Stories from Kristina + Breanne

  Shared by Kristina Smedley "Oh the irony..."   It's already been a month since Breanne  Smedley and I were both honored to be asked to lead GRIT teams... but I almost said No and turned down the opportunity. It’s an honor because hundreds of people’s experiences with GRIT will be very dependent on the person who leads their team.   Will they look forward to showing up every day?   Will they feel connected to their teammates?   Will they feel valued and supported?   Will they believe they can make it through the 28 days? And if not, will they at least feel their team believes in them?   The GRIT team leader sets the tone… I know this from experience. One team I was on had very little interaction. We didn’t really chat throughout the week or cheer one another on. (thankfully this isn't the norm!)   Contrast that to a couple of other teams I’ve been on where we cheered one another on, talked about where we were struggling, shared our goals, an...

  Shared by Kristina Smedley I’ve always worked hard, am compassionate, and have sought to serve others and change lives. I’ve always performed well in school, at work, and in sports. I’ve always been driven to evolve and become more of my true self. I thought I had it pretty figured out… how to be dedicated, committed, to see things through. To live in the top 5%.   Then, I joined GRIT four months ago. And I started to see that, actually, I have a lot of excuses. My Lesser Self dictates much of my day.   Should I get up to read/write this morning or sleep a little long… just a little more sleep. "I went to bed late." Should I workout today or "let my muscles rest" (again)... rest. "I’m too tired." Should I make a healthy dinner or order take-out… order take out. "It’ll be quicker." Should I tell my husband how much I appreciate him… maybe not. "He annoyed me earlier."   As I started to experience what it really means to be committed an...

Shared by Breanne Smedley Yesterday, I bought all the supplies to set up an at-home compost bin. It’s something that Brett and I have been considering for months. Why not, instead of putting all these food scraps down the disposal or in the landfill, recycle them and add some nutrients to our garden soil? Seems like a good idea. Checked out a few blogs. Bought the necessary components. A rotating bin for outside. A smaller bin for our countertop. Some biodegradable bags. I’m sure I’m missing things…someone feel free to jump in! I’ll admit though, I didn’t really understand what compost was or how it worked until today. In fact, my exact words to Brett were, “Wait, these food scraps turn into SOIL?!” (Or, a soil-like substance…) How does that even work?! I put my eggshells, banana peels, and avocado skins into a bin…and somehow they come out as a brown soil-like substance that will help my garden thrive?? “It’s like magic” was the only thing I could think of. The more I researched, the ...

  Shared by Breanne Smedley Today marks the first official day of “distance learning” for students and teachers in my district. Ever since it was announced that we need to come up with a plan to deliver our instruction to students online, I’ve been racking my brain figuring out how to make this effective. Immediately, lots of objections started popping up in my mind. How will we know that students are actually completing the workouts (in PE)? How should we deliver instruction? Live, written, videos? How do we replicate the social/emotional aspects of PE from a distance? In health, how do I make instruction interesting and engaging? What if students aren’t getting the material? What if students just don’t “show up” at all? It was a challenge, for sure. Tempting to think it is not possible. Not worth it. But, as I continued to dive into how to make this work for my students, I realized what the greatest challenge of all was. It wasn’t necessarily ensuring that the material was being ...

Shared by Breanne Smedley I’ve seen a common sentiment lately. The desire for things to be “back to normal.” The way things were before we were cut off. From our jobs (most of us, at least…) From our friends. From our families. From eating out. From structuring our lives the way we want. This situation, COVID19, has forced us all to change. As the leader of StoryAthlete, Ryan Fletcher, said the other day: “Sometimes the best way to initiate a significant change in our life, business, or relationships, is to be “forced into a situation” where change is not optional.” Change, in this case, is not optional. And, it doesn’t look like things will be “back to normal” anytime soon. So, we have a choice. Keep waiting around for things to go back to normal. Or, chose this time to rethink everything. Reinvent what’s possible. Crisis vs Opportunity. I got together with 12 of my college teammates last week for happy hour. Via Zoom (don’t panic!). It was the first time we had all been together in p...

Shared by Breanne Smedley A couple weeks ago, I was feeling “on it!” Morning routine was in check. Reading daily. Writing daily. GRIT workouts scheduled and executed. Teaching all day, but feeling energized and connected to students. Evening routine on point, bed at a reasonable hour. Most of this came because I worked hard to design my environment to make it happen. Routines, boundaries, and “rules” in place to help me stay focused. Eliminate distractions that can get me off track. Well, that all got turned upside down last week. Told to stay home. No work. No going out. Last week, in theory, should have given me MORE time to accomplish all the projects that I’ve been working on. MORE time to workout. MORE time to read. MORE time with family. Right? Then, why did it feel like I got almost nothing accomplished? (Well, besides launching and running my first webinar series reaching over 200 athletes, and kicking off a new Elite Competitor Program of 15 girls..) So, it’s not like I accomp...

  Shared by Breanne Smedley With a little more time on our hands lately, I think Brett has started to get his entrepreneurial juices flowing. Earlier this week, in the family text thread, he pitched his idea. A restaurant idea, among all things. I call it “EGG(sans)”. Menu options: Eggs Benedict (without hollandaise sauce or muffin) Eggs and toast (without toast) Eggs and pancakes (without pancakes) Eggs and hashbrowns (without hashbrowns) Any egg scramble you can think of (without all the fixings)…just eggs. In fact, I was the first to try his first creation when he made me the signature eggs sans hashbrowns. The idea sparked a few days of responses from members of the family, all chiming in with their ideas to help this “eggcellent” idea take off. From Kristina, the business expert, “Keep the number of seats low…maybe no seats at all…high demand, low supply..high prices!” From Mark, a food and restaurant aficionado. “I think you just have a plain black box as a logo. Almost to sa...

Shared by Breanne Smedley Today is the first official day of Spring Break. Brett and I are relaxing on a patio overlooking the San Juan Islands. The sun is just peeking over the water. We are snuggled under blankets with coffee as we watch it rise and hit our faces. Later, we’re going for a hike and kayaking. Then, making dinner together and watching the sunset together from the same patio we watched it rise. All while Charlee is 300 miles away with Mor Mor and Grandpa Goat. Then, I wake up… And realize, it was just what I had been imagining since January when we booked that trip. A kid-free Spring Break in the San Juan Islands. Currently, it’s actually pouring down rain. I’m in my office reading, writing, and planning for a day of meetings and trainings I’m leading for athletes in my coaching program. Charlee is stirring in her room above me. We aren’t on vacation. We’re in Vancouver. When I open the news feed, I’m reminded of why. I’m also reminded that this is simply an inconvenienc...

  Shared by Breanne Smedley Today, I wrap up my 6th consecutive month of GRIT workouts. A half a year of making my self-care a priority each day. 180 days of fitting workouts into my day that I didn’t think I had time for. On good days that I hit personal records. And challenging days when the last thing I wanted to do was a workout. But, I showed up. For myself. For my team. There’s a lot that has been accomplished in the past six months. I could talk about the physical transformation. How I’ve witnessed my body become stronger and more toned. I could go into the mental transformation. How I’ve overcome obstacles to make GRIT possible everyday and have proven to myself that I don’t quit. I could talk about what GRIT has done for Kristina and I’s business. Helping us break past limiting beliefs and create opportunities for ourselves. I could talk about the confidence that GRIT has forged within me. Allowing me to feel comfortable in my own skin. But today, as I sit and reflect over...