Keeping It Real

Close your eyes and think back to a time, and if it’s now…then just reflect on current events, when you felt your best.  When the day to day life issues didn’t seem to be much of an issue at all. When your energy was bountiful, your health peaked, and you had that glow about you that attracted all walks of life…..especially your own.

What’s passing through your mind? Does it tickle you inside to reflect back on that time or does it pain you because it is no longer in alignment with who you “really” are?  These are questions that have come up for me in my life in a big way recently. Who am I? Where do I belong? What am I supposed to be doing? And with whom should I be sharing this all with?  I believe that the questions come along several times in one’s lifetime. We all question who we really are and if we are on the right path. Professionally and personally, it comes up.

In the past several months I’ve had the questions come up for me daily. Professionally I closed down my business of 8 years as a colon hydrotherapist.  Being in holistic health and working with nutrition and digestion was right up my ally. Having been someone who had struggled with digestive issues, I loved that I was in the industry of helping others as I myself was being healed as well.   But alas, after all these years, it was time to close the doors and move forward into what I am now realizing is an adventure……a canvas for which I can paint any picture that I want.

If I look back at the time that I personally felt my best, it was when I first took on my business back in 2005. I had my own gig. I could make my own schedule. I was helping others. And I was making incredible money. All on my own. I felt so empowered. So strong. So committed. And in a really great place spiritually and emotionally.  Things were in alignment for me. I was happy!!

The loss of a business, much like the loss of a relationship, can be devastating. Especially if you worked for yourself.  But there is always a silver lining. What I’m learning is that when one door closes….don’t look back. Keep it shut. Because through the next door is a greater, more abundant, and exhilarating experience yet to be had.  I strongly believe that everything happens for a reason. And that if you are going through a tough time….just be with it. Instead of resisting and fighting it, embrace it.  Tap into all your resources to make it more of an adventure.

These days you hear so many people saying that things are “hard….difficult….stressed….strained….challenging.” And because those are the main words in our vocabulary, you wind up getting more “hard, difficult, stressed, strained, and challenging” situations arise for you. More than likely, if you open yourself up to the possibilities of what those upsets can bring for you, you’ll get to the end of that dark tunnel a lot faster. You may even learn a few things along the way.

I am a student at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN). It’s a program that I’ve wanted to enroll in for more than five years.  I just simply felt a pull in that direction for a long time. I loved what I was doing, but I felt that something was missing in my life.  Lifestyle and nutritional health coaching was more in line with who I really was/am. After all, working with my clients, that’s practically what I was doing anyway. It feels so good to have a conversation with someone and really get to the core of what is causing them health issues, stress, or other lifestyle interference and then be able to truly help them. There is nothing more rewarding than making a difference in someone’s life. Because that process is what has made a difference in my life.

I have to admit that when I closed the doors, I fell into victim mode. Even though I was in school, I wondered daily what was next. How will I go on without my “routine?” How will I contribute without a paycheck? How will I start over? Who am I and who will I become?  And I was scared.  But then I realized, through my conversations with some of the other students at IIN and my immediate friends as well, that if they are not currently going through a transition, at some point they most definitely were. And transitions can be hard. Whether it’s taking on a new job or the loss of an old one or whether it’s getting in or out of a relationship….we all tend to question if we are doing the right thing or wonder what might become of us.

We all have a mission in life.  But our missions change. What and who we were 10 years ago may not be in alignment with what and who we are today. The closing of my business was a sad thing. But it’s a blessing as well. It will allow me to focus and commit 100% on my schooling,  my personal development, and the start of what’s to come. And trust me…it’s gonna be big.

I fully believe that life’s challenges and hardships are not brought upon us to make us miserable. They are here for us to learn and grow from and to offer us an opportunity to live a life that we love. By learning to appreciate these upsets, that spark inside of you gets reignited and the flame starts to burn again….giving you that fire in your belly.

I’m looking forward to the next step in my life. I’m looking forward to working with clients in a new light in a way that can really help enhance their health and wellbeing.  I’m proud of all the years that I put into my former business. A lot of hard work, a lot of laughs, tears, and a lot of amazing people have crossed my path. And I’m so grateful.  I now see that it was more of a stepping stone to the next phase of my life.  Taking each day as it comes, focusing on my own health and wellness, zeroing in on school and my new business, and keeping that fire alive in my belly is my main focus for now. Keeping it real, living day to day, and loving the blessing of future opportunity.

Learn from the past. Adjust. And move on into the future.

To Your Health!!

Tracy Lynn