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I was drained and weary, absolutely consumed by my anxiety and worry about things that will most likely never come to fruition. Every thought in my head was a worst-case scenario and I couldn’t escape it. I hate the feeling. As I thought about it, this was certainly not the first time in my life that this feeling arose and stayed with me way past it’s welcome. As I broke it down to my husband, I tried to remember where I was and what I was doing or feeling each time in the past couple of decades I had this unrelenting anxiety and then it hit me…it’s change. Most humans have a hard time with change, big or small life changes, good or bad and apparently, I have an even harder time than some.
I just left my full time, stable income with great benefits to venture out and chase a dream of working with my husband, following our passion, and doing what we love while helping others become their best selves. Sounds exciting, right? It is exciting, for the first time in my life, my job is doing what I love, what I think about in the quiet moments…I literally dream exercises. I know it sounds weird but it’s true, I’ll wake up with a vision for a variation of a core exercise and not even know what to call it. It’s where I belong. So why did I feel like this? Why did I feel so out of place? So vulnerable? Why was I so scared? Because change sucks.
I can look back throughout my entire adult life and find each time I was going through a struggle, allowing myself to fall victim to anxiety and depression, one common thread was always there…change! I left the comfortable arms of my family home at 18 to go to college 2.5 hours away. I was so excited!! I was an “adult”, ready to start my life, make my own decisions and work hard for what I wanted. It was really exciting, for about 5 days, until I realized that the reality was there was no going back. I was an “adult”, I had to start my life, to make my own decisions and work hard for what I wanted...on my own. Change brings growth but the process is hard no matter what. Eventually, I made a lot of good friends, fell into my class, work, party routine and while I still missed my family, I loved everything about college and those experiences help to shape the person I am today.
Change, good or bad throws off your routine. There are a thousand what if’s and not all of them with positive outcomes. The struggle we go through while trying to enact change can actually create an environment in which we don’t want to change at all. It’s too hard, it’s easier to wrap ourselves up in our own ordinary comfortable lives and even though we know change can launch us into developing into our best selves, the process to get there seems daunting and sometimes the struggle too debilitating. So, we give up. I could have packed my stuff up and moved back to my parent’s house to attend school in my hometown. Just as I could have justified staying in my comfortable career, not making a bit of a difference in anybody’s life day in and day out. I could decide the struggle in the process to change is too much and go back to my old career in a different capacity, but I would someday regret it, just as I would have regretted all of the experiences in college I would have missed by not allowing the process of change and growth.
Not all changes are huge but even small change can bring about growth in some aspect of our lives, making us better versions of ourselves, helping us realize our purpose and to live our fullest lives. Almost everybody I talk to comes in wanting to change their bodies in some way, to lose weight, gain stamina or muscle, improve posture, etc. And almost everybody after the first week realizes that change in its initial stage is hard. It’s hard to change your eating habits, your routine to begin including time for exercise, your mind set regarding your own body and what it can or can’t do. I challenge you to look back at your life, at some of the changes you’ve made and how those changes, once the struggle has passed have shaped you and have allowed you to excel into the person you are today. A change in fitness routine and diet is no different, yes, there are struggles while you work to change your body and your mindset around your body but struggling through the process WILL eventually become your victory and you will achieve your goals if you subscribe to the process of change.
The good news is, Unbroken Fitness Solutions can help encourage you through the toughest part of your change so you can come out the other side having met your initial fitness goals and ready to take on your next challenge in life. Check us out online www.unbrokensd.com or give us a call to schedule your free consultation.
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