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Espresso and Ambition

A not-so-serious gal with some serious dreams.

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Embracing Weaknesses

October 31, 2017 by Taylor Leave a Comment

Embracing Weaknesses - Espresso and Ambition

When I went to check my editorial calendar for the topic of today’s blog post, it was blank. Somehow, despite planning out my blog content a month ahead, I had neglected to put a topic on today’s date. Maybe it’s because it was at the end of the month and I didn’t notice that extra box, or maybe it’s because I was so excited about potential Christmas content that I skipped over Halloween entirely. Whatever the original reason, I’m glad it happened, because it made room for this.

As I was scrolling through my blog the other day, I found an older post called Change. Rereading it was an experience; I could profoundly feel the emotion behind the post and I felt so deeply connected to that piece of writing in that moment. Don’t get me wrong – I love writing content that’s more clearly applicable to other people’s lives, like outfit ideas or study tips, but sometimes it’s nice to use this platform for its original purpose: a place to express myself and to turn that expression into something positive and constructive for you, the reader.

This semester, I’m taking a class on leadership. It’s the first part of a two-part course, and this section is focused largely on defining yourself and the ways you want to grow. One of the first exercises was to define our strengths and weaknesses, and to do so by the input of people around you. When the time came to synthesize these interviews into self-reflection, something became abundantly clear. My biggest weaknesses center around (ironically) a fear of being seen as weak.

I’ll fully admit that I don’t talk about emotions particularly well; admitting that I’m sad, hurt, or upset is something I naturally recoil from. I struggle in asking for help or in delegating tasks, because I like being perceived as self-sufficient. While I’m totally comfortable speaking in public, I don’t like being told that I’m wrong and have a tendency to go on the defensive when people try to correct me. All of these “ugly sides” of my personality stem from the same place: an inherent refusal to admit or display any form of weakness.

Social media doesn’t help with this. People are consistently only showing off the most glamorous parts of their life (I’m guilty of this too), so you don’t get a sense of the fact that yes, other people go through difficult things too. It’s tempting to shut off the weaker side of yourself from the world and soldier on, without ever admitting weakness.

Embracing Weaknesses - Espresso and Ambition

But here’s the thing. Weaknesses are good, at least in the sense that weaknesses are the cracks in an otherwise perfect exterior that expose us to the living, breathing human within. Weaknesses, our ability to feel emotions and to make mistakes and to learn from those mistakes, make us who we are. If we didn’t have weaknesses and didn’t let those weaknesses reveal themselves every once in a while, life on Earth would be rather lackluster.

While strengths are great, people ultimately relate to each other through their weaknesses. Humans love confirmation that everyone else around them is also, in fact, completely and utterly human. Learning to accept that, “hey, I’m not perfect, but neither is anyone else,” is hard but necessary.

Being the logical and achievement-oriented person that I am, I want there to be a concrete solution to this: some “5-step process to accepting and embracing your weaknesses.” But getting over a fear of weakness isn’t a methodical process; personal growth isn’t an exactitude. It takes time, and it takes some level on unshakable self-confidence in that you’re able to admit that you’re not perfect and that it’s totally okay for you to be that way.

This is a “work in progress” for me; it’s a conscious effort to be more open about where my weaknesses lie and allowing myself to be weak. Because that weakness, that vulnerability – that’s where the best parts of life happen. Vulnerability breeds friendship, trust, and love, and isn’t that what most of us want most out of life anyways?

Perfection just isn’t worth it. Get over the fear of being flawed and the fear of showing these flaws. Let imperfections become your new perfect. That’s where the magic happens.

xo, Taylor

Embracing Weaknesses - Espresso and Ambition

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Meet Taylor

A real-life combination of Elle Woods and Hermione Granger. Recent graduate of the University of Georgia, currently living and working in DC. New blog posts every Monday, new YouTube videos every Thursday. Subscribe by clicking the link below for post updates and exclusive content!

