Pat and Lorna Shanks

Have you ever gotten to a point where you feel you’ve done all you can and no matter what, you’ll never grow further or reach your goals? You’ve told yourself you really want to get there, but you’ve consciously or sub-consciously told yourself that although you want it, you don’t have a hope in heck of getting it.

So… let’s discuss making things happen, amazing support and how important mindset really is.

I (Lorna) entered a Figures Competition (like bodybuilding – with a little less muscle definition) last year. I committed to the training and the diet (death by chicken) and entered in a competition. I placed fourth in one of the classes, which I felt was absolutely fantastic! So, I thought to myself… that’s probably about as high as I’ll ever get… the other girls had more time, trainers, nutritionists, were younger, blah, blah, blah… basically, plain old excuses.

But, because I did have a lot of fun, and it was a phenomenal experience… I entered another competition this spring.

I trained even harder (never thought that was possible) committed to the diet again, and used a lot of visualization and awareness to get back into competition form. It paid off, as I placed third in one of the classes!

Very Cool! And the coolest part of it was the amazing support I got from my sweetheart, Pat. He was with me the whole way… and voiced that support while he was in the audience at the competition for all to hear. I’m pretty sure the audience appreciated how much he supported me as well. Watch and listen to this very cool moment…

So do I now believe I can still grow further and win a competition? Most definitely! It brings awareness to this question: what are my limiting beliefs, what is it I believe that is preventing me from experiencing other amazing things in my life?

Once again I had a lot of fun… and the third-place finish was like icing on the cake. Being that I started competing a little later than most (49) I thought I wouldn’t even come close to fitting in with the “seasoned pros”. A limiting belief, that once I moved past, allowed me to grow, improve and get a whole new perspective on being committed to making it happen.

In Alberta the association that holds these competitions is the Alberta Bodybuilding Association they are a class act all the way and are run like most associations with volunteers. Here are the 2011 Northern Alberta Championship Results and I placed third in Masters 45+.

The other competitors were all friendly, helpful, supportive, nervous and very hungry 😉

Some big learning experiences for me were:

1) Sharing a common goal and journey with others is very COOL
2) There are no egos backstage
3) Everyone has their own way of achieving their goals and dreams
4) The volunteers are amazing
5) Even though the event is a “Judged” event, I entered for the experience and for my growth

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