Fight, flight ... or FLOW.

How do YOU deal with life's hardest circumstances? What doesn't kill us makes us stronger... but only if we CHOOSE to respond in a way that propels us forward. We DO have a choice. Tragedy of any kind can change us, traumatize us and cause us to go the rest of our lives fearing the unexpected. ---Or--- It could quite possibly make our lives... BETTER. Imagine the bottom dropping out of your uncomplicated life. Sure, we complain about our imperfect lives: The bills piling up, careers not meeting our expectations, the kids acting up, the in-laws coming to visit... But it's rare that any of these day-to-day "challenges" wake us up and demand that we grab hold of a drastically different perspective. How LOSS leads to the embracing of LIFE. When her husband of 9 years was killed in a small plane crash, leaving her with children just 1 and 3, Michelle Steinke-Baumgard saw it as a REVELATION. Embracing her love of fitness, she utilized the healing properties of her own endorphins as a tool for her personal grief journey. A NEW PURPOSE was born. Titled One Fit Widow, the name of Michelle's business became a symbol to anyone who had experienced loss but was determined to live a full and meaningful life. Michelle knew that she wanted to take the label of "Widow" and give it a face-lift. Ridding it of previous negative connotations, thanks to Michelle, it now has new meaning. On Today's Show... All too often it takes a tragic situation for us to see how blessed we really are. Why wait until we are presented with a traumatic circumstance or the loss of a loved one before we decide to REALLY LIVE? Today, Michelle will be joining us to share her very authentic journey into widowhood and her powerful perspective of living an inspirational life after loss. Today's Guest 44691 206199182855689 1316067552 n Meet Michelle Steinke-Baumgard! Michelle is the founder and CEO of 1FW Training and the One Fit Widow Nonprofit. After losing her husband in 2009, Michelle found a new love of fitness as a grief coping mechanism. Michelle decided to leave her corporate job to become a personal trainer and help change the lives of others dealing with life’s hardest circumstances. Michelle’s online virtual training company has over 2000 current members around the world and her foundation works with widows to help them find a new love for themselves and fitness, post loss. Starting in the fall 2015, Michelle will be kicking off “Live the List” where her foundation will help fund widows bucket list dreams to honor their late spouse. Michelle has been recently highlighted in Shape & Fitness Magazine as well as several other publications. Michelle writes for numerous local and national publications including the Huffington Post and has contributed to articles for Prevention Magazine. Michelle’s online training company offers everything from weekly trainer written workouts for all ability levels, widows and non-widows alike, and personal customized training plans. In addition to her virtual training business, Michelle recently launched her own nonprofit focused on helping widows and widowers complete bucket list dreams to honor their late spouse while moving boldly into their future.