt by not reaching my goals:

DO NOT SET UP GOALS THAT ARE COMPLETELY BEYOND YOUR CONTROL

There’re things in life that you have no control of and changing that is not an option. Not accomplishing that goal may feel like a failure but really, it’s not. Last year I set up a goal to become UK Asics Frontrunner, tens of thousands of applications, only handful of places, mine was strong (my opinion of course !!) but I wasn’t chosen. Was that a failure? I thought so. But really, what influence did I have to make it? None. I could have cried, asking why this is happening to me or being pissed off, blaming the world for not being fair. But I have chosen to believe that it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t define me as a person. It was a dream really, rather than a goal.

So, set up goals that you can have an impact on.

DO NOT SET UP A LOT OF MASSIVE GOALS

Thinking big, going outside your comfort zone – yes, I’m all about that. But setting up A LOT of massive goals without taking into account your current lifestyle is setting yourself up for a failure. I’m very well organised, can cope with multiple projects at the same time, however for 2018 I put A LOT of big things on my plate. It was physically impossible to accomplish them all alongside family, full time job, building a business, going through intense coaching program, training, travels and more. There are only 24 hours in a day. Maximizing your time is important however there’s a limit of what you can and can’t do. Feeling like a hamster in the wheel, being busy versus being productive, burn out, sickness…that’s what follows.

So, when setting up a goal, think about how much time and effort your goal will require from you. Be honest. Make sure it fits into your current lifestyle and that’s doable without compromising your health and time with your loved ones.

FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS

Laser focus on what you REALLY WANT and doing something towards that goal will bring results. By looking at 10 different directions, constantly being distracted, there’s no way to succeed. The Universe doesn’t really know what you want and is confused on how to help you. Focus, discipline and determination will take you where you want to go. Get in line and stay in line – as Keith Cunningham – amazing business mentor is saying. Oftentimes it won’t be easy, it won’t be smooth but if you want to succeed in one area you need to stay in the same line till the end. When you jump into a different line, you will be at the end of the queue again.

So, when setting up a goal, make sure you focus on it 100%.

UNIVERSE HAS A BETTER PLAN FOR ME

We think that we know what’s best for us all the time, we make plans, set up goals and decide on the exact steps on how to reach them. However, we never see a full picture, we don’t know what can happen just around the corner, that Universe may have a different plan for us. Oftentimes things don’t go the way we want them to, we get frustrated, but after all, it turns out it was all for the better. Also, there’s not just one way to get where you want to go. I wanted to give birth to our second child, didn’t sign up for any marathons as I was supposed to be pregnant. Well, I wasn’t…months of trying and nothing, becoming a mummy didn’t quite happen for me overnight during the first pregnancy too (this is actually a subject for another post). But if I was pregnant, we would not be able to go to Brazil (especially with the stories about Zika virus that I had no idea about…) and experience so many amazing adventures and connect with so many wonderful people. The Universe knew better the moment we got that invite for the wedding of our friends in Brazil at the beginning of the year. And it was meant to be.

So, set up a goal, send the intention to the Universe, work towards that goal but don’t push it too much. Trust the process, allow the Universe to help you.

YOU NEED TO DO SOMETHING TOWARDS YOUR GOAL

I asked myself why do I think I haven’t achieved some of my goals for 2018? The answer was obvious – I didn’t do much to accomplish them. If I was putting some effort every single day, I would make them happen. Plain and simple. So, the second question was why I set up goals that I was not committed to? Hmmm, these goals were not so important, were not live or die for me. Not reaching them was not a big deal. Really.

So, think about what you truly WANT, not what looks great on the vision board. And commit to it. When you’re committed you cut out all the other options but making that happen, it’s non-negotiable.

I’m a true believer that everything happens for a reason, even if it’s stressful and nasty at times, it’s for a reason. Looking at 2019 and setting up my goals for this year I keep these lessons in my heart. I’m going to make better choices, smarter goals, making sure that 2019 will be the best of my life.

