At 4 AM, my daughter woke up. She needed me to find her stuffed animal that had been buried under a fleet of blankets. When I snuggled back in bed with my husband and our two dogs, there came an overwhelming sense of immediate comfort and calmness.
Each morning I step outside no matter the temperature to give gratitude for this life. A priceless experience, a discomfort, a desire to make early mornings work, this time into a permanent routine.
I love watching others wake up, feel their energy as they get ready for the day, make their coffee, get their breakfast, start their workout, begin their work day in the luxury of their living rooms, watch the sunrise, prepare their food, and so on.
The only difference is that when I’m up this early, it is either because my daughter needs me or I finally convinced myself to do it.
I’m a light sleeper, but I also know myself well enough. If I went back to bed, I wouldn’t wake up till 8 AM and wouldn’t get the opportunity to be uncomfortable enough to change and continue pushing myself more this year.
That woman I’m becoming doesn’t care about the cold, early mornings, or making coffee in silence to write so her toddler can rest.
It is officially January 1, 2023. Congratulations, you have made it. However, what you’ve made is unclear and still formulating. This year, I’ve decided to make my resolutions a little differently. I am looking for a different approach to the same problems, procrastination, and setbacks I had in 2022.
In order to have a different outcome, I am willing to experiment with different approaches. I am, after all, so grateful to be doing the work I do for the health and fitness of my community.
This year I am making a list of emotions and behaviors, precisely the situations in which I may not have handled myself in a way that honored my own feelings. These are my top five ways to honor your transition in periods of life that need clarity and behavioral maturity.
1. Be Honest With Yourself About Your Weaknesses and Strengths, and Focus on One Each Day
Knowing yourself is the greatest strength; it is the first door to opening yourself to self-mastery and figuring out your lust for life and your passion and purpose in it. In order to get here, I spend a great deal of time in meditation and silence to get to know the inner voice inside me.
2. Take Ownership of Your Situations Because No One Made You Stay or Leave
Being able to own my reality in all situations has allowed me to say no when I mean it, yes when I want to, and cancel if it doesn’t resonate or align with my purpose or path.
Honoring that my body can change with energies, and sometimes my initial approach may not be the best outcome at that time. I may have let people down, but I protected my energy and felt stronger about my choices.
3. Allow Your Past to Only Enter the Picture When You Decide.
Let go of any shame or guilt about past experiences. There was a time in my life when I would speak about my trauma so openly that it would make other people uncomfortable.
In order to heal, I had to be open and vocalize to hear myself say these things to help the process. In doing so, I would feel shame for oversharing, and I felt that I was offering an appearance of who I was from a past behavior instead of who I am in a healing stage.
In order to grow, I allowed myself to write about my past but not to have unsolicited conversations that would later make me feel the shame and guilt of deep healing.
4. Stop Being Jealous and Start Being Curious
Of course, I’m going to be jealous of my 25-year-old self that was in a van, touring the country, eating out of Whole Foods recycled boxes, having organic wheatgrass shots, and showing up to a venue just to unload for soundcheck and sitting quietly while I waited for people to come in.
Of course, I’m jealous of the smokin’ hot 30-year-old who is an entrepreneur that stays home and writes her post daily, finds time for extra workouts, and has those glass straws I can’t seem to find.
But I’m not going to be somebody who stays in an envious state of jealousy. I am going to be curious. I am going to ask questions. I’m going to reach out. I’m going to figure out how they do it, and it will give me hope that I can also choose my reality, conquer my fears, and live this life on my own terms.
5. Pick a Mission, a Mantra
Something about healing that I have learned is that it is a dotted line. You pick a consecutive set of agreements to help align your path in discomfort.
What has helped me is finding my mission to help others gain strength in their nutritional abilities and gain perspective and strength in their fitness progress.
Watching others succeed makes me feel like I can also succeed. The mantra I carry with me daily: I shine when you shine. This allows me never to compete but to raise the bar and help others reach it!
The Final Verdict
Looking back at the year 2022, it was such a wild ride, navigating so much uncertainty while also embracing a transformational, energetic vibration.
I may be a late bloomer, and sometimes it takes me many months to find creative space. This not only helps you tap into parts of your potential. It also helps guide you so that you may reach a new light to align new gifts to impose your empowerment on the world.
Thanks for reading
Kimbo Rose
