Coffee Talk #171: What no one tells you about change

It’s Tuesday! Grab your cup and let’s start chattin’.

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that we have started the crazy whirlwind of the next month — three fitness trainings, a work retreat, working on the launch of my newest project, and more. Send coffee.

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that I’m really excited to attend this fitness training this weekend. I have a huge idea related to the new style of training and I can’t wait to talk to other fitness professionals to see if it will work. I’ve felt a gap in my services/offerings and I feel pulled to consider offering something like this. That’s super cryptic, but I don’t want to share too much too early in case it doesn’t work.

Related, if we were having coffee together today, I’d ask you, if you take part in my classes or fitness services — what do you want to see? Are there certain styles you love? What motivates you to come to classes?

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that I have been thinking a lot about change. LAUNCH is my word of 2020, and launching brings change. I’m no stranger to change — I was always the new kid in school, have moved 21 times in my life, I’ve had countless different jobs and tasks…making changes is part of who I am as a person. I think there’s something helpful to my changes and ability to make changes that I’m supposed to share with the world, but I’m not sure the form it takes yet.

About change — there’s one thing that no one tells you. We often make ‘changes for the better’ and ‘good riddance’ to the old. Out with the old, in with the new! I love the positivity that shifts and changes make, but even if you’re making a positive change, this thing will happen to you.

When you make a change, remember that there are both good and bad parts of the change. Even if it’s something you’ve needed to achieve, and even if it’s a change you’re  prepared to make, it might not completely satisfy you.

I’ll share this as an example, – when I first started taking fitness classes after college in an attempt to lose weight, I had the mindset that I wanted to lose weight and feel better about myself. I did – I lost about 40 pounds. I met my goal! But I still didn’t feel good about myself. I remember feeling heavy at that time. Even now, I look back at photos of myself during that time and I look super thin but I remember how I felt during that time. I thought that by losing weight and making this major change that I would automatically be happy. I wasn’t. I ended up moving, ending a relationship, and creating a new story for myself. It all ended up great, better than I could’ve imagined, but I had hard lessons to learn about change and meeting my goals.

When we make changes, the bad doesn’t just disappear. And, when we make changes, the good isn’t all-consuming. If there’s something un-aligned deeper inside us, a superficial or surface-level change isn’t going to make the drastic difference we’re looking to achieve.

I offer this perspective because it took me years to understand and realize this truth to change. I’m all about making good changes, but also very aware of the possibilities that changes bring with them. When you can appreciate the good and the bad of changes, then I think you have a solid foundation to keep moving forward!