Hmmm the word "Inspirational"...

This one is for Jacqueline.  Thanks for "inspiring" me to write down these thoughts.

I have had a few conversations with fellow 12WBT members about the word "inspirational".  I'm not a fan of the word.  It is really overwhelming and difficult to understand when directed at you.  It's still a tricky one for me to grasp.  However, I am more than happy to give credit to those that inspire me.  Just hear me out :)

Angela Wallace is the number one inspirational role model to me and has been since I joined Round 2 2011.  I followed her, Kate Mackie and Clinton Barker (followed Clint on the forums as his posts were funny and he was having great results).  To my great surprise Angela recognized me at round 2 finale workout and I was star-struck talking to her for 20 minutes with my sister at the party before the presentations.  I was totally flabbergasted to be sharing the stage with Kate & Clint an hour later.  I knew so much about them through the 12WBT virtual world and thought they were amazing in Round 2, yet I won the top transformation prize...  How does THAT happen???  Still makes no sense to me.

And just a little side story for you.  Whenever I hear 'I Gotta Feeling' by the Black Eyed Peas lyrics "I gotta feeling, that tonight's gonna be a good night..." and 'Forever' by Chris Brown lyrics "It's like I've waited my whole life for this one night..." I STILL get overwhelmed and teary as my mind takes me back to 20 August 2011 at The Hilton Ballroom Brisbane where I received that unbelievable honor from Michelle Bridges.  They were both Pump tracks in a class I attended a week after finale and I cried through both of them!  Luckily they were chest and abs tracks so I was lying down and nobody saw!!! 

Ok, back to the "inspiring" word.

I'm just a really determined individual that does exactly what Michelle Bridges says.  I don't find that inspiring, to me it's just what I do.  But then again, I used to do nothing so something has changed for the better.

I don't fight "the inspiring label" anymore (I used to but it takes a lot of energy to convince people that I am not inspiring and the conversation can go pear-shaped quickly!).  So now I just smile and say "thank you".  If they ask questions I answer them and I'm honest.  I tell them it's hard work, you need a strong mind and want to actually make a change.

After giving it a lot of thought I have come up with this statement:

"If the achievements during your personal journey, no matter how great or small, can influence just one other person to improve their lifestyle, then you are an inspiring person".

Don't fight it.  Just smile and accept it :)