SPARK Blog — Momentum Ambassadors

Our #beYOUtiful campaign continues! We are enjoying your posts on Instagram, and feel so inspired by your ability to rise above and share exactly who you are. Today, we encourage you do to that powerfully and persistently. Here's a post from Molly explaining why power is an integral part of being #beYOUtiful:

I used to hear the word “powerful” and cringe. I would think of old men in politics, fighting over money, authority, business, etc. I thought of bankers, policemen, lawyers, world leaders, even olympic athletes. I thought of strong, loud men.

I did NOT identify with that in any way, shape or form.

In my mind, power was equal to greed, fighting, and egos battling it out. I didn’t care about being powerful.

My dream as a young girl was to just “be happy." This looked like opening a coffee shop on an island somewhere where I could surf and swim all day, be surrounded by nature, and make just enough money to survive. I didn’t care about money either.

You see, I was raised to be a nice girl. Be kind to others, let others go first, and do no harm. Pretty simple, moral standards if you ask me, but this later evolved into a disease that plagues millions of women everywhere and took over my entire life for years and years. You may be afflicted too—it’s called People Pleasing.

This ruled my life and slowly took all of my power away...power I didn’t even know I possessed:

The power to choose, to make a firm decision, for myself. The power to voice my own opinion, feelings, desires, and my needs even if other’s didn’t agree. The power to step into the highest version of myself that lies deep within (and ultimately learning what that even looked like). The power to take back control of my own health, relationships, happiness, and the path my life was leading me down.

So I went through life living out other people’s plans. Living behind a giant smile, positive attitude, and being someone everyone could depend on.  Behind closed doors, time and life were passing me by and it was fueling my anxiety and disordered eating. I was constantly battling each day trying every self help trick in the book in an attempt to remind myself that “I am okay, I am enough, I am worthy, I can get through this.”

The thing is, I had yet to acknowledge, tap into and regain my own personal POWER. It was a muscle that had atrophied so much that I didn’t even know it ever existed.

It wasn’t until I allowed myself to start dreaming again that I really discovered this concept of everyone possessing their own power within themselves. In conjunction with dreaming, I started learning more about what makes me who I am. I started to nourish and nurture my mind and body in ways I had never considered before. I started to incorporate mindful movement into my day. Exercising was no longer punishment, but fuel for my slow-growing fire and zest for life.  I began to use my voice, having conversations with my family, friends, coworkers, and even my husband about certain issues and things that were bothering me or grand ideas I had that lit me up inside.

I stopped avoiding the things that made me uncomfortable and started to face them head on. My confidence started to skyrocket. The potential I saw in myself, my ability, and what my future held, grew. My world and vision expanded so great that I actually stopped laughing at myself and started to take my dreams and goals seriously.

As a 30-year old today, the word "powerful" really strikes this beautiful chord in me.  When I look down at my Motivate Wrap and read “I am POWERFUL,” it makes me want to say “hell yes, I am!”.

Power is something that should be embraced. It's a muscle that needs to be exercised at any given opportunity. Power is grace, being decisive, authenticity, being a leader, using your voice, not being afraid to fail, and believing in yourself and your dream more than your own excuses or the opinions of others. I choose to believe we live in an abundant world full of love and opportunity, but I’ve also seen what happens when women don’t stand in their own personal power.

You don’t need to be loud or bossy. You don’t need brute strength, to play the stock market, have lots of money, be the CEO, have a fancy title, or step on people along the way to your success.

Your power is unique to you and looks different for everyone. I encourage you to embody this wonderful gift and start embracing yourself as the powerful woman you are and always have been!

And here at Momentum, we stand behind Molly and offer our encouragement as well. Shop our collection of #beYOUtiful Motivate Wraps, including our limited edition "I am..." Motivate Wraps. Download your free #beYOUtiful sign, and show the world what your power looks like. Tag @momentumjewelry, #momentumjewelry and #beYOUtiful on Instagram so we don't miss it!

If there's one thing we strive to implement via our #beYOUtiful campaign, it's that every single one of you is important in your own unique way. Societal expectations bring us down. The comparison trap keeps us from shining. When we let out the power within, we truly make a difference. Today's #beYOUtiful blog post is from Ashley of Every Runner Counts:

Seven hours, three minutes and 28 seconds.

As a runner, as someone who participates in the running community, as an activist for everyBODY to be active—I am not fast, but I am fearless.

When I crossed the finish line of my first marathon, there were two people that I personally knew who were there to cheer me in, along with four volunteers. The finish line arch was still up, but everything else had been taken down and packed up. By mile 13 of that race, I was on my own for water supplies. How do you mentally prepare for that? My answer, you cannot. But you cannot allow that fear to hold you back either.

Seven hours, 36 minutes and 45 seconds.

During my second full marathon, I was a little more prepared for being alone—but I ended up leading a pack to the finish. At this race, by mile 17, all of the water stops had been packed up and all of the signage on the course routes had been taken down. I had home court advantage and knew the back end of this course very well. I didn't have time to stress about my own race and how badly my body hurt because I had people relying on me. When we crossed that finish line, it was a totally different experience than my first marathon. I was hugging people that were strangers eight hours earlier. We turned into a family. But once again, coming into the finish line, there was only a timing mat and a lady with a clipboard and a box of medals. No water, no bananas or pretzels. It was disappointing.

