Did you have high hopes for 2022? Were you starting to see the sun peaking out behind the clouds, as it were? I know I was.
I had started to see more friends and family, with less apprehension. I was planning for a busy and exciting 2022 at the studio, full of familiar faces and those excited about new beginnings and fresh starts.
And then on Monday, Doug Ford came on the news with his solemn face, and told us we had to close.
Again.
Some saw it coming, I naively didn’t. I thought my kids would go to school and we would have to work within restrictions, but I didn’t think we would have another lockdown. Obviously I was wrong.
I will admit to taking a day to let it settle; to feel sad for a little bit…
I felt it, I experienced it, and now I am ready to move on. If you too were among the sad, frustrated or disheartened, I hope you are ready too.
The fact is, as much as these times are unprecedented, they are also not that different from any other time in our life when are presented with challenges. Challenges always show up, it’s what they do. We want to go around them, over them, under them, avoid them altogether, but the only way to get stronger and more resilient is to face your problems head on and deal with them. The only way is through.
Don’t Strive For Problem Free
Tony Robbins is famously quoted as saying, “Your biggest problem is that you think you shouldn’t have them.”
He’s right. We shouldn’t be striving for a problem free life. A direct result of being alive is that we will have problems. Don’t waste your energy on them, identify them, determine if they are in your control or outside of your control. If you have control, spend time on finding solutions, not on dwelling on the problem or erasing your plan. Remember when I wrote about controlling your controllables? This lockdown is a perfect example. Its a problem, but one I have no control over rights now. I gave it a bit of my energy but the bulk of it I will spend on finding creative solutions to still serve our members, on finding solutions.
So let’s circle back (I have to laugh, that is in the top 5 list of terms that need to be banished, I guess I am not ready to yet!) to the start of this email when I talked about high hopes for 2022. What was it you were hoping would be different? Were you going to exercise more? Lose weight? Drink less? Does this lockdown actually stop you from achieving that? Chances are, if you get to the root of your desire, there are still options available to you to help you achieve it.
Maybe the timing isn’t perfect, or it won’t be as easy or straightforward as it would have been without COVID and these dastardly lockdowns, but it doesn’t mean you can’t do it.
Human beings are always waiting for that perfect time. Why? Maybe because we are genetically wired to seek comfort and avoid discomfort. The initial discomfort of actually getting started and doing the work can easily be avoided if the timing isn’t perfect right?
The problem is, this ALL or NOTHING idea rarely gets us ‘all’, and more often than not leaves us with – nothing. And what a waste that is. You never get to see even a glimpse of your potential if you never try.
Here is the truth.
There is no perfect moment. There never will be.
I mean, some of us have been blessed with those perfect fitness moments when we have a bouncy new pair of sneakers, the sun is shining and our energy is high. Grab those moments and make the most of them. But the reality is, those are few and far between. More often than not, we are working to create those moments. Those moments when we actually are motivated to start. Let alone to keep going.
The neat thing is, the more you work at creating those moments, the less work they become until eventually, you guessed it, they become habit.
So trust me when I say, it isn’t just happening to you. This feeling of wanting to quit, or to not start. It is happening to everyone.
But what is also true for everyone is that all you have to do is start. And by start, I mean INITIATING ACTION. Not only making a decision to start, actually starting. One foot. In front of the other foot. Repeat.
If you had a health goal for 2022 I want you to stop what you are doing right now and in the next 10 minutes, do something that will take you one step closer to your goal. START.
Remember, there is no perfect time. There is only now. Which I guess makes now, lockdown or no lockdown, the perfect time!
Want to become the healthiest, fittest, strongest version of you?
Most of you know that consistent movement, healthy eating, quality sleep, a positive mindset and a supportive community are essential components of getting and staying healthy. Yet applying that knowledge is a challenge for many.
Let go of the concept that you should be able to do this alone.
I know you can start – and stay moving – on your own but it sure helps when someone gives you a push or a pull. Let us help you apply that knowledge so you can, once and for all, lose body fat, get stronger, move better, reduce pain and improve your health in 2022.
If you are a current member, write me back and let me know if you have any health goals that you want us to help you stay accountable to or need help getting started on. If you are a future member, let us know how we can help get you started on your healthiest year yet!
Keep smiling everyone.
Christine XO