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Posts tagged ‘leap despite your fear’

From last one up the mountain to the heart health of an athlete

lori-oct2016

Guess who has the heart health of an athlete? Yep, this is her!

If you struggle with self-care and avoid the doctor, or believe you can’t change your health trajectory, please read on!

Dejavu?! Last week, I found myself in the exact same situation almost six years to the day (Oct. 2010-Oct. 2016). In a a hospital gown at the doctor’s office sitting on the edge of the bed talking with my doctor.

While the scene was the same, the visits and the results were not.

In 2010, I FORCED myself to go to the doctor for a medical exam after a nearly 20-year avoidance of all things medical. I had to have medical clearance to participate in the weight-loss boot camp that I was signed up for in Nov. 2010. Of course, my sheer terror of all things medical and the shame I carried around related to my weight, had me procrastinating and cutting this mandatory doctor’s visit pretty close to the start of the boot camp.

As you can perhaps predict, the actual experience of visiting the doctor for the first time in 20 years wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I had made it out in my head to be (often the case with our fears). Though I had myself worked up to a state of near panic going in so who knows how that affect my blood pressure!

The doctor’s sage advice that stuck in my head from that terrifying visit in 2010: “I’m going to clear you for the weight-loss boot camp, but I want you to keep your competitive spirit in check and be the last one up the mountain.” Read more

All I have to do is drop the banana

movewithchange-simpleDo you ever think about how hard it is to accept change in our lives? How desperately we cling to what we know?

Sometimes we cling out of habit because we feel safe and comfortable where we are. Often we cling to the dream we thought we wanted, even when we know it’s time to let go. And sometimes we cling for dear life, not wanting to see what’s on the other side of change even if we know that change is needed, that it’s good for us, and there is likely something even better on the other side.

Five years ago this month, I was brave enough to leap despite my fear. To let go of the norm and embrace big change in my life. I did so with the hope that prioritizing myself and my health — putting my oxygen mask on before assisting others — would propel me forward. But honestly, I was terrified.

And it was/is awesome! Everything is better on the other side of that fear. It’s where I truly blossomed and continue to blossom five years later. It was the very best decision of my life.

It’s ironic then that sometimes I still find myself struggling to let go of that which no longer serves me. Or at least giving it a good fight. Human nature and years of conditioning, I guess. Which brings me to the monkeys. Read more