You hear your trainers say it all the time in class: “Why did you decide to show up today?” It’s meant to be motivational, to make you feel inspired by yourself, to keep you in it when you’d rather quit. When you know your why, you don’t focus on the pain or the fatigue. Your focus shifts to how badass it is that you show up to change your body and choose a happy life. And those tiny shifts in perspective during your class bleed into major shifts in your entire life.

For whatever reason, sometimes understanding our why doesn’t come so easily. Maybe you haven’t tried it before or you think you don’t care that much or you’re running through the motions on autopilot. My guess is that no matter what you assume your why is, if you haven’t checked in recently, you don’t actually know. Our bodies and our lives change daily, so we have to stay on top of our internal barometer. Checking in with our why keeps us focused and makes sure we’re headed toward the right goals.

So check in with yourself. Here’s your step-by-step process to find your why and make every single workout better:

• find a quiet space + five minutes: You don’t need lots of space or time. Lock yourself in the bathroom, close your door at work, take the stairs up to the office instead of the elevator, or do this during the cooldown of your classes this week. All you need to do is find a few minutes and some quiet.

• take three deep breaths: Slow down your mind by calming down your breath. Breathe in deeply through the nose and out the mouth. Make your exhale audible as you empty your lungs of every last drop of air.

• envision yourself after class: During the cool down, what are the thoughts that are running through your head when you’re really present? Not your checklist, your happy thoughts. It could be that you surprised yourself, you’re proud of yourself, you’re energized. You could feel calmer, more patient or uplifted. Notice the thoughts that make you feel the best.

• ask yourself why: Why do those thoughts make you feel so good? What are other times those feelings appear in your life? What are they linked to? Why are those thoughts and feelings important to you? How do they improve your life? How do they make you feel about yourself?

• label it + use it: When you’ve answered those questions, you’ve found your why. Distill it down to one word: peace. Or one reason: I’m a better partner. Make it simple and easy to remember when life gets in the way. Then when you come back to class, pull it out as your secret weapon. Second side of your scorpion series: Use your why. Getting to class first thing in the morning: Use your why. Holding your plank four counts longer: Use your why.

Knowing your why is a powerful tool to use in and out of class. It’s what will keep you motivated when you need it the most and train your brain to habitualize the positive, not the negative. Check in with yourself at least once a month and see where you are. Chances are knowing your why will get you further than you could have ever imagined.

photo credit: George Evan Photography

Get an inside look into celebrity stylist (and kickass Triber) Ashley Avignone’s workouts at bari. SELF editor, Melissa Ventosa Martin, joined Ashley for a barimicro privé session and talked all things fitness, fashion and style. Read the full story here.

Happy hump day, Tribe! In need of a little mid-week inspiration and positivity? Here’s a round up of the little things that are making us happy this week.

—coast-to-coast bari guest teaching week(s)! This week, bari Tribeca is hosting bari Newport’s (and NYC OG) Kara, and Tribeca trainer Kat is guest teaching at bari Newport! Next up, Courtney is shipping out to Newport Beach for TWO WEEKS of bari butt kicking. East meets west, Tribe meets Tribe — life is good. Don’t miss out on the chance to sweat with these bari all stars; check out your studio’s class schedule and sign up!

—seeing bari triber + supermodel linda vojtova in shape magazine! Check out the January/February issue for the scoop on Linda’s daily bari workouts + an incredible fitness fashion spread (styled by another bari Triber, Audrey Slater!).

—having way too much fun at bari summit’s photoshoot with mikifoto.

—will ferrell lip syncing “drunk in love.” To quote Jimmy Fallon: “There’s no unseeing that.”

—jimmy kimmel’s latest “mean tweets” edition.

Birthday rules: eat cake for breakfast, have as much wine as you want, rock playlists that scream “IT’S MY BIRTHDAY.” Listen to Sarah Hackwith’s feel-good birthday micro playlist. It starts with Usher’s “I Don’t Mind,” so you know it’s going to be a good one. Happy birthday, Sarah!

Happy hump day, Tribe! In need of a little mid-week inspiration and positivity? Here’s a round up of the little things that are making us happy this week.

—#failproof2015 endorphins. They just won’t quit, and we’re not mad about it. We’re not sure whether we can credit the failproof calendars (SO. GRATIFYING.), the collective air of “let’s kill it” in the studios or the awesome program, but staying on track and pushing ourselves harder than we have in a while feels so good. Also, some of you have already done your halfway barirx check-up consults, and… HOLY RESULTS. Keep up the great work, failproofers!

