On positivity, learning as part of life, and judo throws (+ a January workout accountability check-in)

Happy Monday, and welcome to our revamped weekly newsletter, where I’ll be sharing physical and mental fitness-related content with you on a weekly basis.

As always, I value your feedback, so please feel free to reply directly to this email if you have any questions or comments (yes, I am a real human). I get a lot of emails and messages, so I can’t reply to all of them, but I do read everything you guys send me!

If you’re confused about this update and have no idea what you signed up for, you can read all about why I made this shift here.

Housekeeping reminder — 

This is week two of the January Accountability Challenge! The goal: get in 20 workouts before the end of the month. Join our super supportive and cool Facebook group to take part or post anywhere on social media.

(And yes, it’s free!)

What I’m reading this week —

Positivity: Top-Notch Research Reveals the 3-to-1 Ratio That Will Change Your Life by Barbara L. Fredrickson, PhD

I used to be a total pessimist. I would see the negative in everything. I just thought that was the way I was wired and that there was nothing I could do to change. (Looking back, it probably wasn’t overly enjoyable to be around me.)

In Positivity, Fredrickson shows us how even the most negative people can become more positive — and why it matters.

Training yourself to become more positive through techniques such as cultivating a gratitude practice, becoming more mindful in your daily life, and sticking to a 3:1 positivity to negativity ratio can actually change our brains (a result of neuroplasticity) and re-wire us to be more positive human beings. This can have loads of benefits, including better health, better relationships, and yes, increased feelings of happiness.

Another major benefit of cultivating positivity is that it can help broaden our perspective:

“Positive people are able to maintain a broader perspective and see the big picture, which helps them identify solutions where as negative people maintain a narrower perspective and tend to focus on problems.” 

What I’m watching —

Soul is a beautiful movie about hope, purpose, and being fully present in life. This movie was just what I needed following a tumultuous year full of negativity and positivity. It left me feeling inspired and hopeful for the year to come.

Available on Disney+ (there’s a free trial if you’ve never used it before). 

A quote I’m inspired by —

“A certain naïveté is prerequisite to all learning. A certain optimism is prerequisite to all action.” – George Leonard

Something I learned recently —

I’ve been training a little in Judo and learned a throw called Tai Otoshi. Here is an example if you’re interested in what it looks like.

I have a lot to learn when it comes to martial arts training, but I’m fully enjoying the process.

Future goal: To get a couple of black belts. First, I need to get my blue belt…

New workouts from last week —

Last week’s workouts were the first in our latest community challenge.

Missed the first week of the January Accountability Challenge? Don’t worry, it’s never too late to start getting some movement in for 2021.

Check out the challenge page for all the details (including the downloadable challenge calendar for the month).

Remember, you can get these and all future workouts right in the 12 Minute Athlete app when you subscribe as a Super Athlete (this is WAY cheaper than joining a gym or hiring a personal trainer! In addition, you’ll be helping to support the site and making future features to the app possible.).

I’m feeling cautiously hopeful about this year. Anyone else?

Here’s to a (hopefully) happy 2021,

Krista Stryker