Tag: Inspiration

  • “If you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best”

    “If you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best”

    Mistakes… we all make them. We make the wrong judgment call when it comes to an argument with a friend, we make a choice that isn’t the best for our wellbeing, or even worse–we do something that is harmful to ourselves and maybe even potentially life-altering.

    I’ve done all of the above, as have I’m sure many of you who are reading, too. But what I’ve been reminded of recently is that life isn’t a linear progression. You don’t just soar to the top with no bumps in the road, no lessons learned, and no life-changing moments. And if you think you do, then that just isn’t reality.

    I was recently having many great weeks in a row of progress in my life (after some really shitty weeks prior) and “kicking ass” — I felt absolutely unstoppable. I was like, wow, I’ve really turned my stuff around and am killing it! I was riding the high of where I was at at that moment, before quickly realizing it wasn’t going to last forever.

    Then swiftly arrives a mistake I made, letting someone toxic from my past back in momentarily. When it happened, I felt so incredibly low. I was embarrassed. I wanted to crawl in my shell and hide, and I wanted to just shy away from the way it made me feel about myself. I felt like I had failed all of the progress that I had previously been making.

    But then, that reminder came — “life isn’t a linear progression.” And I realized if every single mistake I made was going to drag me down so far, how is that even life? It’s not. Every mistake that I make builds me into the next step, the next thing, the next growing experience. So after carrying some shame around from that situation, I took the lessons it gave me — how bad I felt after it happened, how it tested me and my strength with that person that I needed to work on — and I flipped it into a learning moment.

    And this isn’t the only mistake I’ve made since then, but one example of many that our mistakes do not define us. We all make mistakes. We all have low moments. We all have things to work on. But it’s how we come out of these situations stronger that really defines us.

    It also made me realize it’s all about who is surrounding me and supporting me. I’m focusing on surrounding myself with people who accept me, even in my darkest and lowest times, knowing very well we will get stronger and better together. Those are the people I want around me. And those are the people I will continue to keep around me.

    We are in some hard times right now and I am there for you in whatever this post means to you and whatever mistakes you are making and learning from. I hope you keep your head up and keep learning and growing because that’s just life, my friend, and I am right here with you.

    “If you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best.”

    XOXO,

    Kenzie

  • Inspirational Interview with Guest, Chicago Fitness Instructor Haley Gunst

    Inspirational Interview with Guest, Chicago Fitness Instructor Haley Gunst

    “The Curve Confessions by Kenzie is a movement inspiring women to find happiness in ourselves, no matter our size or shape; rock the skin we’re in with confidence; openly discuss body image issues we see in the world; and create a safe space where we all feel accepted.”

    I started this new interview series featuring stories from incredibly inspiring women; in hopes of inspiring others in their own journey of fitness, motivation, and life in general. Today’s guest is Haley Gunst, who recently came back to Chicago after finding her love for fitness and the outdoors in Seattle. Let me tell you, we are lucky to have her in Chicago, and I loved interviewing her! Check out the interview and check her out on Instagram @haleygunst.

    CC: Thanks so much for doing this interview, I’m so excited! Let’s cut to the chase. When did you become a yoga teacher and why? 

    Haley: I started my yoga training out in Seattle in October of 2017 and was officially on the teaching schedule in January of 2018. I had been nudged a couple of times by instructors to become a teacher and honestly brushed them off. Yoga was the one place I could go and feel like I could let my mind relax and wander, and I was scared to have that taken from me if I started knowing the ins and outs of teaching. However, I was living in Seattle, in a new stage of life and really needed a positive extra hobby. That same week of feeling a little lost, a teacher nudged me again and I decided maybe it was time to get out of my comfort zone and try it. CorePower was also one of the main places I went when I first moved to Seattle and knew no one. They gave me a sense of community when I felt really alone and I wanted to give that back to my community. I am in the midst of expanding my horizons and really wanting to invest more time into my fitness career. I also just tried out and earned a spot as an instructor at the Equinox Fitness Club. My good friend Lauren currently teaches there and knew they were opening up a new location and needed teachers, so she put me in touch with Julie Bellis, my new trainer and manager at Equinox. To say I’m excited would be an understatement. 

