Change. Is. Hard.

Change is hard. I always adapt well to it, but whenever I’m asked to change the way I’ve been doing things for so long, there’s always a bump or two in the road. When you have been operating a certain way for so long, your processes are second nature. When facing change you are being asked to upend things ingrained in your nature. You don’t like it. You act like a whiny child and do a lot of kicking and screaming in the beginning.

Embarking on a new fitness program is certainly a change in your very nature. The change has to first take place in your mind. This can’t happen without a few bumps in the road. And bumps in the road DO NOT mean you are not being successful in adopting your new healthy lifestyle. It simply means you are learning and growing. None of us is perfect. We are not meant to be. If we were, there would be no need or room for improvement. I sometimes think we are made this way for a purpose. Change and improvement can be an exciting thing. It can be positive and invigorating. It can light a fire in your belly in a spot where there was just complacency. The process of change is even better than reaching your goal. It makes you feel alive again. It gives you a renewed sense of purpose.

If you are one of my 42 Day Detoxers and you are in your first week, you are changing the way you cook, eat and shop. At the same time you are changing your schedule – trying to fit those 3 exercise sessions in somewhere. You are resisting cravings. Things that were second nature to you are being upended. By week 2 or 3 you might have a few missteps. You might miss a workout due to a sick child. You might snag a piece of cake at an office birthday party. Yes, we both know you shouldn’t, but the best way to deal with these bumps in the road is to put them behind you. Tomorrow is a new day. Each day you get a new chance to do better than you did the day before.

And so, as another day goes by, don’t let the process of change derail you. Use it to help you dig in, focus on your goal, and do the job set before you. You are strong, you are powerful and you can do this.

PS – Those of you who are facing different life changes outside of fitness, apply this same line of thinking. Let change wake you up and invigorate you as you wrangle with whatever you’re going through.