Change

*This article is going to be a little out of the norm, but for this week I wanted to share a recent situation and how it shaped the creation of EM Fitness.

Change is an interesting concept. In the words of King Whitney Jr.

Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful, it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful, it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.

During my senior year of college, I went through a lot of changes. I had found my next step, moving from Wisconsin to Colorado, and two amazing coworkers (and future Fam) were going to make the journey with me. I was excited for the opportunities and adventures the future held.

However, despite the positive changes, there was one overwhelming negative. When I was in my house I often felt invisible. I would go weeks without talking to anyone while at home. At first, I attempted to fix whatever it was that had changed, but there came a point when I was simply sick of trying. Thus, I turned to fitness. I watched hours of YouTube vloggers, read as many articles as I could, and interacted with Facebook groups regarding online training, blogging, etc. It is what first led me to the idea of this blog and beginnings an online coaching business.

One blogger and online trainer was Mike Vacanti. If you haven’t heard of him, check out his content here. His attitude is inspiring. His grind is unreal. I remember thinking how I want to be able to have his drive, to be able to grind as hard as he does 24/7. Now, as I sit here at 11pm writing this post, I can only hope a little has rubbed off on me.

One of his videos I liked best was when he talked about how we portray characteristics of the five people you’re closest to. These people do not have to be physically present people in your life, but the five people who you follow and keep up with the most. It can be authors of content that you read online, old friends who you connect with through texting or phone calls, and, of course, those who you are physically around. This idea is originally from a quote by Jim Rohn.

I thought about that again recently as I scrolled through Facebook and past a post that brought back a lot of those feelings of invisibility from last semester of senior year.

Reading the post and seeing the pictures, I was upset. At the beginning of summer, I was so happy to have left behind many of those feelings and finally not feel like a stranger in my own house, that to have it brought back in an instant was crushing. It threw me off. I was thinking about it constantly throughout that day, even though I knew it should have no impact on me.

Then I thought about Mike’s commentary. People who choose to treat me as if I don’t exist do not dictate my life.  I have the choice every day when I wake up how I’m going to spend my time and who I’m going to be around.

So, thank you. Thank you for igniting that fire again in me. Thank you for allowing me to see that that second semester was one of the best things that ever happened. I met amazing people, grew closer to people I wouldn’t have otherwise, and learned so much about myself.

To those of you reading this, I hope that you take away one lesson: Do not let others define your life. You are not invisible. You have the ability to change and inspire people with the life you have been given.  Now go out and do it.