We’re working hard to slim down before RWA Nationals in July through healthy eating, exercise, sharing information, and accountability. Join us any time along the way, introduce yourself and post goals, or just contribute to the conversation! We’re here to share! Today I have the privilege of hosting my own sister, Ella Sheridan, as she shares some motivation from her own journey! Don't Wish For It; Work For It. Over the past few months, this has become my mantra. I’ve spent a lot of the last thirty or so years wishing my weight was something it wasn’t, wishing my body was different, wishing everything I wanted wasn’t so hard. And you know what? Wishing got me exactly what I put into it: almost nothing. About two years ago, I tore my rotator cuff in my right shoulder during karate training. It was an accident brought on totally by me, not my partner (I turned the wrong way during a throw). I went to the doctor, went through physical therapy, but the injury never truly healed. Finally, last November, my husband and I decided enough was enough and I went back to the orthopedist, who scheduled me for surgery. The week before Christmas, I was under the knife with a minimum four-month recovery period ahead of me. Yeah, not an easy task. Here’s the thing: shoulders rotate more than any joint in the body. Can you imagine how hard it is to function when that rotation is now severely limited by ultratight screws, ties, and anchors? Very hard. I was unable to do any cardio exercise for around two months because the jarring hurt so badly, but I came out of therapy three times a week sweating like a dog and crying because it hurt so horribly just to stretch. I had to do it, though; there was no other choice, not if I wanted to heal and heal right. As time went on, the therapists and I noticed something that frustrated us both. I couldn’t relax enough to let them take me from mostly healed to completely healed. I didn’t trust them enough not to hurt me beyond what I could bear, and so they could only push me so far. (Honestly, they told me just about every session that they’d never had a patient with such horrible trust issues, lol.) To get beyond where they could take me, I had to do it; if I ever wanted full function of my shoulder again, I had to be the one to push myself, not them. Considering I’m a black-belt karate instructor and need full function to continue teaching, wishing and not working was not an option. So I did the work. Every day, my shoulder gets stronger. It might be months before I have complete rotational ability again, but I will get there. And it might be months before I arrive at a good, stable, healthy weight for me, but I will get there. I’m now willing to do the work, not just wish the work was done and I looked the way I want to. We all have to be willing to do the work to be healthy, happy writers. That means overcoming obstacles, sacrificing what we need to sacrifice, refusing to accept our own excuses, and committing to long-term diligence, not just this day or this week or this month. We have. To do. The work. Will I ever be skinny? No. Will that wish I had as a teenager of being like all the other thin girls who never have to worry about what they eat ever come true? No. But I can and will be healthy. I can and will be the best I can be in the body God gave me. I can and will…if I do the work. Challenge: Where could you put more effort into your workouts? Eating habits? Stress relief? Share with us today!