Legally Fit — Finding My Passion Project
Image created by @lostworldcreative
As I head into the final month of 2024, I am at a point where I take stock of the past year. This one has been an adventurous one – in work, fitness, and life – to say the least. For more than six months now, I’ve had the privilege of sharing it all through this blog, and for the remainder of this year, I’ll likely spend my posts reflecting on 2024 and preparing to look ahead to 2025. But as I think about challenges I’ve taken on this year, the one that stands out the most is Legally Fit.
Full disclosure . . . Legally Fit did not begin because I wanted to share my story. In fact, I never wanted to do that. Looking back on where I let my body get to was not something I enjoyed thinking about, and I rarely if ever spent time reflecting on it. Those were not my happiest times, and even now as I write about my story here each week, reliving many of those moments brings back memories of embarrassment and shame.
The blog began simply because of my passion for fitness. That’s what I wanted to share. Over the past 11 years on this journey, I’ve learned so much while taking on many new activities and challenges, and I love everything about it. But given that I am not a certified personal trainer or a professional athlete, I realized that the perspective I bring is one that must involve my story. I am a lawyer who has learned the value of incorporating fitness into my busy schedule, and my life was forever changed by that lesson.
Before the blog was born, I had many deep conversations with friends, family, and colleagues about the changes I made to my life – not for the purpose of telling others what I did, but because they were looking to understand how I did it. They shared with me afterwards how moved they were from the talks we had, and those talks led to constant check-ins on their journeys. I witnessed loved ones improving, at least in some small way, due to the parts of my story that they could relate to.
That I could have this impact on even just one person meant the world to me, and in some ways, that was all I could have asked for. But those conversations didn’t just help the ones I spoke with, they also had a profound effect on me. They forced me to be analytical about my journey and what made the biggest impacts on me throughout. They also made me reflect on all the moments where I failed. One conversation at a time, I learned to lean into my vulnerability. But that was done much more easily in an intimate one-on-one setting.
Then, one day as I sat in the sauna at Remedy Place, meditating on my journey before taking a cold plunge, the words that would become my first blog post came to me. In that moment, I realized that I had a story to share beyond my inner circle. But I also realized what it meant I would be sharing with the world. I spent the next week deciding whether I was willing to be that vulnerable. By the end of the week, I knew that I had to do this, and five weeks later, I took the plunge when Legally Fit went online.
When I launched this project, I honestly didn’t know if it would last beyond one week, and if so, for how long. Now that I know it’s lasted at least through today’s post – number 27 in 30 weeks – I still can’t say how much more there is to go. We’ll keep finding that out together! What I can say, however, is what I’ve gained from it all so far.
First, I’m inspired by my readers! Over the course of sharing my journey, many have come to me and opened up about their own struggles much like those early conversations that inspired this blog in the first place. These moments have inspired my writing and have, at times, taken Legally Fit in a direction I never imagined. Posts like, Embrace the Journey and Overcoming Setbacks were the direct result of feedback from my readers during the weeks that I wrote them. The common thread among each of the experiences my readers have shared with me this year has been a sense of the understanding they gain about being in the middle of something right now. When I write about understanding the long-game and embracing the process, most of those messages come not just from how I approached my journey throughout, but also from what I’ve learned about how you see it. If my story has inspired you in any way, just know that yours inspire me to keep sharing it.
Second, I’m having more fun! My journey has had many moments where I’ve turned a corner. At first, that may have been as simple as getting myself to show up for training or even being able to do a squat without the assistance of a chair. Later, there were bigger corners turned that involved being able to do activities like running and climbing that were not possible with the body I used to have. Each corner I turned opened new possibilities. Blogging about them put on the added pressure of taking advantage of them. After all, if I am going to write every week, I need content. But let me be clear . . . nothing I did this past year was done for the sole purpose of writing a blog about it. Yet having to write a blog made me get things done sooner. Perhaps my favorite example of this was skydiving. I had been trying to schedule it for a year already with friends to no avail. But when I decided I wanted to write a post about doing one thing every day that scares you, I also knew that I wanted my jump to be a part of it – and I could no longer wait on others’ schedules to make it happen. Looking back, that might have been the highlight of my year – and my favorite post to write.
As I said, I never did anything solely for the blog, but the blog definitely inspired moments like this.
Finally, I found my passion project! This is the reason I’ve told the story about Legally Fit here today. Not so that I could discuss the evolution of the blog over the past six months, but rather because this hard-working lawyer discovered a way to do something in fitness! With Legally Fit, I found my vehicle for expressing everything I want about something that means so much to me. We all have that something, and it’s different for each of us. What I can share here based on my passion project is this . . . finding a way to take my passion and connect with others has been a game changer. It has resulted not only in me digging deeper into my love for fitness, but it has allowed me to be seen in that space. When you are passionate about something like I am with fitness, there’s a good chance that you have something to share with others.
So, what’s in store for Legally Fit in 2025? I honestly have no idea.
One year ago, I could not have predicted that I would be a rock climber. Even after my first day out in April, I laughed when my guide offered me a discounted pass that would require four more times out before next Spring. I declined, thinking that maybe I’d go once or twice more over the year. So far, I’ve already been out seven more times, and with each one, I’ve gotten better. Despite my confidence, I really have no idea if that progress will continue or whether I will peak at any moment.
A photo from each time out climbing this year. Top row left to right: April 8, June 9, July 26, August 11. Bottom row left to right: September 2, September 28, October 27, November 10.
I also could not have predicted that I’d be training for the NYC Marathon over this next year. Exactly one year ago, I decided to buy a pair of running shoes and see if my body could handle it this time. I ran a 12-minute mile on a 2-mile run to start, but I felt good and leaned in over the past year. I’ve since run as far as 12 miles, and my 4-mile runs are just over 9-minutes per mile now. Again, despite my confidence, I really have no idea if I will continue to progress, if I will peak, or even if running will eventually take its toll on my body.
Running photos from 2024 (left to right): May 5, November 2.
All I know right now, is that for 2025, regardless of what I succeed or fail at, I’ll share it all with you.
Blog note: Next week may be a week off for the blog as I expect a much needed break over the weekend to focus on work and life. But, you never know!
Aaron