How about you? Are you going to make 2019 the best year of your life? Please do. You only have one life, you truly deserve to have the best one.

This article was featured in Thrive Global – check it out.

 

If you liked this post please share it with others, they may need it and like it as much as you do. 

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5 Ways To Stay Motivated To Exercise

You know you need to exercise, you know it’s good for you, you even know that once you go out and do your workout you would feel so much better. However, there’re days when your motivation goes out of the window, days when you don’t really feel like exercising at all, days when the only thing you want to do is to sit on the sofa and do nothing. You may wonder where did all your motivation go? And what to do to get yourself together and be back on track again?

There’s a saying that discipline is to do something that has to be done whether you like it or not. So let me share with you 5 tricks that will keep you motivated to regular exercises starting right now:

1. Find Your WHY

And I really mean Your Why and the reason Why it’s important to You. Your Why may be different from your friend’s why, the reasons that will keep you going may be different from the reasons that may keep her going. You need to do this for yourself, not for your partner, not for your mum, not for your friend. Your friend’s motivation may be to look awesome in bikini walking on the beach but you really are not that bothered about it. Your motivation may be to be able to play with your kids without losing your breath or there’s a big day coming up with friends reunion, people you haven’t seen for years and you want to show up with that wow factor hearing comments like “…wow, look at her, she looks amazing…” Or maybe you got a warning from your doctor that if you don’t lose weight and start improving your health, you may be in serious troubles. You need to find Your Why. Deep inside you know the answer. Do you know that the bigger the why the easier the how. So, what’s important to you? What is that Big Why that will keep you motivated when you don’t feel like it?

2. Get your skin in the game

Invest in yourself and I mean money. Pay for gym membership, for personal trainer, for diet plan from nutritionist, work with a health coach, buy new training clothes, new shoes, some accessories, invest in yourself, in your health, in improving your life. Investment in yourself is the best investment you can ever do, it’ll pay off massively. Once you spend money, you have skin in the game, you don’t want to waste it, so you’ll stick to the plan. It may be challenging to start with but really, it’ll keep you going. Once a new habit is created you’ll be hooked.

3. Have a deadline in mind

When you’re just starting out or you’re back to exercising after a break, have deadline in mind, a date that you need to lose weight by, train for, get ready for. Let’s say you want to look great in that bikini, when is your holiday booked for? If you want to do that 5k or 10k, sign up for a race, pick up a date and sign up, once you do, you’ll need to stick to your running plan to get ready. And share with others that you’ve signed up, they’ll keep you accountable, they want to see your progress and pictures from the race day or from that amazing holidays. Having a date, a deadline will really help you move forward.

4. Find a training buddy

Have a friend, neighbour or your partner to train with. Once you commit to training together it’ll be more difficult to quit. So if you wake up one morning really not feeling like exercising at all, knowing that your friend is waiting for you will help you get out of bed. If you agreed that you’ll go to fitness classes together, you’ll feel ashamed to cancel the last minute. If you scheduled a run in the evening, you’ll put your snickers on and go. It’s so much fun to train with a buddy. You’ll keep each other accountable, motivate each other and pushing each other. And celebrating together. I can tell you, together you’ll smash your goals much faster enjoying the process much more.

5. Score yourself each evening

Come up with a system to score yourself each evening on a scale 1-10. Give yourself points for exercising, healthy eating, drinking water, having ME time. You can have a chart for each day or writing the numbers in your calendar. Stick it on your fridge or somewhere, where you can see it several times a day. Do that each evening. Once you know you need to score yourself at the end of the day, you’ll be reluctant to quit training or eat rubbish. You want your score to look good, don’t you? When you score yourself, you can track your progress. Oftentimes you’re not aware of bad choices you’re making daily and putting the numbers on what you’re actually doing, will give you a great overview of that. What gets measured, gets improved and that’s the way to succeed. 

