Shoot for the moon, if you miss you’ll land among the stars.

It’s been 2 weeks since my competition and I haven’t thought much about it until last night when I received an email from the competition host with pictures from the event. As I scrolled through them all, I couldn’t help but reflect. These past few months have been such a whirlwind I haven’t really had a chance to digest it all.

I recalled back to a conversation I had with someone while I was prepping for the competition. One of the questions they asked was why I was doing this. I gave them my reasons and then told them I was giving it my all and I wanted to win. After looking at me like I had two heads, they went on to explain to me that no one ever wins their first competition and that it’s about the process.

I understand what they were doing. They didn’t want me to be disappointed. My expectations were set high and when you set them high you have to be prepared if they aren’t met. I realized they were probably a little unrealistic but winning was my driving force. It’s what got me through some tough workouts and challenging days.

I brushed off that conversation up until a few weeks prior to my competition. My thoughts shifted from “winning” to “I can’t even imagine placing” to “I’ll be happy if I don’t fall.” Just like that, my expectations dropped immensely. My workouts were harder to get through and I just wanted to be done. I let my driving force, that thought of winning go completely away to a place where I couldn’t even imagine it at all and they were some of the toughest weeks ever.

The competition came and went and I ended up winning my class. It was an amazing experience and I am so happy I did it. Had the results been different, would I still feel like I accomplished something? Absolutely. Disappointed? How can we be disappointed if we give everything that we have control over 100%? Had I not let my driving force go out the window, would those last few weeks leading up to the competition be different? Yep. They would have been better. Way better.

Whatever you are working for today, don’t let anyone take away the very thing that motivates you. Set your goals high even if they aren’t the most realistic. Dream big. And don’t let anyone tell you, “you can’t” because “you can”.

“Shoot for the moon, if you miss you will land among the stars.”

To good health today and always,

Christina