Lift Like a Girl — Nia Shanks

The Number One Rule to Not Suck at Life, in Only Four Words

I know what you’re thinking: “This better not be another article telling me to ‘never give up on my dreams no matter what’ or trying to sell me some ‘secret success’ tip to live every day like it’s my last.”

Nah. We previously addressed the fact that every day can’t be awesome and why that’s OK. Rest assured this short article can actually be useful too.

I present to you . . .

The Number One Rule to Not Suck at Life, in Only Four Words: don’t be an asshole.

It’s that simple, but apparently it’s not easy.

There’s no shortage of assholes in the world today, and that’s why this rule is so important. It is the one rule to rule them all.

Every Day Can’t be Awesome, And That’s OK

“Don’t waste a single day of your life!” I’m sure you can agree, but sometimes when I hear that I want to say, “Shut up. I’m just trying to do adult things right now.”

Act like you only have six months to live!

Don’t allow any day to end without doing something amazing!

“Nah, I’m not worried about the more-than-likely painful consequences. YOLO!!!!”

I admit that I consistently encourage you to live the highest quality life you can. To take risks, face fear, and make the most of every day. To the best of my ability, I practice what I preach too.

“Strive to become the strongest, most awesome version of yourself,” I always say.

And that’s great! We should do what we can to make the most of every day. We never know when we’ll be faced with an Oh Shit! moment and have opportunities taken away from us. It’s best to actively manage your life (i.e., make choices) rather than allowing others to dictate your life. Take control, make choices, and create a wonderful life.

5 Books That Will Make Your Life Better

That three pound mass nestled securely in your skull is just begging to be used and challenged. There is so much your brain hasn’t learned yet! Stuff that can, you know, make you a smarter, better human.

That is why you need to get the following five books in front of your face today: these books are remarkable and, dare I say it, they will make your life better. (Seriously, read them. If you don’t think you’re better off as a result, you can send me a hateful email accusing me of wasting your time.)

Learning is fun. Knowledge is power. Reading a book is more likely to change your life than watching the latest TV show. You can’t argue with the facts.

Add these books to your monthly book order, check them out at your local library, or download them for your listening pleasure. Just get them in front of your eyeballs (or in your ears) immediately and you’ll be on your way to a better life.

9 Fat Loss Mistakes You Don’t Realize You’re Making

Rest assured, this isn’t the typical listicle article filled with overdone, regurgitated tips you see splashed on magazines. That’s why the title is appropriately 9 Fat Loss Mistakes You Don’t Realize You’re Making.

Can you attest to this: trying to lose fat is a miserable process.

Embarking on a fat loss journey falls on a scale somewhere between this sucks and screw this my life is miserable because, let’s face it, no one claims to be having the time of their life when on a fat loss mission.

You go on a diet, avoid foods or entire food groups, end up dreaming about cheeseburgers (veggie burgers, for you vegetarians) and subsequently wake up gnawing on your pillow in the middle of the night. You focus on the things you can’t eat, and when you do give in to temptation (you know it happens!) you experience guilt and shame afterward.

Shut Up and Do Something

A gentle nudge doesn’t always get you moving in the right direction. Sometimes what you really need, is a punch to the throat. And you’re in luck! Today I’m handing out mint chocolate chip ice cream cones and throat-punches, and, as the saying goes, I’m all out of ice cream cones.

Normally I’m well mannered and delicately put you on the path of least resistance to reach your goals. “Yes, go this way, please. Careful. Don’t trip.”

Sometimes that approach is beautifully effective. Other times, it’s not. Sometimes it’s best not to be polite or soft spoken. Sometimes a more aggressive approach is needed and, when that time arises, well …

Prepare, my friend, to receive a proverbial throat-punch.

You Don’t Know Fit (How You Look Is Least Important)

Fit is a tool of empowerment. Fit makes your life better. Fit builds you up.

Fitness. Fit, for the short-hand version.

What immediately enters your mind when you think, “I’m going to get fit” or “Hot damn, she is fit.”? Ooh, and let’s not forget the social media phenomenon of fit-spiration with its surplus of motivating memes showing us what it means to be fit.

When we declare our intentions to “get fit” we imagine how we will eventually look in our new state of fitness. When we exclaim that someone is fit we’re usually commenting on that person’s physical appearance.

