Intrinsic Motivation

I love this quote. It helped me run my first 5k with confidence, and it has helped me at the gym over the past month.
 I think  this quote is important for women in particular  because we're motivated more by comparison. It's somewhat of an internal competitiveness that roots from how we size up to other people. As a result, we tend to beat ourselves up by comparing ourselves to others, while guys tend to be more outwardly competitive as a driving motivation. Both approaches are fine as long as you go about them in a healthy way.
  Still, there's something to say for being intrinsically motivated. Try to make yourself your only competition if being outwardly competitive is making you uncomfortable or causing you to lose confidence. Being your own competition, in my opinion, is better than striving to be someone else. The point is to be the best you, not to magically transform into someone else! Be happy with who you are and work on making yourself as healthy as possible.
For me, I know I'm not the best runner because that's not my purpose for running-- My goal is to be fit, not to make it to the Olympics! It's easier for me to push myself when I'm doing something for myself and because I enjoy doing it, rather than trying to prove myself to someone else.  Go ahead, try this approach. You may be surprised.

What this blog is about

Welcome, everyone!

This blog was primarily created out of my own self interest, and is to keep me on track with my personal goals. It's a brainchild of mine resulting from my latest New Years resolution. My goal is to get active, stay active, eat healthy, and have fun. If you would like to join me along the way--great! I will offer some healthy recipes, share some links to some websites that I find helpful, and record my progress and goals.

If you are reading this you're probably one of my friends, or you're someone who has completely stumbled upon my page. Either way, I hope that by sharing my goals with you and the ways in which I work to achieve them, you will find the motivation and inspiration to set your own goals and work toward them.

I think by knowing that I am a real person, with real goals, that lives a real life outside of working out and eating healthy you will find this blog to be particularly helpful. If I can do it, so can you!


So a few things to start off...

A disclaimer of a sort:  I am documenting what is working for me in terms of daily work outs, food, etc. I will be making some suggestions to you, but know that what works for you and your body might be different than what works for me.  I prefer if you use my blog as a guide and not your personal fitness bible. I think that you will be happier with your results if you alter your routine to your specific needs. :)

Alright, that aside.. 

So, what's with the weird blog URL name?

Good question.

It's actually a word I made up by combining words from two different languages--Slavic and Finnish--both of which make up a good portion of my heritage.

The Finnish word Sisu means determination, perserverance, or grit, while moĉ means strength in the Slovanian language. By combining them I was hoping to make a powerful and inspirational term, and I think I've achieved that. Besides, I think "SISUMOČ!" has a nice ring to it. It means be strong and adopt the ability to sustain an action against the odds. Just do it--no excuses!

The title of the blog 'Though she be but little, she is fierce'  is a quote from Shakespeare from A Midsummer Night's Dream. I decided to use this quote because it's sort of how people have described me my entire life. I'm little but I can pack a punch. I "walk big" for how small I am. I carry myself like I'm a giant. Plus, I'm a English buff it's doubly appropriate.

Alright, all that aside, are you ready to get fit? Let's do this!