I recently mentioned in a Facebook post that the last week has been truly amazing for me. Let me fill you in on what’s being going on. Last weekend I attended the Sigma Nutrition Seminar with Danny Lennon MSc. It was a wonderful weekend. I learned so much, met some cool people and got to spend two whole days listening to one of the most interesting, intelligent and articulate people in the industry. I couldn’t have enjoyed it more.
I booked the seminar months ago and even though it was fully paid for, I must have nearly talked myself out of going 100 times. I was filled with anxiety and plagued with impostor syndrome. What if people thought I didn’t belong there? I knew that the attendees were likely to be experiences fitness professionals and elite athletes. What right did I have to place myself among them? What if I didn’t know enough to be able to keep up with the lectures? I tortured myself with these thoughts and many like them for weeks, turning it over and over in my mind, until it finally hit me. Me worrying about not knowing enough to be able to learn is just as flawed as people saying they’re not fit enough to join the gym! It was utterly ridiculous. The fact that I had paid my money and was willing to learn gave me just as much right to be there as anyone else.
Something else that happened this week was also pretty special. I ran my first two Parent & Child Cookery Workshops. Again, although this is something I have wanted to do for a long time, I kept finding excuses not to. I kept thinking of new reasons why I wasn’t ready. Basically, I couldn’t get out of my own way. Despite my initial reservations, on the night, I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be. Perhaps excitement took over or perhaps I was just too busy getting everything organised to have time for nerves. Both workshops went really well. What could be better than having a captive audience to chat to and having a chance to demonstrate something you are truly passionate about?
So, why am I telling you all this? It’s simple. Way too many of us spend far too long in our comfort zones. Terrified to take a risk, suffering from paralysis by analysis. I was like this for far too long, fretting over tiny decisions that don’t even matter. Worrying about what other people might think and trying to please everyone. It got me nowhere. There are a million different cliches I could trot out like “life begins at the end of your comfort zone,” and “the greater the risk, the greater the potential for joy,” but I don’t need to, we have heard them all a million times.
What I will say is this, don’t be afraid. Comfort zones are a good place to rest, but a terrible place to live. Doing something which scares you a little, will be guaranteed to make you feel alive. When you want something, go after it. So what if you fail! Ask yourself what is the worst case scenario? If that’s something you can live with, take the risk. In almost 100% of cases, even if things don’t work out, it’s never as bad as we had imagined. Even if you fail spectacularly, which happens to us all at times, at least you can honestly tell yourself that you gave it your best shot.
If you are serious about making changes in your life be they nutrition related, fitness related or anything else, you are going to have to get used to feeling uncomfortable along the way. True and meaningful change can be a painful thing, there is no getting away from that. Is it easy? No. Is it worth it? Take the leap and find out xxx
