The start
Trying something new – oh boy!
“Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new” ~Brian Tracy
I have a steaming cup of tea, my dog by my side & my new favorite song playing. I have a couple of hours before I have to pick up staff at an event and of course; this is when words hit me. I’ve been toying with what comes next in the story, so much to remember & so much to share.
I still wonder if the words I write me anything to anyone other than myself but then I’m reminded, “Do it – with no expectations.” So, here I am again.
What IS next? I don’t remember if this happened before or after my first GROOVE experience – it’s been a few years! My neighbor convinced me to try out a yoga class she enjoyed. I had told her about my yoga vs. gun slinging! After a bit of persuasion, I dragged my hubby with me (yes, dragged) as I wasn’t about to go in there alone! I went out and bought a cheapie yoga mat for $15.00 – I figured that if I didn’t like it $15.00 was not a huge waste of money. I unrolled my mat, sat down, and listened to the instructor’s words describing the class. As we began the class, she began to chant! This was SOOO not what I was expecting. It’s different yes, it’s new yes, and it’s freaking me out, yes! OMG! My poor hubby – I dragged him here – I’m never going to hear the end of this! Okay, so not exactly the best yoga practice to try when deciding if yoga is right for you or not. It was awkward and we were VERY uncomfortable! To our credit we stayed for the hour. When we got back into the van, I burst out laughing. I had been holding that in for a whole flipping hour! Hubby looked at me and very, very insistently said, “Don’t you EVER ask me to do that again!” No worries there babe! I have no intention of doing yoga again. I remember saying to him “I guess it’s the shooting range then!”
In all fairness, I had no idea there were various yoga practices. I didn’t know a down dog from savasana! I went in completely blind. Eventually, I did try another yoga class. It was restorative. It happened after GROOVE. It was the same instructor guiding the yoga practice. Hell, why not I figured, at least I know the instructor & felt comfortable enough. It couldn’t be worse than what I had already tried! At the beginning of the practice, I was handed a deck of intention cards “this is the hippie mumbo jumbo portion of the evening” a friend said. Oh, and don’t be scared, there’s a little chanting kind of thing at the beginning & end – she had heard my story about my inaugural yoga experience . The practice began… honestly, I loved it! I felt so relaxed & blissed out by then end of that hour. To this day, it really is one of my favorite yoga practices.
Over the next few months, I continued with GROOVE & Restorative yoga. I really did enjoy it & looked forward to my Thursday nights! I even went to a retreat that included both! It was the beginning of the end for me! I was a convert. This was going to change a lot about me, I could feel it. My hubby tells me now I’m a groupie. My mom & BFF call me a hippie (which I’m pretty sure I’m not)! Then the biggie, I went to another yoga class! This one I also dragged hubby to but since he knew the instructor, I figured he’d be okay with it! A new year, new things to try, new outlook. Now, a few years later, I love my yoga practices. It took a while to get to that love. It was worth it! (For the record, hubby’s a yoga dropout! I have to give him credit though, he did last 6 months!) I may be slightly biased about having the BEST yoga instuctor EVER . Not only is she an amazing friend, but she has pushed me so far out of my fricken comfort zone that I may or may not feel as though I’ve jumped off a cliff! She has done more for me than she may even know or that I could ever express. She has heard my long list of “things I never thought I’d say or do” and trust me, that list is VERY long. I will share it soon! She is one of a handful of people in the last 5 years that has helped me become a better person.
I have opened myself up to try a few different yoga practices. Some I like, some not so much. I have to remember the words, “it’s not crap, and it’s different.” I love my sacred time on my mat. I’m glad I chose yoga over target practice. Get this; I even look forward to starting off each year right at the Victoria Yoga Conference. It seriously has changed me in so many ways. (Yup, that’s another part of the story).
In 2014 I did Sphinx pose at the Sphinx! (another thing I thought I’d never do)
Yoga may not be the answer for everyone, but I’m certainly blessed to know it was part of the answer for me.
Until next time, I wish you love and the opportunity to challenge yourself with something completely out of your comfort zone!
Change is hard!
I remember seeing a commercial with a group of kids talking about change in a product. A the line I’ll never forget one of the kids delivering was, “if you’re gonna change anything, change broccoli!”
Change is hard. Change is inevitable whether good, bad or ugly, it happens! Change can be revolutionary or evolutionary – it’s our choice. Want it or not, change appears. It’s easy to change the things you don’t like, but harder to change the things you may not know you have to change or even worse, you don’t know how to change them. I knew I had to change something, just didn’t know what or how.
I had spent the last 7 years building a business, I felt knocked down, and I didn’t really have a community of friends to turn to for support. Sure, my hubby & I knew a few people in Victoria but this is a tough city to break! It’s clicky & unless you “know someone” then it’s even harder. I had my hubby, but you know men, they don’t really like talking feelings…. They’re “then just fix it” kind of creatures.
I didn’t know what to do or even where to look or how to go about this so called change I knew had to happen. I really didn’t even know what needed changing. So, I thought I’d start with the brain. It controls so much without us even knowing it. I had a case of “I can’t turn my brain off!” I over analyzed everything, each moment, each event, each conversation etc. All I could see was the bad, not how I could learn or grow. The worst part was that everything I analyzed wasn’t bad. I just couldn’t see the good. I had never been a negative person or a pessimist. I usually saw the glass half full. Not this time though. It was eating me up.
