Katie Austin Talks the 5 P's to Live By

SI Swimsuit | Jan 31, 2021

Hi everyone!! My name is Katie Austin and I am so SO excited to start this weekly column on Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. For those who don’t know me, I’m a fitness personality, creator of my own workout app (check it out here!), a sports programming host and correspondent at events such as the NBA Awards, the ESPYs, the Super Bowl and more.

If you follow @si_swimsuit on Instagram, you’d have seen me host live workouts for the last 10 months every Monday at 8:30 am (a huge thank you to everyone who joined me!). But because there is a library of tons of workouts now on the SI Swim IGTV, I’m switching it up. Now I’ll be writing weekly tips, workouts, recipes and, my favorite part of all, interviewing your favorite SI Swim family members. I want to bring you weekly positivity to live your BEST LIFE—sorry for being cliche but I’m serious—and give a voice to these amazing SI women who inspire us daily.

I wanted to start my first column with my “5 Ps” of how I live my life. I apply these principles to my relationships, my career and my own daily practice of showing myself grace and love. I hope that this will help guide you towards creating the lifestyle you want, encourage you to try new things, take risks, motivate you to grow in a meaningful way, give you space to be vulnerable, and most importantly, inspire you to be your authentic self.

So, let's get to it!

PASSION. 

Before you start anything, you need to want it with every fiber of your being. You need that desire, drive and enthusiasm to carry you all the way through. So how do you find and harness that passion? It’s all about setting your intentions and finding out your WHY. Ask yourself these questions right now: Why did you decide to do this? And what do you ultimately want? Envision yourself achieving your goals and think of what that feels like. You will feel proud of yourself, motivated and confident.

The next step in this process is setting your goals, which will help you get to those end emotions. Sometimes setting big goals can seem overwhelming, so that's why I will always encourage you to start small. Achieving these small goals along the way will help you stay passionate and accomplished throughout your journey. And always remember why you started. If you ever feel like you're burning out or you can’t find the motivation to move forward, remember your WHY!

PATIENCE. 

For all of you big dreamers of success, always remember that good things take time, a whole lot of time. Be patient. We all want things to happen overnight, but you should never be looking to take the fast route with important milestones in your life. In the world in which we live today, especially with everything we see on social media, we frequently need to remind ourselves that what we see online is not always reality. Try your best not to compare your own journey to someone else's. Be patient and stay the course. It’s not only vital to have patience with these chapters of your life, but also to have patience with people. A great tool to practice your patience is listening and giving your full attention to others. Life is a wild and amazing journey, not a destination. It’s so important to approach every day with gratitude. Enjoy the ride, baby!

One of my favorite quotes is, “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it.” Try your absolute best to handle all situations with patience, and you will find your life to be so much more peaceful.

POSITIVITY. 

Sometimes we get so caught up in our own world and forget to have perspective and look at the bigger picture. Understanding and appreciating different perspectives allows us to become more grateful. Being grateful is key to staying positive.

No matter what I am going through, I try to see my situation from an outsider’s perspective. I sometimes need to remind myself I’m healthy, happy and blessed to wake up every day. At the end of the day, you are responsible for your own happiness, and you can create the best version of yourself. Being positive for yourself is just as important as spreading positivity to others. I truly think that the more positive you are, the more success you will achieve. I mean that in any facet of life, fitness, career, relationship, etc. You can accomplish anything with a good attitude. Remember, if you try your best to focus on the positive in any situation, you’ll receive so much light in people and life in general.

PRODUCTIVITY. 

I know that we all have a million things going on, so being productive with your time is absolutely essential to creating a balanced and healthy life. Before I dive into this, there’s one thing I want you to remember: You can do anything, but you can’t do everything. Don’t spread yourself too thin, and don’t beat yourself up when you can't get to it all. You’re human.

Every day you need to make choices. Some things have to take priority over others, and that’s O.K.! I want you to understand that you can fit it in if it's important to you. Maybe an unpopular opinion here, but sometimes work can wait. You only have one life to live and one body. Treat it right because you deserve it. Make sure to take care of your mental health, too. If your head isn’t right, nothing else will be. Take the time to be productive and do what your body and mind need on a given day.

PERSISTENCE. 

The final "P" because it works. . . be persistent! I'm here to remind you that you can do it. You can always keep going, no matter the obstacles that life throws your way. You’re tougher than you think. Remember why you started, and remind yourself that you have made it this far...why stop now? Don’t give up!

Until next time...

xx

Katie

Stay tuned for more of Katie’s Column! Feel free to write in and tell us what you want to hear and WHO you want to hear from! For more Katie, follow her on Instagram!