Happy New Year Diva Readers!!! My oh my it’s been a while since I’ve written to you, and I do apologise for my hiatus, but I’m happy to be back writing again.
2012 was a huge rollercoaster for me. There were highs, lows, and many a lesson learnt. I started out last year with grand intentions about different aspects of my life, set specific goals, and really worked hard towards achieving them. Some goals were a complete success, others….not so much. But all in all 2012 was a great year, and the world didn’t end as the Mayans predicted which means…Hello 2013!
This new year brings with it a new outlook. A fresh start in which many people make resolutions about their health or fitness. And of course there are plenty of books, weight loss pills, and fad diets promising results which pray on these innocent people. The fundamental flaw is not the products, the flaw is us. They make us believe that we NEED something or someone to fix our problem, when in fact the truth is we are the only ones who can control our destiny.
This was the biggest lesson I learnt in 2012. I must confess that for years I have been a ‘serial searcher’. Always looking for something external to help me solve a problem or reach my goal. I had lost faith in my own abilities; I had lost belief in myself that I ,indeed, could do anything. I had to face the harsh reality that I was in charge of making things happen. But why had it taken me so long to accept it?
FEAR.
It all boils down to fear.
I realised that in order to reach my goals I’d have to do lots of scary stuff all the time. I knew it was going to be hard and uncomfortable but I needed my self belief back and this was the only way. In psychology they call this ‘radical acceptance’. Knowing it’s going to be hard, not wanting to do it, but managing to do it anyway. You face your fear and realise the world doesn’t end, and so your confidence slowly starts to grow.
It’s kind of like jumping off a tall cliff into the ocean. You stand at the edge deathly terrified, but you muster up the courage to jump. You fly through the air towards the ocean with a mixture of emotion; exhilarated yet anxious. Then finally you hit the calm beautiful deep water, and realise you did it and you are alive. Each time you jump off the cliff into the ocean, your fear gets a little less as your confidence grows a little more.
And maybe that’s why change is so hard. It’s scary. It’s unknown. It’s easier to stay with the status quo. But change IS possible. You just need to believe that it is. You need to believe in you!
Once you believe in yourself anything is possible.
“Face your fear. Do it anyway. Leap even before you think you’ve grown the wings to fly. Dare to dream. Take turtle steps towards your vision. You got this.” -Lindsey Lewis
Wishing you all the best for 2013.
-Sarah xo