So, start thinking of yourself as “I can do it”. Find Your Why, get your skin in the game, have a deadline in mind, find a training buddy and score yourself each evening. And have some fun in the process. You’ll be setting yourself up for a lifetime of better health, more energy for everything else in your life and more happiness and fulfilment too.

And tell me how you’re doing, I want to know.

If you liked this post please share it with others, they may need it and like it as much as you do. 

You can find Active Happy Mama on Facebook follow me on Instagram and subscribe to my YouTube channel. 

To find out how I can help you reach your health and life goals click HERE

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Mum, Baby and a Six Pack

You’re a mother. 9 months pregnancy, followed by a childbirth and now, you’re holding your little angel in your arms. Completely new situation to you, new reality, new responsibilities and so many insecurities whether you can handle it or not. You’re a first-time mother with no experience with babies whatsoever. But you go with the flow, you manage to survive and your little one seems like she/he is surviving too. After few weeks you feel something is missing. You feel lonely, you feel bored, you feel like you’re doing same thing over and over again wondering whether your life would always look this way?

But you keep quiet. You don’t want to say it out loud worrying that people may judge you for being a bad mother. After all, you love your child to bits. Right?

But still, something is missing, and something is not feeling right…What’s missing is having some time for yourself, some ME time on your own. What’s not feeling right is you not feeling good in your own body, as come on, you’re not pregnant anymore but you still look like you’re. You want to start exercising and getting your body back. You want to be back doing the things you loved doing before having a baby and getting your life back. So, you start looking for ways on how to make it possible.

And then you start, slowly but surely and you begin feeling amazing again. You do your workout, you go to the gym, you take on running, you buy a jogging stroller and start training for a race. Your training schedule is quite demanding, you’re breastfeeding, not sleeping through the night and oftentimes you feel really tired. But you still enjoy it though. Physical activity makes you feel happy, that is you being in your zone, that is you doing what you love doing and that is your time when you can get rid of all the frustrations and challenges of motherhood. So, you stay disciplined, you stay committed, regardless how difficult it may be, how much you need to push yourself to be able to accomplish your goal.

And then results start showing up. You’re losing that baby weight. You start seeing that six pack again. You’ve completed that half-marathon or a marathon and your little one is with you on your picture with a medal. Only you know how challenging that was but also how needed that was for your physical, mental and emotional well-being. You feel on top of the world.

There’re people who look at you with respect, they support you and they cheer on you.  

But also, there’re people who don’t. People who think that you’re selfish, that you’re a bad mother, that you lost your mind and that you need to be having a serious conversation with someone “sensible” who’s going to tell you how you SHOULD behave. And sadly, these people are often mothers themselves…

Because, let’s be honest…

This is not NORMAL to be completing a marathon months after having a baby.

This is not NORMAL to be running with a buggy.

This is not NORMAL to have a six pack quickly after giving birth.

This in not NORMAL to look great and feel amazing as opposed to be totally exhausted and drained.

What is NORMAL… is that as a mother you SHOULD/MUST behave in a certain way. Should and must made by society, culture, religion or someone’s opinion… as a mother you have all those obligations and you’re not allowed to think differently. You should look after the baby, you should look after the husband, you should look after the house, you should look after everyone around you but yourself. It’s a badge of honour to do everything on your own, not asking for help, pretending that you even enjoy it.

How dare you want to have time on your own when your baby needs you 24/7?

How dare you go out doing something that you want, that gives you pleasure when there’s that little human being relying on you?

How dare you fancy exercising and losing that baby weight when it’s normal and even expected to be overweight after having a child?

SERIOUSLY?

I’ve said this before and will repeat it over and over again – if you don’t look after yourself first, sooner or later you won’t be able to look after the ones around you. Why all airlines ask you to put your oxygen mask on first? That’s obvious, that is normal, and everyone is ok with that.

So why it’s not normal when mother wants to have some ME time?

Why it’s not normal when mother wants to go out for a run?

Why it’s not normal when mother wants to exercise, look good and feel great in her body?

Why it’s not normal when mother wants to follow her passion and go for her dreams?

