A few weeks ago, I did a crazy thing.
No, I’m not talking about clicking “Publish” on the first Songbird Soundtrack post, although I’m sure some would call that crazy, too.
This crazy thing started about the same time I began compiling playlists and outlining the first couple of posts for the blog, though. And in an unexpected way, I can say it contributed to making that “Publish” button a little easier to click.
I set a goal.
In my first post, I told you how I had been inspired by James Clear’s Atomic Habits and Jon Acuff’s Start. So the fact that I set a goal may not seem all that crazy.
But the goal I set kind of was.
I also told you in that first post that I love Camp Gladiator (CG) workouts. I told you all about how CG and the amazing friendships I’ve made through CG have changed my life … It’s obviously very important to me.
But let me tell you, getting started was tough. I joke that during the first week I did CG workouts, I might’ve even cried.
Truth be told, although I didn’t cry actual tears, I was crying on the inside. And I did fall a lot those first few weeks. Once a pretty good athlete in my youth, I was upset with myself for letting myself get so out of shape. When I started CG, I had recently lost 50 pounds, give or take, by joining Weight Watchers, which was indeed something to celebrate, but I needed something more. I needed to become more physically fit.
As hard as it was, I stuck with it. And I actually got kind of good at it! And I absolutely loved getting stronger.
On March 14, 2023, I completed my 550th CG workout. CG trainers are very good about encouraging campers by celebrating milestone workouts, and although it wasn’t a “100 level” workout worth celebrating like my 100th, 200th, or even the 500th workout that I had celebrated near the beginning of this year, it still felt kind of big to me. So much so that I texted Jayme, my trainer who got me started in CG.
You can see from my text exchange with Jayme that I set a small (atomic?) goal for myself right then.
That exchange took place on March 14, 2023, about 34 days before my two-year CG anniversary. I haven’t mentioned this before, but most weeks, I average 6-7 CG workouts. Usually, I do a workout every weekday morning, and most weeks, I work out with some combination of my teammates from Jayme’s crew a couple of evenings. If that isn’t possible, I’ll do an On Demand workout on my own at home. On a really good week, I might get in eight or — in extremely rare circumstances — nine workouts a week.
I prefer words over math, but even I could see that in 34-ish days, it would be pretty easy for me to achieve that goal without even doing anything differently.
So I upped the ante on myself.
On March 15, I challenged myself on Facebook and Instagram to try to achieve 600 workouts by my April 18 anniversary.
You can see in the image that yours truly had just completed workout 552 when I posted, “My CG two-year anniversary is April 18 … Can I get to 600 workouts by then? Stay tuned!”
Online. For the whole world (or perhaps whomever my permission settings would allow) to see. 48 workouts in 34 days. I even threw in some hashtags for good measure: #accountability, #goals, and #questfor600.
Crazy.
On March 16, I posted a tracking system for myself:
# of most recent workout / # of workouts remaining / # of days to deadline (4/17)
(Coincidentally, April 17 is my bestie’s birthday, too, so if I could achieve my goal, I’d have even more to celebrate!)
To be honest, I wasn’t sure I could do it. It would require increasing my number of workouts by 4-5 a week in weeks that were already overscheduled with work events, church responsibilities, and other obligations. It would probably require me to do some workouts on the weekends … when I usually gave this old body a break.
Again, crazy.
But crazy like a fox, maybe?
I don’t have a huge social media following, so I wasn’t sure that many people would see it. But I know myself, and I was pretty sure that if I put it out there for people to see, I’d be motivated to do the work. And just in case anyone did happen to see my posts, I’d have documentation of my journey.
Did I achieve my goal?
Sorry to leave you with a cliffhanger, but I’ve decided to save that for another post. You see, I’ve recounted the process of working through the challenge, and it’s become clear that there were three distinct sections in my story arc:
- The Decision
- The Effort
- The Outcome
As you know, I’m highly affected by my life’s soundtrack, so as I thought about songs that would complement this story arc, I came up with three separate playlists, each one representing one of those three sections.
Have I the courage to change?
Welcome to The Decision.
“Courage to Change” by Sia
From the motion picture, Music (2021)
Album: Music (Songs From And Inspired By The Motion Picture)
“The first step is the hardest – making a commitment to yourself, for yourself.”
Mary Kay Ash
My favorite lyrics:
World, you’re not alone in all this
You’re not alone, I promise
Standing together we can do anythingI want to leave you better
Sia, “Courage to Change”
I want my life to matter
I am afraid I have no purpose here
“Standing together we can do anything.”
That’s why I posted online. Because I knew that left to my own devices, I might talk myself out of it. But if one person saw it….
“Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield
Album: Unwritten (2004)
I break tradition
Sometimes my tries are outside the lines
We’ve been conditioned to not make mistakes
But I can’t live that wayStaring at the blank page before you
Natasha Bedingfield, “Unwritten”
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find
I love the acoustic version of this song, too.
“Underdog” by Alicia Keys
Album: ALICIA (2020)
The fact of being an underdog changes people in ways that we often fail to appreciate. It opens doors and creates opportunities and enlightens and permits things that might otherwise have seemed unthinkable.
Malcolm Gladwell
They said I would never make it
But I was built to break the mold
The only dream that I’ve been chasing is my own… This goes out to the underdog
Alicia Keys, “Underdog”
Keep on keeping at what you love
You’ll find that someday soon enough
You will rise up, rise up, yeah
“Brave” by Sara Bareilles
Album: The Blessed Unrest (2013)
“You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.”
