You Can Always Change
Hey readers, it’s been a minute.
I ran four miles today in what felt like the longest time. It felt so good, but just last week I was telling someone that I really didn’t feel good running. But today, between Gary Vee and Rich Roll, I felt inspired like I used to when 10 miles seemed like nothing. That’s the way it works. One day, you feel this way, then the next, you might (will likely) feel differently.
Our entire lives we’ve been told to “stay in our lane”. You went to school to be a banker? Well, I guess that is what you are now. However, I recently an article in the WSJ that half (or more) of college graduates don’t even use their degree. If you count how I spend most of my hours, I’m included in that. It’s not necessarily a bad or a good thing, but should be eye opening. As the old saying goes, you wouldn’t want to be the same person that you were when you were 18, and personally, I don’t even want to be the exact same person that I was last week.
If you’re doing it right (in my opinion, anyways), you shouldn’t be the same person you were in many regards. The experiences I have, the relationships that come and go, each time I show up for a patient, a student, a client, or read an article or book (even ones that aren’t good), I’m not the same person that I was before. You have to follow what inspires you, and then you can piece all of these pieces of information together to form yourself, to BE more like the person that you want to become. We, including myself, are constantly learning that we do want and what don’t want to be. We can see and feel the aspects of our lives that don’t make us feel good (this could be a job, a friendship, a relationship, a habit that you have, a void or hole in your life that you wish was filled with something else), and see the aspects that do make you feel good (a good run or swim perhaps, meditation, being productive with your morning and not endlessly scrolling, eating more vegetables, eating less sugar).
The point of this is this:
You. Can. Always. Change.
I love the way Gary Vee put it in his podcast I listened to today. You don’t like your job? You can change it. You don’t like your weight? You can change it. You want to have longer hair, shorter hair blonde hair, more confidence, better reading skills, more money, less stress, more control?
You. Can. Change. It.
Of course there are certain things we are born with and certain things that are completely out of our control. However, I would say that for most things, YOU CAN CHANGE THEM. I feel the need to scream that and just shake people to wake them up to this concept. I see patients every time I work that complain to me about their health and why they’re in the hospital, when it’s their own choices that got them there. Or nutrition clients that aren’t getting results because they’re not making the changes I asked, or co-workers that complain about hating their job. It’s exhausting to be around, and quite literally, so draining, negative, and… annoying.
I know that can sound harsh, but it’s true. From a very personal perspective, there are things that I want to change. But what do I do about those aspects? I recognize them, maybe even write them down, research what to do and how to change them, then I cut things out and shift my priorities and I do the work. I work towards each goal one step at a time. I keep them in mind throughout them day and I work towards them. I don’t talk about wanting to change, I work towards it each and every day.
Don’t get me wrong, I have, especially in the last two years, been a queen of wanting to make change, talking about it, and then not doing anything about it. We all go through it because of this one concept: it’s the easier route. It’s easier to complain, and for some, it becomes their identity. But the reality is that I think we all want our identity to be something that isn’t complaining, something that’s in our control. We all have an ideal person in mind, and that is the person we should be working towards and changing for.
But really, this doesn’t just go for goals. Your opinions can change, too. You can ride hard in a political stance on day, then be exposed to something and change your viewpoint. You can want to be super into wellness, then not be as focused on it. Yesterday, I liked longer nails. Today, I don’t. It’s not just big things, it’s everything in your life. I’m not as into teaching yoga as I once was, but I stuck with it for so long because it’s “What I do” and kept buying clothes vintage because it’s “Who I am”.
That’s so shortsighted.
The person I am is absolutely not who I once was. You can change your ideas, your interests, your relationships, your jobs, your EVERYTHING. If you’re living for the approval of others, it’s much harder. If you’re living for you, it’s much easier. Of course you have to consider loved ones in your life, but in the MOST cases and circumstances, you are completely in control of your life, your attitude, your actions, and your happiness.
It’s up to you.
So, who do you want to be? Let me know in the comments below.
XO