Originally, the title of this blog was “Recovering Me Postpartum”, except that when I went to type that I realized how erroneous that title would have been. There is no way in hell I am anywhere near the person I was before I had a child. At what feels to be the speed of light, I’ve evolved about 100 times faster than I had ever evolved in my life previously. That’s the thing about adversity, it SUCKS, but, with the right perspective turned ON, there is SO much to learn from it.
Nothing evolves us like adversity. Contentedness does NOT evolve us. It keeps us happy for awhile and some people enjoy just being where they are content. But, for those of us that are constantly seeking to expand our boundaries and become greater and greater versions of ourselves, contentedness feels like a slow death. We cannot reside in a place of contentedness for long, until we’re up and looking for a challenge again – figuratively and literally.
11 months postpartum and 8 months into my coaching business I have run face first into incredible amounts of adversity in a relatively compressed amount of time. Both of those circumstances have DEMANDED that I become a greater version of me IMMEDIATELY – more patient, more tolerant, more humble, more hard working, more determined, just MORE.
Every day in every way I am being asked to become MORE.
And I’m ADDICTED.
I used to HATE challenge. As a child that was incredibly intelligent and capable, anything that was not easy for me was immediately discarded as a “waste of time”. I was the quintessential fixed mindset kid – I’m good at this, not good at that etc. – and OH, how I wish I could go back in time and change that.
Once you become a parent you realize something you cannot miss – IT DOESN’T MATTER IF YOU ARE GOOD OR TERRIBLE AT PARENTING, YOU HAVE TO PARENT.
There is no guide book, manual, structure – FUCKING NOTHING – that will prepare you for the demands of parenting. It will push you and press you at every level known and unknown to man and like most dire circumstances, you DON’T have a choice to back out if you REALLY want to be a good parent and raise good kids. So, naturally, we RISE up. We have to, so we DO.
That single moment in my life taught me that incredibly valuable lesson: When we have to rise to meet a challenge, we do. We always do. When there is no way out, we make it happen. My son is almost a year old and I cannot even believe we three are still alive. Seriously. This is a miracle.
Today, I am SO incredibly gracious when it comes to my parenting (and my business) compared to how I started. I’ve adopted the understanding that “this too shall pass” is a REAL thing. That if I don’t know something, I can learn it. That I am far more resilient than I ever gave myself credit for. And, that I can rise to ANY challenge at ANY occasion and ROCK THE SHIT OUT OF IT.
So, the next time you find yourself questioning your dreams, your new parenting situation, a difficult moment in your marriage – whatever – remember that, when you TRULY want to find a solution, you WILL grow to match your circumstance. Know also that in the moment, growing HURTS- bad -but in the long run, it’s the ONLY way to make sure you are stretching to encompass the kind of life you DREAM of.
Take heart. Have courage. Find support. The Universe loves you.
Sincerely,
Shakti
Ps. Interested in RISING up to your own personal health/fitness challenge? Contact me here, and Let’s Get you ROCKING 2017!