Is she still not the same woman she was before she had a baby?

Has she changed as a person and has no life, no ambitions, no passions, no interests outside of being a mother anymore?

That’s absurd.

Is anyone asking daddy what happens to a baby when he’s working, when he’s playing football, training at the gym or when he’s going out with his peers? No, no one even questions it.

So, why people are having a go at a mother who has her passion, her dreams, her business, and who is organizing her life to make it work.

They don’t know how challenging that may be.

They don’t know how hard she’s been working to make her goal a reality.

They don’t know how much happier as a mother, as a woman and as a person she feels thanks to doing so.

This is insane that in XXI century we have a culture focusing so much on mother’s belly. First, when she gets pregnant, there’re comments whether she’s not too big or not too small, whether she would be able to lose that weight after or not. I love the way Anna from My Baby Care talks about it in her post: My Pregnancy Body Shaming Story. She stresses how one random comment can change the whole perception of a body for a new mum to be. And what consequences that may have. When that mother finally has her adorable baby, there’re comments whether she can train or not, whether she’s lost her baby weight too fast or not at all, whether she’s allowed to have a six pack or not, not yet. This is crazy. Why mother’s belly is such a hot topic? Can we not leave that mother alone, stop gossiping, stop making her feel guilty regardless of what she’s doing. It seems it’s never good enough. When she’s big – that’s wrong, when she’s small – that’s wrong, when she trains – that’s wrong, when she doesn’t – that’s wrong. Whatever she does – that’s wrong…really?

Although I’m far from idealising skinny model bodies pushed by the media, I’m also far from the opinion that it’s ok to be overweight when you just had your baby. That this is ok to have dirty hair, wearing maternity clothes long after giving birth, stop looking after yourself all together and feeling miserable. And then complaining with other mothers how hard motherhood is, gossiping about the one who is passing you by with a jogging stroller. No, I’m not ok with this at all. 

I know how challenging motherhood can be, I know it’s a constant roller coaster when one minute you feel like a super hero, and the other crying your eyes out with powerlessness. I know it’s challenging to find time and energy.

I’m not saying that you HAVE TO be skinny, having six pack few weeks after giving birth or completing a marathon. However, you can if you want to, that it is possible. There’re mothers out there who make it possible. If you want to be one of them, take action. And if you don’t shut up and stop commenting on mothers who do take that action every single day. Maybe when she is exercising and sweating to burn that fat off, you’re sitting on the sofa with a box of ice creams, watching Netflix?

Respecting people is giving them a space to live how they want to live, to do what they want to do. There’s no one way of thinking, no one “right” way of motherhood. Mothers have the right to have big belly after having baby and mothers have the right to have muscular body and six pack as well. And they have the right to show it off, to wear those shorts, to post pictures about their races, to be proud of themselves, not guilty because someone may feel not good enough. They’ve been working hard to look the way they look or to accomplish their goals. 

I really dream about the world where everyone gives mothers permission to look after themselves, after their needs, to make themselves a priority. Where it’s normal for mothers to look after their bodies because body is a temple. If you don’t look after your body, you’ll have nowhere to live. I really dream about the world where healthy, active and happy mothers are not being judged but respected for being role models for their children and motivation and inspirations to the ones around.  

Are you with me?

 

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5 Reasons to Train in the Morning

Life is busy, especially mummy’s life. It’s a constant rollercoaster, oftentimes your day doesn’t go as planned, well…most of the times there’s something crazy happening and you just need to go with the flow. Sounds familiar? Even if you have the best intentions to fit your workout into your busy schedule… the day goes by and it’s over. You just couldn’t do it.

There’s a hope for this. I would like to invite you to join a morning club (5am, 6am club, whatever works for you), when you wake up earlier and do your workout first thing in the morning.

Why?