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tayy_kay

📍 dc
🔥 nasm certified personal trainer
✨ self-love + balance
🎥 2 new workouts per week!

tayy_kay
without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little c without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little challenging to really feel like i’m working at my full potential on leg days 😶 enter: single-leg movements. since all the weight is in one leg, you’re putting way more emphasis on it than you do during two-leg movements - and you’ll definitely feel that 🔥 you also get some added bonuses in the form of ensuring you’re working each side of your body equally AND a balance challenge!!
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you can add in weights or bands to up the challenge level, or do it all bodyweight like i am here!
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1️⃣ 15 single-leg box squats per leg (use other leg as a kickstand for an easier modification!)
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2️⃣ 15 bulgarian split squats per leg
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3️⃣ 15 single-leg hip thrusts per leg
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4️⃣ 15 single-leg deadlifts per leg
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throw on at the end of a longer leg day workout or do it 3-4 times as a workout all on its own!!
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👚 @girlfriend 🎧 numb - neffex
🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time 🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time to be alive, and it’s more important now than ever to listen to your body and stop being so hard on yourself. motivation is a fickle thing and working out when you don’t have all the equipment you love is weird. give yourself permission to take a break when you need it. don’t beat yourself up for missing workouts - exercise should be something you do because it makes you happy, not because you feel like you have to punish yourself. if it doesn’t make you happy that day, that’s okay. give yourself a break, come back and try again tomorrow. 💪🏼
circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not kidding about how much i love this long resistance band, it’s so versatile! definitely worth getting your hands on one for home workouts 😊 (although almost all of these can be completely with dumbbells or heavy objects if that’s what you’ve got in hand)
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also please watch to the very end of the fourth video for quality footage of greg 😂
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1️⃣ 12 long band shoulder presses to standing chest presses
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2️⃣ 12 upright rows to bicep curls
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3️⃣ 12 overhead triceps extensions per arm (the one leg stance is some bonus balance work!)
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4️⃣ 12 rear flies, featuring greg trying to fight my shadow
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5️⃣ 12 commandos
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6️⃣ 12 side-to-side pushups
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repeat 4x total!!
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👚 @underarmourwomen
🎧 best of me - neffex
giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, cra giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, crazy time in the world a little differently, and for me, it’s looked like a lot of establishing to and sticking to routines (seriously, sometimes it feels like my skincare routine and workout split are the only thing still giving meaning to days of the week, lol). my morning smoothies have been another important one - there’s a recipe in my story highlights and surprise surprise it uses this protein powder 😛
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anyways, onto the real reason you’re here! i’m giving away 25 $20 giftcards for @310nutrition with NO STRINGS ATTACHED 🤯 you hear that? you ain’t gotta do a thing to win - the first 25 people to use the code KAYGC20 on their order automatically win. get your hands on some fire plant-based protein powder, courtesy of me and 310 😋 (p.s. if you’re still seeing this caption, there are still giftcards available!!)
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#310gc20 #310shake
sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and hold a fake photo shoot just to prove to yourself that you’re still a real human
posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangen posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangentially topical. link in bio.
upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating towards circuit-style workouts lately, because they really work up a sweat and home workouts just don’t feel as legit to me unless i’m hardcore sweating 🤷🏼‍♀️ i don’t mind not breaking much of a sweat at the gym, but it feels weird not to when i’m working out at home - anyone else feel this or am i just weird?? 😅
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do all exercises back to back with no rest in between!
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1️⃣ 10 push-ups to renegade rows
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2️⃣ 12 alternating bicep curls
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3️⃣ 12 diamond front raises
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4️⃣ 8 sets of 3 tricep pulses to this lil cross-body weight move that doesn’t have a name {keep your core tight to feel it on your obliques!}
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5️⃣ 15 bent-over rear delt rows
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6️⃣ finisher!! 🥵 10 burpees with 2 shoulder taps and 2 toe taps in the middle of each rep
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repeat 🔁 for a total of 3 rounds!!
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👚 top from @gymsharkwomen, shorts from @nike 🎧 dangerous - neffex
would be nice if both sides of my head could agree would be nice if both sides of my head could agree on whether my hair is wavy or straight, but apparently that’s a little too much to ask of it 😂
got a circuit-style leg workout for you today! 🥳 there are 3 sets of 3 exercises that you’ll complete back-to-back - once you’ve done those three moves, rest for 30 seconds before repeating them all over again 2 more times! rest for 1-2 minutes in between each circuit - keeping your heart rate up is the goal here, i was driiiiiiipping sweat by the end of this one 🥵
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circuit 1️⃣: 10 step-ups to reverse lunges per leg
10 reverse lunges to curtsy lunges per leg
20 lateral lunges
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circuit 2️⃣:
10 squats to surrenders (stop in a squat position before standing up at the end to really feel this one)
10 stagger-stance rdls
20 criss-cross squat jumps
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circuit 3️⃣:
15 leg lifts per side
10 single-leg glute bridges per side
15 frog pumps
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👚 top from @fabletics, joggers from @gymsharkwomen
🎧 watch me - neffex
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