Hi Friend 

My 7-year-old daughter and I were up the loft putting the decorations away.

She loves it up there, and so do I because the many items stored there bring back some great memories.

Holding a trophy, Layna asked me why I don't do competitions anymore. 

I told her it takes a lot of time and dedication, and before she and her sister came along, I had more energy to do it. 

"You stopped because of me?" she responded.

"Not quite, sweetheart. There are a few reasons I stopped; I must be very disciplined with my diet and work very hard in the gym. Plus, I wouldn't be able to eat sweets whenever I wanted to." I said.

"I thought working hard was good and too many sweets are bad." Came her reply.

"That is true!" I said with a chuckle. 

"I want you to do it again, daddy. Just stop eating sweets for a while, and after you win, you can have loads of sweets." She said.

I thought she'd forget, but she didn't stop asking me about it for the rest of the day.

She got me thinking about how this could be an opportunity to show her hard work and discipline. 

As I reflected in my journal later that evening, I realised I'd stopped bodybuilding because people told me they didn't think it was possible to juggle the commitments of parenting and bodybuilding. 

I saw Ryan Terry talk about this on his YouTube channel. He became aware of how personal ambitions can be dampened by other people's (well-meaning) opinions about what is and isn't possible in life as a parent.

Thanks to my amazing daughter, I will get back on stage and feel more motivated to compete than ever. 

I’m doing this for her. 

If interested, you can follow my journey on the brand-new Instagram account I've set up to document this journey back to the bodybuilding stage.

Here I am - https://www.instagram.com/alancarson726/

Best Wishes,

Alan

Ps. Next time, I’ll talk about motivation to do hard things and why the more challenging the item, the more reason it can be cultivated. 

If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you.