1. Your family is sleeping

Yes, they’re all sleeping, your kids, your partner, so the house is quiet, you can do your workout without any interruptions, without any drama, without any “Mummy I need you”. This is the time on your own, your ME time, when you can clearly focus on yourself. You don’t need to train for hours, you can do 30 min intense and effective workout and that’s all you need. For real.

2. You remove toxins out of your body

During the night toxins cumulate in your body, so the first thing you need to do when you wake up (well maybe second after you go to the bathroom ;)) is to drink a glass of water with a slice of lemon It helps detoxifying your body. When you add up morning workout to it and you’ll be sweating, you’ll get rid of those toxins much faster and much better. Your body will be cleaned, and you’ll feel more energised.

3. You lose weight

When you train in the morning before breakfast, your body will be taking the energy from fat, not from food you’ve just eaten. You’ll be losing weight and that will be fat loss not muscle loss. And that’s exactly what you want, right?

4. You’re done with it

When you train first thing in the morning, you’re done with it for the day. You don’t need to stress out when you’ll squeeze your workout, whether you’re too tired in the evening to do so or whether your family allows you to do this. It’s done, it’s ticked, and you can be so proud of yourself.

5. You feel energised and ready to rock the world

The worst part is to get up but once you do this and start exercising, you feel so much better. The blood is pumping, there’s release of serotonin – these happy hormones. You’re more energised, you’re much stronger, you have the power for the day to rock the world. Exercises also impacts your brain, you’re more productive, more creative, you’ll have more done in a day. It affects all areas of your life. Have you ever heard the expression of „being in a zone”? That’s exactly it.

Check it out yourself Mama and tell me how you’re doing. I believe in you. Good luck !!!

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I Run Because I Can

I have never been into running, really. I was getting a stich after few hundred meters and I found it boring anyway. Then, back in 2013 I decided to give it another try. During my 3rd run I’ve completed 10k which was quite impressive. I must stress here that I was not a couch potato, I was fit, have been exercising, teaching fitness classes, so my form was already good. I do not recommend doing 10k run if you’re just starting out… I didn’t have proper running shoes, so I bought them in and signed up for a half-marathon in a beautiful seaside of Bournemouth in 5 weeks’ time. It was quite a short notice but, with a good training plan, I knew, I could do it.

My first half-marathon was not just a physical challenge for me. I was also raising funds for a good cause. My chosen project was Basket Brigade, the initiative started by Tony Robbins over 40 years ago, where we prepare and personally deliver food hampers to families in need around Christmas and Thanksgiving. Inside the hamper there is a Christmas card saying: “This hamper is from someone who really cares about you. The only thing he asks is that you look after yourself in a way that you’ll be able to do something similar for someone else in the future”. Signed “A Friend”

When I first heard about Basket Brigade in 2011, I was so touched and, together with my hubby, we decided to bring it to Poland. We started small with 10 hampers with a total budget of £20. Next year my sis and bro-in law got involved and we managed to do 20 hampers.

In 2013, I wanted to play a bigger game, so I set a target of raising £800 and my first half-marathon ever was a way to do it. I’ve managed to raise over £1100 and I was hooked for good – both into running and into expanding Basket Brigade in Poland. And yet, year after year we got stronger.

I run because I can. I’m fortunate enough to have 2 legs, 2 arms, being healthy, having food on the table, loving and supportive family but there are many people out there who don’t… I feel that’s my obligation to help the ones in need.

I believe that secret to living is giving and we’ve already experience magic many many times. What you give, comes back to you tenfold.

I didn’t realize that would have so much ripple effect… my family members went for it too…my sis, hubby, bro in-law, even my mum in-law – started running, completing first 10k, half-marathons, then marathons, triathlons, tough mudders, rat races… We do many races together, we keep motivating each other and holding each other accountable. Every year we go for a bigger challenge, training hard, pushing ourselves to the limits on race days but that’s where magic happens, right?

We decided that mission of Basket Brigade Polska would be combining healthy lifestyle with the idea of helping others, so each race and fitness challenge is for a good cause.