Let’s talk about this a bit. Let’s define fitness and what it means to be “fit” because, as it turns out, we don’t know fit.

Perfection Is Possible (But Not The Way You Think)

Being a perfectionist is exhausting. If you too are a self-proclaimed perfectionist, you know exactly what I mean.

Laboring for perfection feels like going toe-to-toe in a bare-knuckle brawl with a larger, more experienced opponent. At the end you’re left badly beaten, bruised, eyes swollen shut, kidneys aching. The trophy – perfection – you so desperately wanted is within your field of blurry vision, but you didn’t attain it.

That’s why I proclaimed “Screw perfection!” not too long ago, and encouraged you to do the same. Pursuing perfection in business, life goals, health and fitness, finances, relationships, etc. proved to be unfruitful.

One immense problem with chasing perfection: Striving for it keeps you from appreciating all that you have achieved; you’re blinded from acknowledging all of the wonderful things you’ve already done because you’re not satisfied with good, or even great; you wanted perfect.

But I’ve since realized something. Perfection, while it’s not a long-lasting state of being or finished product, it does exist, however briefly, in moments. And oftentimes it reveals itself when we’re not looking for it and don’t expect it.

The Lift Like a Girl Challenge

You are going to want to get in on this.

The primary goal of this website, and “Lifting Like a Girl” in general, is to equip you with information to become the best version of yourself. To improve your health and make your entire life better, and more awesome. It’s a way for you to discover the amazing things your body can do.

It’s about embracing the truth that numbers don’t define your self-worth.

Knowing that exercise is not punishment and you don’t have to earn your food.

It’s about using health and fitness as a tool for empowerment, to improve your self confidence, and achieve any goals you have (e.g., lose fat, build muscle, etc) in a fun, sustainable way. And, finally, health and fitness is meant to be part of your life; not consume it.

What Is The Lift Like a Girl Challenge?

As you see from above, it is a challenge that involves focusing exclusively on becoming the best version of yourself. Using health and fitness (e.g., how you eat and work out) to make you feel great about yourself.

Interested?

Why Having Year Long Goals Doesn’t Work

Humans are wonderful at starting projects that never get finished. We fantasize grand, lofty goals but once we start climbing the mountain of the magnificent goal we desire to conquer we stop and stare in awe at how far we have to go. We’re aware of the inevitable obstacles and momentary struggles. We realize it’s much easier to stop, turn around, and continue on the smooth path we were traveling.

Such is the case with year long goals. And having a year long goal can be a terrible idea.

Have you set a year long goal (in the typical manner of a New Year’s resolution) before? Did you actually achieve it?

One of the main reasons people abandon New Year’s resolutions is because the time frame is so long. I mean, an entire year? That’s, you know, a year. Three hundred and sixty five days. Hell, three hundred and sixty six during a leap year. That’s an incredibly daunting length of time.

Another colossal issue with year long goals is that you don’t have much, if any, flexibility. What if your circumstances or desires change? What if you determine you want to pursue something else instead? You would likely feel like a failure for stopping or changing course.

If year long goals are a problem, what then is an effective solution?

dirty secret about motivation — photo: some rights reserved by coolio-claire

Allow me to end the suspense. Motivation? It can be utterly worthless. Unlike love, it is not all you need. That’s the dirty little secret.

I’m ready to take on the world!

Nothing is going to stop me! (Cue aggressive fist-pumping.)

This time is different. I’m really going to lose weight and improve my health.

How many times have you read an article or heard a motivational speech that left you amped up and ready to accomplish your goals? You just knew you were going to be an unstoppable, relentless woman.

You became a tsunami of destructible force and nothing or no one was going to stand in your way or slow you down. Your anthem became Ludacris’ early 2000 hit song “Move, bitch! Get out the way, get out the way, bitch, get out the way!” (Or something like that … I was in high school when that was popular, so give me a break.)

And then all of that intense, life-changing, get-out-the-way motivation just seemed to disappear. Like a balloon with a small hole you gradually became deflated.

What the heck happened? Why did that overwhelming motivation vanish? It was like a magic trick you saw in grade school. One second it’s here and then POOF! it’s gone. Only, it really is gone, and you would love for it to appear as quickly as it dissolved.

Nia Shanks