Do it for YOU!
You owe yourself the love you so freely give others. Years ago I discovered that I was a people pleaser which to me meant that I would only do things to just make others happy. Shortly after college, I decided to fix that as I had a love/hate relationship with Musical Theater. The auditions, the callbacks, and the rejections of shows didn’t bother me but the disappointment on everyone’s face when I said I’m going to pause on Musical Theater was heartbreaking. Staying true to myself, I decided to pursue a craft that brought me joy, Pilates. Watching my clients progressively get stronger and wiser in how they worked out felt like I was making an impact. There was only one issue with Pilates, I worked for a gym so it started to feel like a sales job and even though it brought me a pretty solid income I decided to go boutique so I could focus in more on my clients’ sessions. The growth through this particular stage of my life was fascinating because I taught a lot more hours, my creativity blossomed, I wrote an abundance of songs, but I found I had a lot less time for me. I was always told in improvisation and stage work to say YES as it is an important tool to positively share the scene with your partner. Saying yes to everything doesn’t always work well in real life. In fact, by the age of 28 I taught 35-40 hours a week completely rundown, eating takeout most days, spiteful about my constant commute, and dissatisfied with where I was at both in career and relationships. I needed to make changes to my lifestyle ASAP!
My Microbiome was all out of whack so I made the decision to start small and try the elimination diet. When I reintroduced certain foods back into my system I found out what was making my stomach hurt and ironically it was the consumption of three things: Fat Free dairy, beans and meat. From there I went on a journey researching different theories of what our gut needs in an every day diet. Dr. Mark Hymen resonated with me as he is a functional medicine physician who believes that what we put in our mouth ultimately causes chronic disease. His book “Food, What the Heck should I Eat?” is a great guide to understanding how each food group can effects our bodies and informs the reader about the science behind it. The book inspired me to buy a better grade of meat and find recipes that not only excite my eyes but my gut too. When I started to see a change in my energy I made more adjustments to my lifestyle: reducing my commute, creating music for myself, saying no to classes, meditating 3-5 min a day, and making time for important relationships.
If I would have been told that I needed to change, nothing would have happened. As soon as I took ownership that I was extremely unhappy, I opened my mind to trying new things and took risks which ultimately enhanced my life. What are you currently willing to do to enhance your life?
