Have You Lost Your New Year’s Resolutions?

Roseanne Peña

by Roseanne Peña, Live At Choice Starfisher Coach

Is there something you’ve been thinking of doing and haven’t taken action to get it done? Have you ever felt overwhelmed to the point of getting stuck or resigning not to do anything at all? I have, too, and I’d like to share what I discovered on my Live At Choice journey from putting off my health to making it a priority.

I’ve been mindful of the significance of ‘living a healthy lifestyle’ for many years: eat protein and vegetables, eat less processed food, and exercise, but the value in being committed to all of the above was not present. I viewed exercise as a way to ‘get in shape’ and not something I needed to commit to. It was just a temporary solution – a way to get me in a bikini by summertime.

Early last year, I had a medical procedure that went terribly wrong. Fortunately, I recovered with few repercussions; however, after 8 weeks of not being able to walk, I groaned at the thought of returning to circuit training. My thought was, “If I can’t do it all the way, I won’t do it at all.” I resigned to the idea that I wasn’t ready to exercise. During the course of my recovery, I met my partner and we romanced our relationship. We ate out 2 or 3 times a week and maybe 3 times a day on weekends with little or no exercise.

All this time, I had been daydreaming about kickboxing. In fact, I had been dreaming about it for years. I could see it clearly. I imagined my garage converted into a kickboxing gym, I imagined buying additional equipment; I visited local sports stores and put items on a wish list. I imagined teaching and training with my son but I never fulfilled the dream.

Throughout the 9-month period, I experienced significant weight gain, fatigue, muscle tension, joint pain, and mental stress. I was miserable. I didn’t want to get up in the mornings to go to work. The thought of sitting at my desk and experiencing pain and tension was debilitating. The pain consumed my focus. Where I experienced joy in relationship, I experienced sudden irritability. The severity of my physical and mental stress became very apparent.

About a month ago, I read a quote from a book that stated, “If you can imagine it, why are you not doing it?”  It hit me – I had been IMAGINING a lot in my life and not doing anything about it. Was I really resigned to give up my health and happiness? My mentor, Belanie Dishong, said in an advanced level Live At Choice workshop, “There are only two things that create action: value or pain. Unfortunately, more people seem to be motivated to action from pain than from value.” I was clear I had reached my pain threshold, and it was more than I could handle. I began a reality check and revisited the goals I aspire to achieve, the places I’d like to visit, the things I’d like to do five, ten, twenty years from now. The value of my health became crystal clear. I was left with one last question to ask myself, “What action am I willing to take to have all that I desire to experience in life?”

I am now enrolled at a local kickboxing gym training 3 to 4 times a week. The intensity of it feels great and I am fulfilled that training is no longer something I’m only dreaming about. I used to live in my imagination; now I live the reality of feeling energized and happier with my life.