This is my first blog post…ever…but, of many! I have always been fascinated by blogs and followed blogs of other people. But, I want to you to get to know me, right here on my blog, and why I do what I do - because I love being a Health Coach!

Why do I love it? Why did I chose this path? These are the 5 reasons that I am passionate about my health coaching training and why it has been soooo good for me. In a nutshell…it feels good to be practicing :

• Living with enthusiasm and being engaged in the moment.

  I have generally had a good level of enthusiasm for most things, but not always about the most important thing first…myself. I have learned and continue to practice dumping beliefs that do not serve me well anymore. I really like doing that! Maybe it comes with the 40 + territory where we give less of a s%@& and just want to be who we are…doing anything less is exhausting!

  I have told myself and my kids this often…let’s just be where we are! The place where we are right now or the people we are with, are important...right now. We made a choice to do what we are currently doing or to be with who we are currently with. Let’s BE where we are.

• Eating things that make me feel good, not like crap.

  Practicing mindful eating (using all of my senses) with a pinch of curiosity makes my body feel great. One of my friend’s favorite saying is: “Food is Medicine”. It is so true that we can use our food intake in our body, the best free lab experiment facility in existence, to determine what is the best approach for each of us and our health. There is no one right diet and what’s right for someone else might not be right for you! It’s fun to experiment!

• Moving and get things done!

  Moving my body is another thing that makes me feel great - for me, it can be moving for pleasure (like running outside along the river on a Saturday morning) or purpose (cleaning the house!). I like both but more of the former for sure! I love getting things done and when we create lifestyle habits that increase our energy, we can enjoy a lot more things!

• Embracing a challenge and learning something new - and even more importantly, to connect deeply with the message.

  Trying something different than I have always done has been awesome. A little bumpy on the way, sometimes frustrating, but I keep telling myself…there are no mistakes, only lessons. It is never too late for me to try something new - or maybe it is a thing or an activity that I used to do and tucked away for a while. Trying something new or getting back into something I love, increases my energy! The more deeply I connect with that new or old activity, or maybe it’s a new or old friend, the more positive energy I have to share!

• Meeting new people and sharing ideas!

  We are better together and when I collaborate, I feel like we share the greater message - that we can choose what we do and how we do it. I love this quote from Margaret Mead…”Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world: indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” When I find those groups of people that share their passion and my passion, it creates unstoppable energy - whether it’s at home, work, the gym, church, or wherever!

Investing in myself in this way was a first in a very long time. I leaned in and listened when my coaches and mentors said:

“Get comfortable with the idea of being uncomfortable” (yuck!)

“Love yourself enough to get into alignment now, not later when everything is perfect” (I don’t know…what if I suck?)

“The cave we fear holds the treasure we seek” (really scary…)

And so I did.

I enrolled in and studied a health coaching program through the Health Coach Institute. I met tribe members from all over the world and really leaned into the program. But not at first!

At first, I went to a conference where I didn’t know a soul, saw people milling around from all over the world, really excited about stuff I was still trying to figure out. The first morning I thought…”Oh whew, the break is in 1.5 hours and then I can escape to my room (just for a bit).” Then Stacey and Carey, HCI Founders said, “just try to stay present when you feel like leaving - lean in, not out and see what’s possible.” Argh…ok.

Then, I worked through my first labs and first practice coaching scenarios with my multiple partners…and it was rough. Then, I had my first practice client and I was rough at that too. So, I started to set realistic expectations, with the help of my coaches and mentors…why would I be good at something I was just learning? I had good life experience and study habits, but I had to play the long game here, take small steps and celebrate each of them.

And so it is with our health…we have likely been doing the same things for a long time, whatever that is. Shifting those habits is completely possible if we commit and choose to lean in…not immediately but definitely!

So, yes, this is my first blog! There have been a lot of firsts during the last few years…and the gifts that these firsts have brought, by really feeling uncomfortable and persevering, have brought more into my life than I ever could have imagined…especially the little things that don’t seem like much at the time!

It is an unrealistic expectation to think that we will be good at our firsts or that they will be comfortable. The truth is…sometimes we have not been telling ourselves the truth about what we are capable of. Sometimes we listen to other people’s version of our own truth? How do they know what we are capable of ?

This reminds me of that part in Planes, Trains and Automobiles when someone yells to John Candy and Steve Martin, “You’re going the wrong way!” And John Candy says”He’s drunk, how would he know where we’re going!” And Steve Martin agrees, “Yeah, how would he know!”. Right. Good news…we can choose!