Stephen King
“Long Live” by for KING & COUNTRY
Album: RUN WILD. LIVE FREE. LOVE STRONG. (Deluxe Anniversary Edition) (2015)
I’d rather regret the things that I have done than the things that I have not done.
Lucille Ball
I love the opening verse of this song … it describes me perfectly:
If you’re playing that drum
But you got no rhythm
If you’re a little out of key
But you’re always singing
But the chorus gets to the heart of the matter:
Long live the young at heart
You know who you are
With your spirit burning
Take a risk and take a chance
Carry onLong live the soul set free
FOR KING & COUNTRY, “Long Live”
Don’t be afraid to dream
While the world’s still turning
Every moment, make it happen
With two left feet
Keep on dancing
“Fearless” by The Goo Goo Dolls
Album: Miracle Pill (2019)
Being FEARLESS isn’t being 100% Not FEARFUL, it’s being terrified, but you jump anyway…
Taylor Swift
This song was on one of the playlists we used to hear when we’d do CG workouts. I remember thinking, “Maybe if I listen to it enough, I’ll actually believe it.”
I think I finally do.
I’m gonna be fearless, fearless
I’m brave enough to feel this, feel this
I’m running down my demons, demons
No doubts around it
I finally found itFearless, fearless
The Goo Goo Dolls., “Fearless”
I never thought I’d feel this, feel this
I finally believe it, believe it
No doubts around it
I finally found it
“Lionheart (Fearless)” by Joel Corry, Tom Grennan
Album: What Ifs & Maybes (To be released June 15, 2023)
“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”
Dale Carnegie
I wanna know what it feels like
To wake up like a giant
I wanna know what it feels likeTo be fearless like a lionheart
Joel Corry and Tom Grennan, “Lionheart (Fearless)”
And I feel it in my blood
Like the stars that illuminate the sky
There’s a fire in my lungs burning tonight
And I’m fearless like a lionheart
“Live Your Story” by Auli’i Cravalho
All our dreams can come true – if we have the courage to pursue them.
Walt Disney
You defy the impossible
Got a heart unstoppable
You are more than ready, yeahNot just a fighter
Auli’i Cravalho, “Live Your Story”
Not just a dreamer
Amazing creator
Relentless believer
In who I am and what I got inside
“Rise” by Eddie Vedder
Album: Into The Wild (Music For The Motion Picture) (2007)
Rise above your circumstances, change the world one person at a time starting with you, and be the inspiration you’ve been searching for.
Lindsey Stirling
Perhaps an unlikely inclusion on this playlist, I love this song. I love its folksy acoustic sound and its almost improvised vibe. And for me, Vedder’s mandolin is just enough out of tune for it to be charming without making my teeth hurt.
The lyrics speak to me, too … especially this line:
Gonna rise up
Eddie Vedder, “Rise”
Turning mistakes into gold…
It’s so easy to dwell on past mistakes, shortcomings, or failures. I don’t know about you, but sometimes — actually, a lot of the time — I need the reminder that those things are exactly where they should be: in the past. We don’t have to let them define us.
“You Gotta Be” by Des’ree
Album: I Ain’t Movin’ (1994)
This one is a blast from my past and a song that evokes many memories as part of my own personal soundtrack. It was released when I was in grad school, working toward a degree in a field that I was beginning to decide was no longer for me, at least not professionally, anyway.
It was all over the radio back in 1994, most famous for the lyrics of its motivational chorus:
You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser
You gotta be hard, you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm, you gotta stay together
All I know, all I know, love will save the day
But I remember struggling to make peace in a profession I no longer felt called to pursue and fighting for the courage to make a change, so perhaps these lyrics spoke more to me:
Time asks no questions, it goes on without you
Leaving you behind if you can’t stand the pace
The world keeps on spinning
Can’t stop it if you tried to
The best part is danger staring you in the face, oh
I love this song to this day. And I always thought the black-and-white video was super cool.
Oh, and I did find the courage to change back then, too.
“Believe” by Shawn Mendes
Album: Descendants (Original TV Movie Soundtrack) (2015)
Who keeps tabs on stupid mistakes?
We all mess up but that’s just the way
We learn how to get back up
We learn how to turn the pageSo we will let our dreams take flight
And our hearts igniteDid you know that it’s true
Shawn Mendes, “Believe”
Everything is possible
There’s nothing we can’t do
It’s a wild and beautiful fire
And I believe in you
“Believer” by Imagine Dragons
Album: Evolve (2017)
I’m fired up and tired of the way that things have been…
“Made for This” by Carrollton
Album: Made for This (2017)
Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body.
George S. Patton
I don’t give up, I won’t back down
Goodbye worries, no time to doubt
I feel the power, I won’t be afraid
Fear won’t stop me, I don’t breakI was made for this
I was made for this
Born in the wild
Formed in the fire
Built for the battle, ohI was made for this
I was made for this
Mind over matter
Silence the doubters
I have the power, ohI was made for this
Carrollton, “Made for This”
“One Girl Revolution” by Superchick
Album: RE: COLLECTION (2013)
Some people see the revolution
But most only see the girl
I can lose my hard earned freedom
If my fear defines my worldI declare my independence
From the critics and their stones
I can find my revolution
I can learn to stand aloneAnd I’ll be everything that I want to be
Superchick, “One Girl Revolution”
I am confidence in insecurity
I am a voice yet waiting to be heard
I’ll shoot the shot
Bang
That you hear round the world
And I’m a one girl revolution
My favorite line? “I am confidence in insecurity.”
Yep, that’s me.
But let’s do this!
As always, here’s the complete playlist:
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