    CC: That’s amazing, I can’t wait to take your classes at Equinox soon – and of course love your yoga classes already. If someone wants to try you out, what are your class times?

    Haley: Right now I teach at CorePower Yoga at the Gold Coast, Chicago location at 6:45 pm Friday nights and 9:30 am Saturday mornings. I am currently getting on-boarded with Equinox and will have to go through a training before I am officially put on their schedule, but be on the lookout! They have a very wide range of classes, but I will be focusing on the strength and toning classes as well as the HIIT – High Interval Intensity Training classes.

    CC: Amazing, I hope people reading can check you out! So what would you say motivates you, and what is your biggest piece of advice to others looking for motivation?
    Haley: Oh wow, that’s a loaded question and sometimes it just depends on the day, haha. However, I have always been a very competitive person, and I think my biggest competition is myself. I am constantly trying to break my own personal PRs or see how much further I can push my body; mentally, physically, based on strength, endurance, anything really. Honestly the feeling of accomplishment after a tough workout, a race, or a new certification is reflecting back and realizing “wow, my body just did that, how much more can it do?” I can’t tell people what should motivate them, it should come from within and whatever their story is, however, your motivation should NOT be for anyone else. Yes a “revenge” body is great, but at some point that motivation will fade. It shouldn’t be to make your parents proud or to get attention from a guy, or even worse, for social media or the pressures that come from social media. These days it is REALLY hard to decipher what is real and what isn’t – don’t even get me started with the topic of FaceTune – but focus on yourself and what makes YOU want to be better, and that motivation will not fade.

    CC: That is amazing advice and I couldn’t agree more – doing things for others won’t get us anywhere. Why is fitness so important to you, and when/why did it become that way?
    Haley: I would say moving to Seattle really changed my life and my health. I got really active and really into the outdoors and my yoga practice and started feeling what it was like to make my body and health a priority. I felt amazing inside and out. However, I have faced some of my hardest personal life challenges this past year and taking care of my health mentally and physically has been extremely important. I cannot stress enough how important it is to take care of your mental health. What that looks like for each individual is different. For me, professional therapy, yoga, long talks with friends and family, journaling and fitness helped clear my mind and regain my self-confidence and mental strength. Physically I try to do some sort of activity whether it be CorePower Yoga, Orange Theory Fitness, Barry’s Bootcamp, Equinox Classes, long runs/walks along the lakeshore path, or trying a brand new class (shout out to that one boxing class I tried when I was holding in a TON of anxiety) at least 5 times a week. When I was going through the thick of some of my tougher days the hour or so of physical activity was honestly the only hour of the day that I could see and think clearly, so I really leaned on it to help me push through each day and slowly I got stronger and stronger, both mentally and physically. It may sound corny, but I am beyond thankful for all of the instructors and trainers I have come across in the last few years because they have truly changed my life and in a lot of ways; they saved my life as well. I hope to have that impact on my students as I grow as an instructor.

    CC: I love it, that’s great you got that new perspective out there (and we’re thankful you brought it to Chi). And I couldn’t agree more about that hour being so sacred and needed. So, random, but what would your ideal way to spend a day look like?

    Haley: Human connection, the outdoors, and exercise. If I get these three things each day, it is usually a pretty damn good day. Human connection is something I would like to transform my daily routine and career towards a little more. A lot of my day is spent sitting at my desk cranking out numbers (shout-out to my fellow nerdy math brains out there), and while that is great, I do crave more human interaction. That is kind of where teaching fitness classes comes into play, and obviously getting together with friends – new and old – always makes the work week a little less stressful. If I could build some mountains out here in the Midwest, I would. I think that’s the thing I miss the most about Seattle… seeing and exploring the outdoors and how much it has to offer, however, I often walk 35 minutes to and from work each day and will jam out to music, listen to my podcasts, or call my parents/friends. These 35 minutes at the beginning and end of my day have almost become necessary, I take that time to decompress the craziness going on in my life because the craziness never ends…

    CC: I love it, and agree on the human interaction part girl. How do you recommend others get into fitness or a side hustle, based on your own experience?

