I am not a cook. I don’t aspire to be a great cook, I don’t even enjoy watching cooking shows (and I’m shocked to learn there are actually people who do!). I am good enough at preparing nutritious food to keep my kids alive until tomorrow, and I have been blessed with a babysitter who loves meal planning and cooking. Could I learn to cook? Of course, I could! But I don’t want to. However, when there are things I can’t do that are holding me back, I am absolutely willing to put the work in to make it happen. This just isn’t one of them.
This month we’re focusing on ENDURANCE which is the third and final internal practice of Thoughtfully Fit®. Endurance is the idea that we can be different from how we are now if we are willing to work on it. Similar to Dr. Carol Dweck’s idea of a growth mindset, endurance encompasses the ability to change or learn something new in order to overcome obstacles or take that next step in life.Where there’s a will there’s a way
Is there something you’d like to do but aren’t? Why aren’t you doing it? Odds are you’ve got a looong list of reasons why you couldn’t possibly quit your job/do a triathlon/go on a trip/learn to cook. Some of these might be based in facts, but many of them are probably just your inner gremlins and saboteurs sitting on your shoulder telling you that you can’t do it.
Now, as I have just confessed, I don’t care to learn to cook. However, in 2012 there was something I REALLY wanted to do: transition my ‘hobby’ into a full-time coaching and consulting business. Even though I knew it was something I wanted to try, I had a lot of reasons why I couldn’t (as a matter of fact, I had so many saboteur voices in my head, I lovingly called them my Itty Bitty Shitty Committee). As the sole breadwinner for my family, I thought it was too risky to leave a regular salary and great health insurance behind. I had no idea if I would be able to get enough clients to sustain a full-time business. I had never been an entrepreneur or run a business before. All my own reasons, combined with the fact that many members of my family (as well as more than a few of my friends!) were telling me to just get a new, safe job.
But, after a lot of self-reflection (that’s pausing and thinking for all you Thoughtfully Fit fans out there), and plenty of guidance from my own coach, I decided that I wanted to push aside the doubts and go for it. And I have never once regretted that choice.
This is what endurance is all about: acknowledging the challenges or obstacles that might lie between you and your dream, and deciding to overcome them.
So what did I do? A lot of research, a lot of planning and a LOT of hard work. I leveraged all of my contacts to build a client base, I did outreach events, networking, marketing, and anything else I could think of to make it work. (I also made the mistake of googling ‘health insurance quotes’ leading me to get zillions of emails per day for months about insurance options.) And I am proud to say that it worked, and I am happily—and busily!—in business for myself.
Where do you want to be?
My challenge to you this month is to step into ENDURANCE—pause to reflect on something you have long wanted to do but haven’t done yet—and think about what’s standing in your way. Then act. First, identify the obstacles, try to eliminate those that are only in your own head, and make a plan for how to work through the rest. I promise you it’s worth the effort! Be sure to let me know how it goes. Until then, I’ll be in the kitchen burning some grilled cheese sandwiches.
Cheers,
Darcy
