Faith x Focus x Fire: My Mid-Year Awakening

What 75 Hard taught me, and how I created something stronger.

It’s been almost two years since I last posted online. The end of 2023 rocked me mentally, spiritually, and physically, sending me on an unanticipated journey inward. By the end of 2024, I entered my Winter Arc: a season of growth and the slow rediscovery of purpose.

I stepped into 2025 ready for seismic change.

I did what I always do when I’m ready for a massive shift: I committed.

On January 1st, I started the 75 Hard challenge. (Click for more info)

I crushed the first 30 days. By mid-February, I got distracted and lost momentum. Although I saw physical progress, I had to get real with myself.

This is the story of how I took a discipline-based challenge and turned it into a lifestyle. How I stopped chasing structure for structure’s sake and instead created something rooted in clarity and consistency.

Phase One: 75 HARD

Discipline as a Catalyst

When I started 75 Hard at the start of the year, I was coming out of a fog. I needed momentum. I needed something sharp to snap me back into focus. And honestly, I needed to prove to myself that I could follow through again.

And I did.

I read books like The Untethered Soul that forced me to ask bigger questions:

Who is God to me now?

Who am I?

What am I afraid of?

What would it look like to fully show up for myself again?

I stacked habits. I worked out on days I didn’t want to. I drank water like my life depended on it. I kept promises I hadn’t kept in a long time. And slowly but surely, I began to see a new version of myself, physically and mentally.

Somewhere along the way, I realized: the original challenge wasn’t built for my lifestyle or rhythm.

And continuing for the sake of checking boxes wasn’t in alignment.

So instead of quitting, I pivoted.

Phase Two: The 30-Day Uplevel

Before jumping into a new version of 75 Hard, I gave myself space to recalibrate. I didn’t want to repeat a pattern. My goal was to rebuild my foundation. So I launched my own 30-Day Uplevel Challenge. It was simple, but intentional:

✔️ 5–6 workouts per week

✔️ Daily skincare

✔️ Daily reading and reflection

✔️ Casting daily “votes” for the future version of me (shoutout to Atomic Habits)

This challenge reminded me: I don’t need extreme rules to grow.

It was through this consistency that I rebuilt the confidence to take on the next chapter… on my terms.

Phase Three: 75 STRONG

I didn’t want to just “restart” 75 Hard. I wanted to evolve it.

That’s when I created 75 STRONG: a challenge that held me accountable without burning me out.

It’s not “75 Soft” or “75 Medium.” It’s 75 Sustainable.

My 75 STRONG Standards:

• 2 workouts/day or close my Apple Watch rings (aiming for at least one outdoor session, with 1-2 active recovery days)

• 6–8 bottles of water daily (built up to a gallon)

• Read 10+ pages of a personal development book daily

• Track Body Stats monthly (every 15th, fasted)

• Document & track daily wins + mindset check-ins

I also prioritized:

• Skincare

• Faith practices

• Whole foods and intentional meals

• Raising my standards in relationships and energy exchanges

The Results: More Than Physical

I hit my goal weight. Then passed it.

But it wasn’t about the number. I moved from restriction to alignment. I stopped abandoning myself during chaos.

I moved with intention. The real shift happened when I stopped chasing outcomes and started nurturing the process.

I honored my body, prioritized sleep, took care of my skin, and followed through. I also discarded the myth of “self-sabotage.” (Yes, I said discarding!) There Is No Such Thing As Self-Sabotage! by Elevitality taught me that our subconscious isn’t sabotaging us. It’s protecting. It's following what it’s been programmed to do, and prioritizing what we've made important. Once I uncovered what I was shielding myself from, I stopped fighting myself and began leading myself instead.

I stopped breaking promises to myself just because life got chaotic.

I no longer need perfection to feel worthy of progress.

That was the real transformation.

The Deeper Shift

This wasn’t a fitness challenge. It was emotional rehab. Spiritual recalibration. Mental reconditioning.

I faced cravings, physical and emotional.

I processed grief.

I cut cords. I said no to relationships that drained me.

I stopped giving power to past versions of me. I returned to prayer, to stillness, to God.

I kept coming back to the same truths:

✨ You always have a choice.

✨ Self-control is sacred.

✨ You don’t need permission to begin again.

What’s Next

I’m stronger.

I’ve begun pouring everything I’ve learned into something new: a tool I started working on long ago, when I was stuck in survival mode, before I formed what is now I Affirm Myself Alliance. It’s called The I Affirm Myself Method™.

It’s a simple yet powerful system for:

• Rewiring your mindset

• Rebuilding your identity

• Creating a daily rhythm that works with you.

(More on that soon.)

I’m present. I’m grounded. And I’m showing up. With faith. With focus. With fire.

Final Words

If you’ve ever “failed” a challenge, skipped a day, or fallen short of your own expectations, don’t start over.

Start smarter.

Start stronger.

Because the version of you who doesn’t give up?

She’s not coming.

She’s already here.

Kemi Reyes