The world has had me in a creative funk lately. I have also gone back to the studio and teaching kickboxing classes, which means life is shifting again. This idea of “new normal,” “old normal,” “normal normal,” has me thinking a lot.
In the fitness world people come into the studio looking to build healthy habits, lose weight, tone up, reduce stress, and improve stamina. Many times these people have experienced failure in their fitness or health routines, which ultimately destroys their confidence in obtaining a healthy lifestyle. In turn, they begin to tell themselves “weight loss is hard,” “working out is boring,” “they don’t have time to cook,” etc. Unfortunately, these stories they tell themselves get reinforced each time they decide to start a new healthy routine but allow the old bad habits to take control.
What if, I told you one of the biggest ways to actually feel successful is to shift your perspective? What do I mean? With the world shut down and reopening in 2020 we have had to experience all kinds of shifts in our daily routines. These shifts are a change of perspective. Why not apply these same shifts to our health, creating a “new normal,” or the normal that you have always really wanted to strive for but quit.
I know, you may be thinking, “Shelley this sounds difficult. I don’t know how to create a New Normal for my health.” And I am here to tell you that the first step is actually way easier than you anticipate. This idea begins with you rebranding yourself. In the past you told yourself “weight loss is hard.” That is how you branded the idea. What if you decide that this time you brand yourself as a “healthy person.” By declaring this as your new identity, you will do the things a healthy person does. You will move, you will eat nutritious food, you will take care of your body. Each time you make a decision about going to workout, eat, or rest, you will make that decision based on what you, the “healthy person” does.
Personally for me, I have rebranded myself several times, from athlete to scholar to athlete to healthy mom. Each one of these was a shift in my perspective. As it shifted I was able to find success and rewards, the biggest being gaining confidence.
Seven years ago when I took my first kickboxing class, I was determined to feel like an athlete. I trained like an athlete. I ate (80% of the time) like an athlete to fuel myself for my training. As a result, my body looked like that of an athlete. Then four years ago, my identity had to shift again. I had just became a mom. As many ladies understand, mom bodies are one of the hardest things to tone and tighten. One of my other issues is that I didn’t know my identity any more. I wasn’t just an athlete. I was a mom. Therefore, I had to recreate what I wanted my version of “athletic mom” to look like. It took time. I also realized that certain things were more important than flat abs and ripped muscles. I wanted energy to keep up and play with the kids. I wanted to eat healthy foods to help my kids learn about the importance of a balanced diet. I wanted to move in order to have the strength to pick up my kids effortlessly.
For the past four years (and another kid later), I have been living the “athletic mom” identity. Some results of the athlete like pre-baby weight or muscle mass, took two years to achieve. But the most important thing is that this identity is someone I am proud of.
Moral of the story, rebrand yourself to change your perspective, which will change your actions and your actions ultimately determine your success.