—#SOTU #POTUS swagger. (Or to translate into non-hashtagese, State of the Union President of the United States swagger.) Let’s all give a round of applause for last night’s ad-libbed zinger from President Obama. You go, Glen Coco.

—Lulitonix Black Magic. Because activated charcoal is so hot right now. If you haven’t tried this superfood elixir, it’s delicious (kind of like magical lemonade) and totally sexy. Grab it from the bari fridge in NYC!

—The New Yorker’s rebuttal to The Times’ “To Fall In Love With Anyone, Do This” piece. Perfectly titled: “To Fall Out of Love, Do This.” Read it here, and if you dare, run through the 36 questions that “no one in a relationship should actually ask” with your loved one.

—This monkey love. Warning: You will Google your local laws re: owning a pet monkey/strongly consider breaking them after watching this.

A video posted by ZWF Miami (@zwfmiami) on Jan 19, 2015 at 9:04pm PST

Did you catch us on Good Morning America this morning? GMA host Mara Schiavocampo stopped by to get the scoop on our cutting-edge ultrasound measurement system, BodyMetrix, from trainer Courtney. And Triber Diem, who has used the system to strategize and track her weight loss journey at bari, shared her story and results. Watch the segment below.

The BodyMetrix system is the most precise way to measure your body composition and track your progress. How? It uses ultrasound to accurately measure fat thickness and calculate body fat percentage and weight distribution. Call or email your local studio to schedule your barirx consult, which includes measurements and fitness prescription from a bari expert ($50).

We’re so thrilled that bari Newport Beach was included in Riviera Magazine’s Best of Orange County issue as the reader’s choice favorite workout! Congratulations to our incredibly hard working (and good looking) bari Newport team, and the biggest thank you ever to our Newport Beach Tribers for choosing to sweat with us every day!

This post was originally published as part of a guest series on Glowing Co.

“What do you want to do when you grow up?”

When we’re kids, we answer this question with reckless abandon for logic, feasibility or finance; we choose something that sounds fun, cool or luxurious and we wholeheartedly declare: I want to be an actress/brain surgeon/president/astronaut/professional ice cream taster.

As we mature, we start to think about what makes sense for our lives. What will make me enough money to live the life I want to live? What am I good at, and where does that fit in this world? We think logically, but I don’t think we ever really abandon this thirst for passion. We want to do something that’s ours — something that, when we answer the question “what do you do?,” people nod and think “of course, that’s so you.” We want to wake up and feel excited about our work; we want to be able to say “x” is my passion.

A lot of people do have a passion, a calling, a talent that they were born to do. If you’re passionate about something, do it. And do it with passion.

I do not have a passion or a calling, and most people I know don’t. I think as a culture we are dangerously training ourselves and others to “find our passion,” and what is happening is people are unsatisfied with what they’re currently doing while they pursue an unrequited quest. Searching for “your passion” — like there’s this solitary skill or field you’ve been called to — will make your head spin (which, for the record, is not conducive to productivity).

This is not to say passion should not be part of your equation. In fact, passion is a quintessential ingredient to a happy life. But passion is not exclusive to the chosen ones who have a calling or a passion.

What happens when you stop searching for passion and simply live and act passionately? You actually do wake up excited to take on your day.

That’s what I do each and every day. People assume it’s easy for me to work out every day and eat in-season greens and have a spinach juice for breakfast – simply because I own a fitness company. The truth is I work just as hard as everyone else to stay healthy: tricking/rewarding my mind to get myself to bari for my daily sweat session or order a salad from the menu instead of the gnocchi. I also draw inspiration from my bari tribe and test tips and tricks from the bari blog.

I chose fitness and health because it’s something that is exciting to me and because I know every time I help someone choose health I am also helping them be a little happier. I chose fitness and health because it was a big part of my life, and a part I really enjoyed. I chose fitness and health because I thought there was more we could be doing.

And that’s a very fulfilling way of spending each and every day, surrounded by a product that changes lives, people I love and a culture I believe in. It’s something I am passionate about. And it took me taking a break racking my brain trying to discover my passion to stumble upon this thing I’m truly passionate about.

Welcome to the first humpday of 2015! You’re officially halfway through your first week of #failproof2015, so we’re giving you a virtual pat on the back in the form of this awesome playlist. Listen, get amped up for your sweat sessions, win at life (or, at the least, #failproof2015).

We’re thrilled to be featured on Lulu and Lattes by Amy Selling! You can read Amy’s review of bari here, and her Best of 2014 round up which names bari Summit as “Favorite Overall Workout.”