This is why I started Every Runner Counts. Why do ace organizers create such strict cutoff times? Why can't there be a soft start for runners that know they won't win, but want the chance to finish across the same finish line as everyone else? Every Runner Counts is trying to change that, one race at a time.

We shouldn't fear a finish line, we should feel empowered to enjoy the journey to the start line and understand that our fearlessness will take us to the finish line. Every runner deserves a finish line. Every runner counts. 

Every runner is important.

Ashley's efforts with Every Runner Counts inspires us to continue celebrating all of the #beYOUtiful people out there. Her efforts to give everyone the same finish line experience align with our goals of diminishing societal expectations and celebrating our individuality, our unique hopes and dreams and, of course, every body. This is the essence of our #beYOUtiful campaign. Celebrate with us by downloading your own "I am..." sign, and shop our collection of #beYOUtiful Motivate Wraps.

As we continue to celebrate our #beYOUtiful campaign, we're doing our best to spread the word that you...yes, YOU...are a powerful being. We live in a world that wants us to feel less than our best, to conform to a certain ideal, to believe that we are not powerful—but this campaign, it fights that norm and believes in every single one of you. You are #beYOUtiful. And you are powerful. Today, another story from Blaire, one of our great Ambassadors:

I am.

Those two words hold an incredible amount of importance.  The sentence you formulate after those two simple words can have a huge impact on your mindset.  They can even change your mindset, allowing you a chance to rewrite how you think, believe, and feel.

At the beginning of July, I made plans to run my first full marathon, which would take place in the beginning of November.  I began training in the hottest months of summer in Florida and it quickly began to take its toll.  Add in the beginning of school in August for our two boys, one starting pre-kindergarten and one starting 3^rd grade, and I saw the training take a hit.

Our oldest son struggles in school.  Maybe there are families out there who can relate to that.  The transition from school to home is a challenge.  The long hours in the afternoon that are required to complete homework for a variety of subject areas can quickly end in frustration and tears.

When those moments were happening more frequently, I chose to prioritize time with my family over miles on the road.  With that decision came the choice to drop from running my first marathon to aiming for a personal best at the half marathon distance.

It would have been easy to focus on the negative feelings of guilt, disappointment or inadequacy.  The feeling that I am not doing enough, that I should try harder, or that I am making excuses. Instead, I chose to change my mindset.

To replace the negative words with positive, empowering words.  I am making the right choice for my mind and body.  I am going to focus on getting faster to reach a goal for the half marathon distance.  I am having fun and remembering why I love running in the first place.  I am powerful.

With the weight of the marathon distance training off my shoulders, it gave me more freedom to truly focus on my son, on supporting him academically, on advocating for him and what he needs to be successful and feel good about himself.

I even registered for and am in the process of completing advocacy classes so that I can become an educational advocate to better help my son and other families navigate the public school system and provide their children with the most appropriate learning environment and accommodations to fit their individual needs.

Whatever you set your mind to, you can achieve.  You have unlimited power, creativity, strength, and courage.  You get to choose what to believe.

And we here at Momentum truly believe that you are capable of almost anything you want to achieve. We realize that life is special, and so are you. All of the moments are worth your time and attention, not just the big ones. And in remembering this, in choosing what's right for you, you're deciding that you are worth it. That you are #beYOUtiful, powerful, fearless and, really...just about anything you want to be. 

Find yourself, remind others of yourself. Join us in this #beYOUtiful movement. From now until October 21, #beYOUtiful-themed Motivate Wraps, including our newest collection of limited edition "I am..." Motivate Wraps. Plus, you can download a free #beYOUtiful sign. Show the world who you are: Post a picture on Instagram, and tag @momentumjewelry, #momentumjewelry and #beYOUtiful. We can't wait to see the real you!

We kicked off our annual #beYOUtiful campaign yesterday, featuring a discounted collection of Motivate Wraps. We also introduced a set of limited edition "I am..." Motivate Wraps, designed to remind you that you are #beYOUtiful. And powerful. Over the course of the campaign, we'll be featuring inspirational blog posts from some of our Ambassadors, starting with Amanda Stewart:

I am very committed to my identity as a runner.

It's my go-to answer to:

"What do you do for fun?" Run.

"How do you stay fit?" Run.

"How do you make friends?" Run.

"How do you practice self care?" Run.

For the last ten years, I've been a runner. It's my go-to fun fact. I'm almost always training for my next race. I'm proud of the fact that I've run seven full marathons and one ultra marathon. I'm proud of the fact that I can run very, very slow for a long time.

Running is also something I share with my Grandma, who inspires me every day to be stronger and work harder than everyone else expects me to.

So it means a lot to me, but at some point, I started to realize that there might be more to fitness and strength than running. What if there was more to me than my identity as a runner? 

I decided to join a Crossfit gym to find out. 

What if part of me wasn't challenged by running long distances anymore? I set a goal of being able to do pull-ups unassisted. But what's left of me if I'm not a long, slow distance runner?

