If someone said to you that your life would be exactly the same 5 years from now, would you be happy or do you hope that somehow your life will be different?
Two and a half years ago I decided it was time I lose some weight. I was unhappy with my size and unhappy looking at myself in the mirror. I knew that I needed to change in order to achieve that goal. Clearly I wasn't going to lose weight by eating pasta every night and snacking constantly.
In that time, I have experienced an ongoing series of changes in my life. Obviously the big two were changing my diet and adding exercise. But even within those areas, things have changed. As the weight came off, my goals changed as well. I no longer just wanted to lose weight, I wanted to get fit. Then, it wasn't just about being fit, I wanted to be strong.
When you start making drastic changes in your life, you quickly find out who your real friends are. They are the ones that are supportive and help you along the way even though they may not choose the same choices as you have. I was lucky to have a group of fantastic friends and an understanding husband who saw all the good my changes were making for me as a person and for us as a family. But trust me, not all of my friends were that understanding and so some of my friends changed as well.
My idea of exercise used to be taking a kick boxing class or maybe taking a 1 mile walk. I never thought that two years later I'd be lifting weights, running obstacle course races, and running on trails through the woods for miles. I never thought that because two years ago, I couldn't do that, and even if I physically could, I never would have. If something was uncomfortable, I just didn't do it. Obviously sitting on the couch and watching tv is easier than running (something I had never done before). But in order for me to reach my goals, I had to change.
In September I'll be running another Spartan race. This summer I'll be training for that race. The other day I went for a trail run with a few friends from the gym. This is only the second time I have ever done this. If you knew the pre-2013 me, you know this is not something I would ever volunteer for let alone help organize. And while this was part of my Spartan training, something great happened while I was there. I wasn't just training for a race, I was really enjoying myself. I found myself looking at the flowers in the woods and taking in the beauty of the scenery and thinking “How did I get here? How did I become this person who enjoys running through the woods up a mountain?” If you asked me two years ago where I thought I would be now, this was definitely not what I would have pictured. But the last two years I have embraced change (maybe not as willingly in the beginning, but much more so now).
So here is today's lesson, one I learned over the last couple of years from some really great people who have helped me along the way. If you aren't happy with something in your life, it isn't going to change itself. Sit down and be honest with yourself. What is your goal? What do you want to change? Now list 2 things you can do to make that change happen. Here is the hardest part- you have to decide that you want to do those things to make that change. No one can force you to change but you. And it's going to be uncomfortable. So unless you are committed to that change, it's not going to happen. You are in control of who you become and if you change nothing, nothing will change.
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