When was the Last time you challenged yourself?

Y’all  😭 I thought I was getting stronger.

I’ve been on a journey to incorporate more consistent strength training into my exercise routine over the last two-ish years. It’s been marred with injuries (like an almost broken tailbone— not from working out, but a setback nonetheless) transitions, and exploration, but in the last few months, I finally started to notice myself getting stronger.

Then my routine was shaken up again when I moved back to Colorado a couple of weeks ago (did you know??). So I’ve set out yet again to figure out a new strength training routine. In my first week, I tried some safe workouts that I knew would be familiar (like Pilates) and some new ones (like Orange Theory). But all the workouts I did last week I liked.

And then this week came Mecha. Monday morning at 7 AM, I showed up feeling strong and excited for class, but as the instructor started to explain all the exercises we were going to do, my heart started racing, my stomach dropped, and I had the instinct to run (out of class, not like run exercise). That doesn’t happen to me too often, but I literally felt the need to escape the room. Just writing about it right now makes me want to laugh-cry.

But I stayed. And did (or tried) most of the exercises. I couldn’t do everything (hello pull-ups), but I could do some things I thought there was no way I’d be able to do (think: hip thrusts with 105 pounds or barbell landmine with 45 pounds)! But I was so proud of myself for staying and going through it despite the discomfort and challenge.

And yet…

I bought a three class intro pack, so I have to go to two more classes, and my nervous system is making me think I should not go. Just thinking about showing up to the next class makes me want to real cry (not laugh-cry). But I’m going to go because when I think about my goal to get stronger, I know those results are on the other side of these classes. Yes, it’s uncomfortable, and yes, it’s probably not the most enjoyable form of exercise I could do, but the satisfaction I get from pushing through the challenge and the growth (of my muscles and my mind) are ultimately what I want to get from my workouts.

And I remind myself that it’ll maybe get a little easier the more I go. (Anyone remember ice baths?)
__

I’ve been been thinking a lot lately about change. As a wellness coach, I talk to a lot of people who want more energy, want to lose weight, want better relationships, want better sleep, etc., but they’re not willing to make the changes necessary to have those experiences they desire.

Somehow, they think that they can keep doing what they’ve been doing (which put them on the struggle bus in the first place) and their life and health will eventually get better.

But it’s just not gonna happen. If you want your life to change, you have to change your life.

Change is hard. Living a healthy lifestyle is hard. The world nowadays conspires against our best efforts to make it really challenging for us to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I’m not going to get on my soap box about that today but I'll share more about that soon.

We are living in an era of instant gratification that makes people not want to put forth effort for anything because there’s usually a quicker, “easier” solution available that gives us a hit of dopamine and makes us think it’s the right decision, if only for a moment. We need to feel satisfied for a moment. We can’t stand to feel the discomfort of boundaries and limits and saying no. But quick fixes never work long-term.

The only way to truly live in alignment with your purpose, feel fulfilled, and experience your optimal life is to do the hard things until they become easier…and then go find the next hard thing that’ll continue to push you to grow and evolve, and so on.

It’s not always going to be fun or something you necessarily want to do. But sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to do in the moment if it’s going to yield the life we want to live at some point in the future. And the satisfaction of doing something we know is good for us even though it’s hard in the moment can be satisfaction enough to keep going. Like a really hard workout class.
__
​
Here’s another example. I was listening to an interview about weight loss drugs with a neuroscientist who runs a weight loss company focused on behavioral health for her patients. She does not prescribe these drugs. Instead she prescribes intensive lifestyle prescriptions to help clients overcome food addiction and transform their lifestyles. She said one thing she requires of her clients is to stop eating sugar…forever.

My first thought was “😱 no way would I do that…”

I used to believe that extreme lifestyle changes like this were never necessary and wouldn't last, but sometimes, they are. If I knew that stopping eating sugar would solve a lot of the problems I was experiencing in my life—even if I would miss it and be sad I couldn’t eat delicious things and worried about feeling so restricted—I would do it (with support, of course). I'm sure it would be challenging at first, but as soon as I started to see my issues fall away and crave sugar less, it'd be a lot easier to keep going. The pros would far outweigh the cons.

I’m not telling you to stop eating sugar—not everyone needs that drastic of a change—but I am inviting you to consider the things you’ve been resisting because they’re “too restricting” or “too time intensive” or “too hard.”  There will always be trade-offs to making changes to your lifestyle.

Yes, it’ll be hard.

Yes you’ll have to give up things you once enjoyed that brought you some sense of satisfaction.

And yes, it’ll be worth it. Your entire experience of life will be elevated. You’ll feel better physically with more energy, less aches and pains, and more confidence. Mentally, your outlook on life will improve because you’ll feel better. Spiritually, you’ll feel more connected to your purpose.

So the sacrifice is worth it. It can be hard to believe it’s possible to feel better when you’re stuck on the struggle bus, but I guarantee you it is.

So how do you do it. The first step is to get clear on what you want to experience and why. Then, you get comfortable with being uncomfortable for a little bit. It’s not easy, but it can be simple and easeful with the right information and support.


Take the next step towards your Well Life with a proven strategy: The Easeful Living Blueprint

The Easeful Living Blueprint is my coaching program for purpose-driven women who want to make an impact in the world and serve others but have an empty tank and need support figuring out how to refill it.

In the program, you’ll map out a blueprint for a more easeful life—one where you are doing more of what fills you up and less of what doesn’t, so you can live well now and for decades to come.

We start by defining your vision and values—we have to figure out what’s most important to you and where you want to go before we chart out a path to get there. Then, I help you set goals, come up with action steps, overcome challenges (there will always be barriers to success), and stay accountable to your vision of your optimal life and health.

This is a fully customized program, designed to support you in the areas of your well-being and life that need the most love. We can work on anything from diet and exercise to sleep and mindfulness to building community and more.

You’ll have everything you need, including tools, information, and one-on-one support, to help you meet your goals and transform your life.

If you know you're ready, or you know you need to change your lifestyle but don’t know where to begin, let’s talk! I’d love to hop on a free clarity call with you to discuss your challenges and how I can support you on your journey.