Answer: That same, powerful woman. 

I ran an ultra marathon in the Summer of 2017 and it broke me. It left me stripped and angsty and, truth be told, I'm still trying to get back on my feet. I'm still trying to lace up my shoes because I want to, not because I have to. And yet, when I think back to my first marathon in 2014, I think about how empowered I felt. It was a huge accomplishment and it was truly the first time that I ever felt that I was capable of achieving whatever I set my mind to. It was the first time in my life that I celebrated my body instead of hating it. It was the first time that I made decisions for me, and not for anyone else. 

I could go on and on with all of the lessons that running has taught me. Running kicked off a fitness journey for me that made me feel powerful and empowered at the same time. Powerful as a woman, empowered as someone who can tackle anything she sets her mind to.

...and my Motivate Wraps have been there along this journey as additional reminders of my self worth, my sense of adventure, my persistence and my love of coffee. And now, I am so thankful for the reminder that I am powerful.  

We are all powerful. It's time for all of us to unleash the power within.

Join us as we celebrate #beYOUtiful you. It's time for us all to realize that we are more than what we look like, what we do or who we know. We are strong, powerful and amazing women. We are more than what society says we are, and we are proving that to society a little more every day. 

Be sure to shop our newest Motivate Wraps. Download your free #beYOUtiful poster, and show the world what you are. Share your images on Instagram—tag @momentumjewelry, #momentumjewelry and #beYOUtiful so we can celebrate with you.

Every once in a while, we choose a goal or shoot for a dream—and things don't go as we've planned. That, I hope you know, is absolutely OK. Life has a way of throwing curveballs, and choosing the right moments to chase (and knowing when to shift gears) is all part of the adventure that awaits you. This is why we've centered our new Fall Collection of Motivate Wraps around this theme. That now is your time, no matter what, to collect the moments you so deserve. Today on the blog, our last in the series of guest posts focused on your moments, is Katherine with a few words about choosing your moment wisely:

At the beginning of 2018, I took on the challenge of marathon training for the first time. As anyone who’s trained for one knows, it completely and utterly changes and consumes your life. And with each run I’ve gone on, I’ve found myself focusing on one thing and one thing only—Boston. So when I think about my “moment,” BQing this year was going to be it.

The problem is that nobody tells you that you may have to adjust your moment. Through all of the positive affirmations and the pump up quotes and the “you can push through anything” looping through your brain to keep you going, there’s no warning that your moment, the one you’ve centered 24 weeks of training around, may need some tweaking.

I had signed up for two marathons this year. The first would be my very first marathon ever, Colfax, and the second would be Chicago. My plan was to run Colfax in around 4 hours, and then shave off the extra half hour for Chicago. This BQ would be my moment.

After 24 weeks of training, the big day finally came. It was time for my first marathon. I wasn’t sure if this would be an utter failure or if I’d surprise myself by running a BQ. Long story short, Colfax didn’t go as planned. As pacers began passing me every other mile, I quickly watched my moment of a BQ slip away, and I cried as I crossed the finish line at 4:38.03. 

I should’ve felt proud, but I couldn’t shake that I needed to shave an hour off my marathon time for Chicago in just three months. A BQ was not mine, and Colfax was not my moment.

Fast forward a month to the start of my training for Chicago. I was more determined than ever to hit my BQ. Challenged with 3 months to speed up, I was chomping at the bit to make this moment happen. But somewhere along the way, things started to go haywire. I was struggling with IT Band Friction Syndrome, which is a complicated way to say certain muscles weren’t firing in my leg, and my knee cap was rubbing against my IT Band.

But I was still fighting to make this race happen.

When I wrote the initial draft of this post for Momentum just a few weeks ago, I had every intention of making Chicago my moment. BQ or no BQ, I was choosing Chicago as my moment. I was going to focus on “fighting to get to Chicago, to get through Chicago, and then stuffing my face with all the pizza.” Except last Thursday, I dropped out of Chicago. I gave it the good fight, but my body was not going to make it through. I played it smart, not selfish. And with that, I chose to switch my moment from Chicago to my comeback.

If anything, all of this has shown me one thing—you need to choose your moment. My Colfax time was far from a BQ. My knee is in pain. I’ve had to drop out of running multiple races, including Chicago. But with each one of these heartbreaks, I’ve picked myself up, adjusted, and I’ve chosen to discover new moments within the wreckage of my original goals.

So I challenge you to choose your moment...want it more than anything. Your moment is going to come when you make the conscious choice to accept it into your life, and then push forward to make it happen. The path to your moment may take twists and turns and flips and flops and alley-oops and spirals, but it’s up to you to choose to make sure you get there. And I hope you fight like hell to get there.

...and we'll fight with you, too. We're so proud of Katherine and her ability to recognize that a new moment was needed, and that you never have to really give up on a moment. Setbacks happen, and if you choose to adjust, we believe you'll find the ability to choose wisely your next great moment. And that's why we created the new Fall Collection of Motivate Wraps. Because everyone needs their own cheerleader, and we're ready to be yours. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, and tag #momentumjewelry so we can see your moments.