There's Nothing to Fear but the Unknown...

I worked with a small business owner yesterday, she is a Massage Therapist, she worked through a hospital and over time has started working partly on her own.

She has already made the transition from entirely working for others, to partly working for herself.  She loves working for herself, it is the part of her routine that gives her the most enjoyment, the more fulfillment, and it could easily reward her better.

The really exciting part is that on her own she isn't limited by the hours she's allowed to have, or the pay they want to give her, she can be unlimited in her ability to find a better way.

But she was hesitant to let go of the familiar position.  It felt safe.

We talked about what her goals were, for her life, for her business.  We talked about what's currently stopping her from reaching those goals, what obstacles are in her way.

And do you know what happened? She realized that the Goals were NOT that far out of reach, that the things she were afraid of weren't really scary...but they seemed scary because they were out there in the dark, unknown.

It's hard to identify what the path forward is, if you've left it completely in the dark.

Now she has a lot of hope, now she has a vision, and now she can move forward.

The hard part isn't letting go of the security you have, it's really evaluating each problem and solution, and finding out that for as many problems as we have there are just as many answers.

I would love to help you set your own goals and work through the darkness.  We can shine light onto your path forward and let the unknown be known.

Are You a Big Dog in a Small Backyard?

When you think of a big dog what do you think of?  When you think of a big dog in a back yard what do you think of?

There's two types in my mind, there's one Bulldog, massive, slobbery...passed out with it's tongue flopping out of its mouth.

I had that dog.  She was a great dog, but we eventually gave her up so that she could be with a family that had the time to take care of her, making sure she got enough play and exercise.  That was a sad feeling, to have to admit that we couldn't take proper care of a dog...one that was loyal and that we loved so much.

But we knew what was right. We let her go...be a dog.

Everybody has at least one person in the neighborhood with a dog that is GREAT when they get a lot of exercise, and TERRIBLE when it doesn't.  An Akita or Pitbull or German Shepard.  A really helpful friendly dog...that gets shut into a small gated back yard...and it gets antsy. It wants to play and have fun and see the family and go for a walk.

And some of those dogs owners get too busy, and don't admit their problem.

But this is an analogy, and my question still stands...Are you a Big Dog in a Small Backyard?  Are you falling to lethargy? Ever find yourself hearing the schlick sound as you pick your head up off the desk?

Or maybe you're just tensed up...a caged animal looking for adventure.

Or maybe you're a dog owner that should be more available for Walkies, or find someone who is.

I suddenly want to start a dog walking business. But then again...I don't know that I love dogs nearly as much as I love my dogs.

There's Nothing to it but to DO it!

I woke up feeling terribly, I tried sleeping in and that didn't work out very well.

I decided to get up and start a slow sad shamble of the "daily routine" during which I managed to work out enough kinks, solve enough problems, that I was able to come to a single actual problem that was the major result of my issues: I had a ton of mucus in my sinuses, my nose was starting to run...and I realized it had probably been running all night longs...

I had a case of snot belly.

I need to start taking Guaifenesin in the evenings to prevent this in the future....but now I feel back in the game, eating a delicious lunch, then for a great workout.

Today we start Intervals! For those of you not "in the know" with the fitness scene Intervals started becoming a big thing near the end of the 90's early 2000's.  People have called them a lot of different things, they've used them for a lot of different reasons, and they've used a lot of different activities to achieve these results...but the idea is simply this:

Do an exercise in a light capacity for a minute or so, get into a stead rhythm.  Then for 15 seconds go ALL OUT BALLS TO THE WALLS OMG THIS IS CRAZY I MIGHT DIE....then go easy for another minute or so....and then GO SUPER CRAZY RUN LIKE THERE IS A BEAR BEHIND YOU AND THE ONLY OTHER PERSON WITH YOU IS LIKE WAY AHEAD OF YOU okay the bear gave up, but you better keep going so you can get some distance, plus we don't want you to have a heart attack, so calm down.

Wait a minute! Did I just provide a real world situation that describes a scenario in which this type of activity would be natural, and NECESSARY!? Why yes I did!  It seems that this type of exercise would have been very TYPICAL of hunter gatherer homosapiens.  This kinda stuff is in our DNA.

So I went from not being able to get out of bed, to out running bears.  In just a few hours.

That's the power of DOING THINGS, of a positive mental attitude, and then just putting in WORK.

Let's go hard!

(btw, down another pound this week!)

You have to close a door, if you're going to step outside.

I quit my day job.

I put in a two week notice after an incident in which I felt I was treated rather unfairly. I worked for the next week, and then a far worse incident occurred, which also led to me losing income because customers left.

It was a positive experience. A few of the cooks degloved and shook my hand.  A few of the servers hugged me and wished me well.  The customers I had at the time were already almost done, I apologized to them for any inconvenience, and they tipped me cash and wished me well.

Now I'm looking to the future, and looking to make a real difference. I have been hiding in a cave, and I have finally stepped out into the sun.

In that same way I have been hiding under layers of fat my entire life, and I'm shedding them at speed again.  I am two weeks into the Lean Eating Coaching Program and I am measurably smaller in all ways. I feel great, the workouts are pretty neat, though I don't know how they change next week.  I hope the next step is a bit more exciting than pre-conditioning :)

All is well and I look forward with Optimism.