25 Aug Found my fitness purpose after 10 years of searching
Written By: Lifebook Member Julia Z
Over the past ten years, I have experimented with countless methods of extreme weight loss and dieting: triathlons, Bikram yoga challenges, marathons, eating raw, cleanses, veganism, vegetarianism, eating Paleo, eating alkaline- you name it! I would lose some, then gain some, then give up some. And start back all over again.
You see, for ten years I was seeking fitness but didn’t have a deep purpose as to WHY I wanted to be in shape. To be beautiful? Sure. To be happy? Of course! But even those things weren’t enough of a WHY to keep me committed.
What happened to me on January 12th wasn’t extraordinary, it was what had become a normal Sunday: I was rather lethargic, whining about not wanting to do laundry and tempted to zone out in front of a T.V. show instead of engaging with my environment (which desperately needed my attention!). It occurred to me that I hadn’t had energy to do much the month before, nor the month before that. Where had my energy and connection to life gone?
For the first time in months, I stepped on the scale, only to find – and consciously process – that I had gained 15 pounds in the last 3 years. I’m only 27 and only 5’4″ – putting on an average of five pounds a year was NOT a trend I wanted to continue!
The decision to lose weight was scary at first and hard to admit. I didn’t want to pursue a diet or any kind of extreme measure to achieve the weight loss because I had failed so many times before. Instead, I set an achievable goal of two pounds per week, resulting in a projected 20-pound weight loss by my birthday.
However, the biggest breakthrough I had was discovering my PURPOSE for getting finally fit…
My body is my creative medium and source of spiritual expression.
Since I started this process on January 12th, every day has been dedicated to my creativity – sculpting my dream body. The way one designs their dream home or paints a masterpiece they’ve always imagined, shaping my body into something it has never been before – and the process that entails – is my daily practice and the manifestation of a lifelong creative dream. While I’m lifting weights, running through the city, and consciously assessing my body’s reaction to food, I am experiencing an ever-changing creative process. And the benefits of the process are endless!
I now realize that one of the reasons my weight loss attempts in the past have never lasted was because there wasn’t the deep, creative connection to why I wanted to be fit. The time and effort I put towards my body is invaluable and helps me connect to myself and the world around me at a much higher level.
I’m so eternally thankful that I have the Lifebook model in my arsenal to make the connections I have the capacity to make when pursuing my goals… and ultimately fulfilling my creative self.