    Haley: I would say first evaluate what you want to do and why. Don’t get into fitness because you read this interview and felt like you had to. However, once you have a desire to change your routine or start something new, OWN IT. Start telling people what you’re doing so that you hold yourself accountable, start prioritizing your schedule to fit in whatever you need in order to make that change, and plan ahead. Goals are much easier to accomplish when there is a very clear game plan – it doesn’t have to be perfect, but for example, if you want to start incorporating more fitness into your life, maybe that means an early wake up call to get it done – start small – plan which day (yes, start with one day) of the week that will be and make it happen, no excuses, and then grow from there. Habits, positive and negative, are created by ACTIONS. You and only you hold the control to those actions.

    CC: Great advice. Another thing I love asking; who inspires you? 

    Haley: My grandma, who isn’t here anymore, but I always think about her, and I think that living your life hoping to impact people so that they continue to remember you after you’re gone is a great way to live. A lot of decisions I make, or the way I choose to treat people is based off of that motto. Give love and positivity, receive love and positivity back. Also currently obsessed with @MarenMorris and @iamCardiB (yes, I said it) and their bad-ass woman power vibe, both of their albums got me through some tough stuff, @averagefashionblogger who literally cracks me up every single day and is un-apologetically herself, @JasonLoebig who was able to take a leap of faith from his 9-5 desk job to follow a passion and is absolutely crushing it and motivating others along the way, and my dad, because my dad just simply rocks. If you know him, you know. 

    CC: Love all those people. So as you know The CC talks a lot about body image, would you say you encourage all shapes and sizes to take your classes? Why? 

    Haley: YES. When I invite people to my classes the first thing majority of people say is “I’m not good at yoga” or “I haven’t worked out in so long, I wouldn’t make it”, or something of the sort. NO MORE. The person next to you in class at one point in their life had never taken the class before either. Everyone starts somewhere. Also, I promise you that everyone in your class is focused on themselves and themselves only. We are all in this together and just need to continue supporting each other.

    CC: Great for all my readers to know! Well, that’s a wrap. Any other notable things to say about your journey to fitness, side hustles, motivation, etc.?             
    Haley: No one is promised tomorrow, so what are you going to do with today?

    Love that quote & thanks again for taking the time, so inspiring! If you’re interested in checking out Haley in action, look her up on Instagram @haleygunst and DM her for a spot in class! 

    Keep inspiring, Hales! Xoxo.

  • The Recent Step I Took To Get Out Of My Comfort Zone And Chase My Happiness And Dreams

    The Recent Step I Took To Get Out Of My Comfort Zone And Chase My Happiness And Dreams

    The past few weeks have been unconventional (and exciting) to say the least, because I kind of did a thing – I quit my job that I’ve been at for the past four years.

    Let’s start from the beginning of my career. I’ve been working since I graduated college, which was almost five years ago. I landed at a large PR agency that at the time was my ‘dream job’ and dove right in to agency life.

    I started my internship there and learned a lot, stayed for 8 months; then got offered a position as an intern at another agency. And four years later, here I am. I’ve been promoted a few times and am now a Senior Account Executive. I have so much great experience under my belt and have met so many great people along the way, and I won’t ever take that for granted. But two weeks ago, I quit.

    Here’s why:

    1. My favorite motto of all time is that life is too short to be anything but happy – but that’s because it really is. And that quote makes me realize that if god forbid something were to happen, I wouldn’t want to spend another minute unhappy in my day to day. There are a lot of things that go into my decision and I’m not going to go into detail, but in the self reflection I’ve worked on, I realized my job was no longer serving me and it was my time to move on and take a mental break from it all. So I made the serious decision that working part time and freelance gigs, making my own schedule, and de-stressing for a little while I look for opportunities was an immediate way I could get there. So I took the plunge.
    2. I’m looking for day to day work that ignites my soul and brings out my passion. And my next job will be exactly that – a brand that I’m amped to get behind and work for, an opportunity that allows me to write and extend my writing skills, and allows me to work towards my goals of being a writer and author. Or maybe even a completely different path that allows me to focus on my writing on the side – it’s still unknown. And it may have been an uncomfortable decision to leave what’s been known to me for so long, but it’s ultimately going to get me closer to my long-term goals and help me grow. And this decision also means I’ll be dedicating more time to those things that do ignite my passions – like writing for my blog, working on my book, and looking for freelance writing/content gigs.

