Impact Story March 2019

Freshly Motivated: Getting out of “The Funk”

Lori Smith found herself in a familiar state. When she was younger she was physically active, but after having three kids, she found herself out of time and full of excuses. She fell victim to the "funk," better known as the lack of motivation and energy to do anything. She says, "More and more I found excuses not to go, and they weren't good excuses, but they were excuses, and after a while I just kind of got into a funk. So anyway, I needed a change and I decided to buckle down and do it."

Lori joined the Towpath Trail YMCA in November of 2018 with hopes of building up her strength and endurance, but her expectations have completely been surpassed. Currently she is visiting the Y two to four times a week, using group exercise classes, treadmills, and free weights. 

“When I came here, I thought I would just mainly use the fitness room, the weights and treadmill. My first goal was that I wanted to do a half marathon this year and then I found Lingo’s class and I found that I actually enjoy group exercise much more than I thought I would.”

Although Lori has witnessed her strength and endurance increasing, getting her closer and closer to reaching her goals, the impact of her health changes has extended much deeper. She has experienced changes in her mentality, motivation, and energy, describing her time at the Y as what now gets her through the difficult times in life. By working out at the Y, she is overall more upbeat, outgoing, and optimistic, handling everyday tasks more efficiently. The health conscious atmosphere has also helped her to make changes to her diet and her new mindset has made her family life much more active. 

With her newfound energy she is eager to be more active and social with them stating, 
“Now that I think about it, I don’t like that they want to sit down more. I’m like, nope! – We’re going!”

She encourages anyone who’s looking to start taking a positive path in their life to not be intimidated because there are so many people to help you along the way without judgement and she begs us to take away the idea of never giving up. 

“Don’t look at the person next to you and compare yourself to what they’re doing,” she shares, “The path you’re on with whatever you’re doing – in life, in fitness, in whatever – is a journey. There’s detours all over the place. Enjoy the ride, and realize that what you’re doing is a positive move forward, no matter how little a step you think it might be. Just by walking through these doors and doing something, you’re doing more than you did yesterday.”

Philippians 4:8
Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

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For further inquiries or to submit your own story, please contact the author at
estefanick@weststarky.org