My sister got more and more of her friends involved too. They run, they train, take part in indoor cycling marathons, cross fit challenges in their local fitness club. All to help raise money for our Christmas hampers.

Each year as well, we manage to inspire more family members, friends and friends of friends who want to be a part of Basket Brigade, helping us change people’s lives for the better. Watching the transformation of those around us when they understand that the “SECRET TO LIVING IS GIVING”, is unbelievable. Friends I haven’t seen for years, colleagues from primary or secondary school are coming with their kids to pack the hampers… Kids love it, they put their own toys inside the hampers hoping that “this little girl will love this teddy as much as I did”. It melts my heart.

Oftentimes the person who is touched the most is the one who delivered the hamper…That’s why this idea is so close to my heart.

I run because I can…

I run because I can inspire others to run.

I run because I can make a difference to a stranger who has no idea we’re coming.

I run because I can inspire others to make a difference too.

I run because I can see the transformation with people around me.

I run because I can…

If you want to support our Basket Brigade this year, please click HERE.

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Secret Santa Is Running To Town

Each year my family is working hard to help more and more families through an initiative called Basket Brigade Polska. They started with 10 small hampers in 2011 and last last year, in 2016, they delivered over 500 hampers in Poland, of which 300 in my mummy’s home town. WOW !!!

Hello amazing people,

My name is Kuba, I’m a son of Alex & Lukasz and I’m 2 years young.

My life is great, I have a loving family, warm clothes, plenty of toys and tasty food in my tummy every day. I thought this is how all children live but my mummy and daddy told me that not everyone is so fortunate…
WHAT???

I can’t get my head around the fact that there may be no food in someone’s tummy…

So what my parents decided to do is to help those families with empty tummies, yeahhhh !!! and for the last 6 years together with my grandparents, uncles and aunties, they have been providing them with food for Christmas.
I heard that this is the most magical time of the year and everywhere should be a joy and laughter, not worries and struggle.

Each year my family is working hard to help more and more families through an initiative called Basket Brigade Polska. What I heard is that they were inspired by Anthony Robbins which I call uncle Tony 🙂 He is the man behind Basket Brigade.

My parents started with 10 small hampers with the total budget of £20.00 in 2011 and last last year, in 2016, they delivered over 500 hampers in Poland, of which 300 in my mummy’s home town. WOW !!!

My family is very active, they run, cycle, swim, train at the gym, teach fitness classes and they use it all to raise funds for those Christmas hampers.

This year alone my mummy Alex ran her 2nd Marathon in Berlin, daddy Lukasz and uncle Matt completed Rat Race and their first Triathlon, auntie Gosia and grandma Danusia completed few other running races in Poland and UK. Each time I supported them all, cheering up on the way. I don’t know how they’ve done it all…

That Rat Race, I heard was wet and muddy difficult…I’ve seen them after…they were more dirty than me after messy play 🙂

Auntie Gosia in her fitness club in Poland is organizing plenty of fitness challenges like INDOOR CYCLING or CROSSFIT which I have no idea what that is but I’m sure something not easy again.

And they are not done yet, there will be more running, dancing, lifting, jumping, even football game.

And FOR ME TOO. As a member of this family, I’m fully involved in Basket Brigade for the third time. This Sunday, 3rd December, I will be running with them in 10K Santa Run in London.

There is no way I can skip that, my sporty family requires that kind of action. I was training with mummy and I’m ready for this, just not sure if I can keep up with their speed…

I also broke my piggy bank (ciiii, don’t tell my parents) but there were only coins in there, so I guess it won’t be enough for 200 hampers…

However I have an idea, I know that there is a hope… I need YOUR HELP.

If you want to help my family making a difference again, please donate whatever you can in here: Basket Brigade Polska 2017

Every penny counts. Time is limited, we need all funds by 10th December the latest to order neccessary products.

You helped us last year and I believe that togehter we can reach our goal again.

And please share this post with your family and friends, so more people can help us, let’s go viral.

Thank you very much from the bottom of my baby heart <3

Kuba

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