I think that often fitness and working out is where we learn a lot about ourselves. I think it is a great way to become empowered and find the courage to be the person you want to be in your every day life.

It is a little microcosm that allows us to become the people we want to be.

I think working out is almost more important for the mental health benefits than the physical.

That being said, I’m going to stray today into the realm of sappiness and mental attitude with Part 2 of my Wedding Week series.

I think all big life events make us take time to reflect.

To reflect on where we’ve been. To reflect on what we really want out of life and who we are. To even reflect on where we want to go.

If you haven’t seen “Up,” go watch it right now! Just kidding….but seriously.

And when we reflect it isn’t necessarily the BIG EVENTS that truly stand out the most or seem the most meaningful. Actually it is often the boring little things that you can’t even fully describe that mean the most.

It is those boring little things that happen day in and day out that mold us.

Those boring little things are sometimes even the true adventures, whether or not we recognize it at the time.

I’ve done a lot of reflecting recently because of getting married…and because I was trying to figure out how to express how much I loved Ryan in my vows.

Actually it was super frustrating writing my vows. I generally have an easy time writing. I pick a topic and I just go. I rarely write a second draft. Most of the time if I have any sort of block I just walk around my apartment until the block has passed and that is often only a matter of minutes.

But with my vows nothing just seemed right. I can honestly tell you I wrote at least 10 drafts…some of them were even written in the note pad of my phone when I would randomly have an idea that seemed amazing.

In the end though, I wasn’t happy with any of them. They all seemed empty.

They stated that Ryan was my best friend….DUH.

They told funny stories about our relationship in an attempt to show our love. Like about how oddly perfect we are for each other.

But none of them could fully express just how much Ryan meant to me.

A little wedding weekend collage.

And then I stumbled onto a quote from the movie “Up.” (This by the way is one of my favorite movies and Ryan and I started our first dance to a song from this movie!)

In the movie, the little boy, Russell, tells a story to Carl about hanging out with his dad and then says, “That might sound boring, but I think the boring stuff is the stuff I remember the most.”

The boring stuff is the stuff that I remember the most….

The boring stuff is the stuff that relationships are made of…That love is made of.

It isn’t grand gestures or romantic getaways that make you love a person. That stuff isn’t LOVE.

It is the little things that happen every day. It is the boring little routines, even, that won’t interest anybody but you that truly shape things – that truly shape YOU.

It is those seemingly boring little events, routines, habits that are the TRUE ADVENTURES.

And this doesn’t just apply to love and relationships.

Honestly life, in general, should be about remembering and appreciating the boring little things because those are the things that truly matter.

At least I’ve always found that to be true.

Thinking back over the years what I remember more than specific victories (like winning the powerlifting competition) or defeats (like not hitting my goal at the kettlebell competition) is the journeys.

I remember all the hard work that I put in day in and day out. I remember that feeling of signing up for something that I’d never attempted before and then committing to training as hard as I could.

And don’t get me wrong, the big events are nice highlights, but they aren’t what truly mattered. They honestly didn’t do near as much to shape me as the journey….As the boring work I put in each and every day to reach them.

Those nondescript events, those daily struggles that looking back I can’t pinpoint, but just remember the feelings of, are what truly mattered. Those were the true adventures.

Those are the feelings that I wouldn’t trade for anything else.

So I guess after all this rambling, what I want truly want to say is, “Stop getting caught up in accomplishing something big. In doing something BIG.”

You don’t have to force some big adventure or think your life isn’t complete if you don’t do something HUGE. Adventure is out there every single day. All you have to do is be willing to put yourself out there and live.

Because 50 years from now when you look back, I honestly think more than anything you’ll be proud of the journey. Proud of the days you spent in happiness or even in struggle working to move forward, grow stronger, become more yourself.

Adventure is out there! Don’t wait for something big to happen. Go out and enjoy all those boring little things that happen every day!