    Honestly, what held me back from doing this for a long time was my fear. What will people think of me? Will I ever get another corporate job? What if I fail? These are just a few of the fears running through my head.

    But I was finally ready to face my fears and take a chance. I know it’s not the most conventional decision – quitting a job with a steady paycheck for something unknown – but in this moment, I know it’s what I want and need. And remember the whole life is too short thing? At least I can be happy that I stuck to my gut and am following my happiness and dreams.

    I will get another corporate job soon, I’m sure. But after this break I’m taking, I want to make sure it’s bringing me closer to my goals and serving me happiness. Because if it’s not – what’s the point?

    I’ll leave this last quote that I don’t think I’ll ever get out of my head – “how you spend your days is how you spend your life.” And with that I say, follow your dreams and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise (not even the voices in your head).

    And if you’re interested, here are some steps I took that might help:

    1. Write down your 5 and 10-year plans and what it will take to get there
    2. Make a list of everything in your life and evaluate if/how it’s getting you there
    3. If you’re finding things not serving you and your happiness/dreams, cut ties with those things
    4. Make a decision about what you’re going to do to change and do it; then move on
    5. Make a plan and next steps for how you are going to hit your dreams and goals – then go for it!

    Special shout out to my Mom, Dad, family and friends, who always lift me up and show me nothing but support through everything. I couldn’t do it without you all! XOXO.

  • Lessons From My First Triathlon

    Lessons From My First Triathlon

    For years, completing a triathlon has been a dream I thought I couldn’t physically achieve – but just over a week ago, that all changed.

    I am so beyond happy to say that I completed my first triathlon just over a week ago in Chicago. Today, receiving the photos of me from race day really put it into perspective – I did it! I swam for .47 miles, biked 15 miles, and ran 3.1 miles.

    One year ago today, and many years leading up to that, I watched my mom complete multiple triathlons and always wanted to do one myself. But like a lot of us do, I told myself I “could never” and wrote it off year after year. One year, I even told people I was doing it then backed out.

    So I thought I’d write a post to share my experience, but also speak to the people reading who think they could never do a triathlon, think they can’t complete that half marathon race, or whatever that doubt is. I’m here to promise you that you can.

    But what I also promise you is that you have to get to a place (mentally and physically) that you may not have gone before – which again, you can. Just last year, not only was I saying I couldn’t run, I was also saying I couldn’t do the triathlon, and probably so many other terrible, negative things. Looking back, I can’t even believe all the things I shut out of my life just because I thought I couldn’t.

    This year has certainly proven my theories wrong. I’m running every single week – but it has nothing to do with my weight – I could run when I was 50 pounds heavier, too. Everything it has to do with is my mindset. The second I started telling myself I could do things, shit just started happening. That’s not a coincidence – not in my book anyways.

    Getting to the point (physically and mentally) where I felt confident and strong enough to compete in the triathlon took about a year. It took a year of regular Shred415 classes, which included strength training and cardio that absolutely kicked my butt. It took 3 months of training and getting ready to swim, bike, and run – all in a row, using muscles I probably hadn’t used in a while. But it also took a mentality of “I CAN do this.” And that last part is more important than people may think.

    I trained diligently, but I also told myself day in and day out that I had this in the bag. And come race day, that mentality stayed the same – I believed in myself and I crushed my first race (because I finished, which was my goal!). I never wavered from my positive thoughts, and it had me smiling through race day – including 90+ degree heat (and trust me, I am not a heat person).