I mentioned to one of the few friends we had here that I had to do something to quiet my brain. Something to completely close off thoughts – good or bad. I told her I had heard that learning to shoot a gun for target practice was good for quieting the brain because you had to concentrate really hard, tune out all the distractions around you to make your shot. Or maybe I should try yoga. We had a good laugh as I really couldn’t see me doing either if I was honest with myself.
A few weeks of the event I mentioned in my last blog, I had connected with the organizer on social media, which is funny as I despised social media at the time quoting “don’t people have better things to do???” I’m a busy person; I don’t have time for that crap.” Little did I know!
She kept mentioning some GROOVE thing she went to. I asked about it. She described it to me & for a couple of weeks invited me to come try it out, to which I always said I was busy or had something else going on. I can’t remember if I really did or if I was just making excuses. Probably both! Finally, I sucked it up & said yes. I was petrified. I had no idea what I was going to be doing. I even drove to the location earlier in the day so I knew where it was.
Well, I went to GROOVE. It was amazing. It was the start of life changing experiences. Really! I’m not going to lie that walking into that space was intimidating (to many I’m outgoing & confident but in new situations, I’m really kind of shy. Friends, please stop laughing). Everyone knew each other & knew what they were doing. I did not. Then it happened, the music played, I was told to close my eyes (WTF? Seriously?! Crap, what am I doing? I was panicking inside wondering how I could run away without anyone really noticing) and draw a circle with my head… For the record, I peaked to make sure I was doing the circles “correctly” and that I wasn’t doing anything weird in comparison to the rest of the group. I didn’t want anyone to see me “doing it wrong” or worse yet, judging me. For those that GROOVE I know you’re laughing! By the end of the class, I was hooked. So hooked that fast forward 5 years later I even facilitate GROOVE! That’s another blog though.
I went home feeling amazing, energized and I knew that perhaps I had found something to help. Maybe, I wouldn’t have to learn about target practice or yoga after all! LOL!
Oh and for the record, the free event I did, well, sure I made contacts for business but most importantly, I made some much needed personal connections with some amazing women who today I am honored to call my friends, my tribe, my community, and my support. Without them, I would not be where I am now. I would not have tried the things I’ve tried. I would not have experienced the things I’ve experienced. I definitely would not be sharing my story and most of all, I would have probably found a very dark place to curl up in & melt away…
Until the next installment, I wish you love; change & I challenge you to discover YOUR 2.0!
About
Everyone has a story to share, tell and discover. Every story leads to a journey that can inspire. By sharing my story, I hope to inspire someone to discover their 2.0! My desire is to share the crazy moments and lessons learned, stories of getting from then to now.
Do it
Do it – 2 simple words, yet why are they so scary? Not one to step away from a challenge, I hesitate out of fear of simply starting something new. Why? What if I fail? What if I fall? Wait, what if I succeed? What if I fly?
My desire to inspired is strong. My desire to inspire is stronger. I feel the pull to continue to become a better version of me yet sometimes, that proves to be a difficult task. In the last 5 years, I have done & said a million things I thought I’d never say or do; simply put, I’ve become Kristina 2.0! (For the record, this is another thing I never thought I’d say or do).
I’ve been toying with sharing my story, but of course, the fear in me thinks, “Who cares?” “Why on earth would anyone read my words?” Well, as a friend pointed out, “just do it, with no expectations.” So, here I am, setting up a blog to share my journey. I know I have one reader & cheerleader – other than my mom! Here it goes….
Every good story, it seems, starts with some type of event that makes you question everything. Mine is no different. I have questioned and really, I continue to question EVERYTHING! Who I was, who I am, what I was doing, what was my purpose, am I making a difference, why am I angry, frustrated, annoyed and well, you get it, I was unhappy. I needed to change, I knew it, but boy, oh boy, was I in for a shock to my system, body & brain! I had no idea what was to come. When I reflect back to that moment, I think, “Crap! Kristina, you shoulda ran for the hills!” To be honest, I’m glad I didn’t – now!
My so called life changing moment came in 2010 when my business was hit with massive new competition, loss of business income & clients (because they fell for the cheaper prices of the competitor), loss of confidence in what I was doing. Hey, c’mon, I was on top of my game! I was the example, I was the model. I was devastated! I was ready to throw in the towel, quit, run, give up and then some. I fell – HARD! I had spent the previous 7 years dedicating my life & soul passionately into this business. I felt like I failed myself, my hubby, my staff, my fellow franchises and even my head office. I was pissed, angry, embarrassed, and didn’t care about anything, myself included. Then, it happened. The moment everything changed (only I didn’t know it was going to)….
I got a message, if I remember correctly, it was twitter message, asking for a freebie at an event. I thought to myself, “Are you kidding me? It’s the quietest time of the year & you’re asking me for a freebie?” Sure, the promise of “good exposure and promotion” was spoken about, “ha-ha, right” I thought! Business owners, you know what I’m talking about! Well, reluctantly I did it. Funny thing is, the person who asked me is now a really beautiful and valued friend. She told me later that I wasn’t her first choice to ask to participate in this event. The person she asked first was already booked and unable to attend. Looking back, I’m glad it all worked out, even if it was by default.
If anyone is reading this, you’re probably thinking, “Yeah, who cares? Lots of business owners go through this. What’s so special about you?” To be honest, nothing. However, this is just background. The journey really hasn’t begun.
I’m saving that for the next installment. For now, signing off & wishing you love, inspiration, and the discovery of YOUR 2.0!
Discovering YOUR 2.0 