Adult or PIC?

“Do you need me to be the adult or the PIC (partner in crime)?” It’s a question my bestie and I ask each other all the time. Sometimes I need to ask myself this question too.

Last week, I posted about my experience with Barre Blend. I was a full week into my second round. Then week 2 came… and I haven’t worked out once this week. And I don’t even feel bad about it. Yep. That’s right. I don’t feel guilty. I don’t feel like I’ve failed. I don’t feel anything about it other than good. You know why? Because I needed that break. I needed it. I needed to be my own PIC.

In the past, I would’ve beat myself up for this. I would’ve felt like I failed and I would’ve taken all the credit away from the things I had already done. And I likely wouldn’t have gone back to Barre or anything else because of my “failure.” And this mindset flowed into other aspects of my life as well. “I’m WFPB,” but if I ate something that wasn’t “allowed,” then I felt like I failed, and I mentally beat myself up. Who is making all these damn rules???

Over the last several years, I’ve learned something. I can be fit and have weeks where I don’t workout. I can be WFPB and sometimes eat something that isn’t WFPB. It’s ok! I can be [fill in blank] and still [fill in blank]. I can be my own PIC and let myself do “the wrong thing.” Because it isn’t really wrong! We just set these super unrealistic expectations with ourselves, which is ultimately setting us up for failure, and then beat the shit out of ourselves for it. It’s a not so fun merry-go-round. It goes too fast, makes you nauseated and disoriented, and the damn guy in charge of the ride won’t let you off.

Honey, get off the ride. It’s liberating.

I get to decide what I need, what my body needs, what my mind needs. Life ebbs and flows. Some weeks I am ready to go with clean eating and routine workouts. Then, other weeks, my body is screaming for a break! And I give her that break by being her PIC. We lay around more. We eat some cookies or some chips. We binge true crime on Netflix. Sometimes we avoid social media and sometimes we cannonball into all the shit that comes with everyone putting all their business on the internets. Sometimes it's walking instead of HIIT. Sometimes it's no kind of movement unless absolutely necessary... like getting up for food or going to the bathroom. It's whatever I damn well want! She thanks me for it in so many ways.

Of course, there still have to be moments where I have to be the adult and tell myself that a workout is happening. I put my big kid leggings on and get to it, whining like a damn toddler the whole way to the mat. We can lay around later. But truthfully, once I get going, I feel so happy that I made myself do it! Or that a cookie isn’t what we need right now, but it’s ok. We can have a cookie another time. And whatever I picked instead of the cookie, is usually satisfying and I feel good about my choice. It just depends.

You know who is making the rules now? Me. I make my own rules. You know what the best part about that is? I feel so fucking good. Like the best I’ve felt in a while. I feel stronger, physically and mentally. I feel motivated. I feel at peace. And it’s all because I decided to stop being the adult with unrealistic expectations all the time and sometimes just be my own PIC when I need it.

Try it yourself. And let me know how it goes!

xoxo

Brit