    If you’re reading this post – I encourage you to go sign up for that workout class you thought you couldn’t do, sign up for that race – do that thing that you’ve always told yourself you couldn’t. If it’s a longer term goal, sign up early and make a game plan. I promise, you will come out on the other side, stronger and happier than ever.

    And you know I absolutely love inspiring people, and the support I’ve received has been overwhelming, but it has by no means been an easy or perfect road. I’ve had my moments of doubt, anxiety, potential injury – you name it – but I made it through, and I know others can too.

    Thank you to everyone who supported me through this triathlon – I couldn’t have done it without you.

    If you ever want to chat about the triathlon, training, etc. please email me – I’d love to chat! thecurveconfessions@gmail.com

    XOXO, Kenzie

  • These three celebrities are talking body image and I’m SO here for it

    These three celebrities are talking body image and I’m SO here for it

    Well, hello everyone. It’s been a bit since I’ve written a blog post… I’m excited to be back! Side note from this blog, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about my blog and how to spice things up and bring more updates to you all. Without getting into too much detail… get ready for more updates, more blog posts, and a whole lot more inspo, people.

    But back to the post… celebrities killing the body positive movement lately. Yes please. As you have probably noticed, I follow the celebrity scene pretty closely. Kind of a guilty pleasure? And since starting The Curve Confessions, I’ve realized now more than ever they are talking about body image. How cool for my blog, right?! Exactly what I was thinking.

    This Sunday, gather some inspiration from each of these amazing ways celebrities are supporting ALL OF US in the body positive movement.

    • Beyonce: Since I know there’s a lot of ladies out there who follow and love the Queen Bey, I think her recent interview and cover with Vogue was SO important. If you missed it, check it out. She talks about her post-partum body and how she’s loving her “FUPA” (her words, not mine!), and how she gave herself self-love and self-care, and embraced being curvier following her complicated pregnancy. Hell yeah, girl. In my opinion, the message here is listen to your body and rock it no matter what stage you’re at. And I’m so glad she could bring that message to the masses in this interview.
    • Emmy Rossum: If you aren’t familiar with the name, Emmy stars in Shameless (aka the best show ever). And not only is she an incredible actress, but I’ve also been catching that she’s an awesome person, too. Shortly after the whole Kardashian’s calling each other “so skinny” thing and talking about their weight (Kim saying on her Instagram story that she’s 119 pounds), Emmy has been promoting some crazy good messages about weight (and how it’s so not important). She wrote a series of Instagram posts asking her followers if they wanted to know how much she weighed – followed by an image of her with things about herself that had absolutely nothing to do with weight. She then encouraged followers to post their own photos – and directed them to an online community called “I Weigh,” which is a movement to look beyond the scale. I’m SO here for this and love Emmy even more now. I encourage everyone to follow both Emmy (@emmy) and I Weigh (@i_weigh) for more inspiration.
    • Amy Schumer: Okay, Schumer is always a proponent of telling women everywhere to rock the skin they’re in. I’m beyond late to the party, but I watched her movie ‘I Feel Pretty’ and it gave me all the feels. She basically breaks down society’s expectations of women and the pressure we put on ourselves, but sheds light on the fact that no matter how you look – EVERYONE feels their own insecurities. But beyond that, it encourages women to have confidence no matter what their size is (something I hope you all feel when following my blog!). In addition to her movie that I was completely late to the game on, she also recently spoke at the BlogHer 2018 conference, encouraging women to lift each other up. Basically, I’m just all in for Amy Schumer’s support of women and positive body image, and I hope you are too.

    These women are just a few examples of celebrities in the public eye talking about issues that are SO important for girls and women everywhere to hear and practice. This is the stuff I love seeing – and only hope to continue seeing.

    Question for you: Do you like the celebrity stuff? Do you want to see more of it? I hope so! But that’s also okay if not. Leave me a comment or drop me an email if you have anything specific you want to see me write about. thecurveconfessions@gmail.com. And if you’re not following me on Instagram, get going! @thecurveconfessions

    Have a kick butt Sunday, you all. Oh also, speaking of celebs, if you haven’t listened to Ariana Grande’s new album Sweetener, please go do that.

    XOXO, Kenzie