Life gets better by change

On Friday June 10th I officially closed the university chapter of my life.  It is crazy to think five years has come and gone so soon.  Thank you to each and every person who crossed my path, whether in residence, varsity sports, class, or my fitness classes.  You all have impacted my life in ways you will never know.  Five years allows much time for growth to take place and I truly feel I have grown in ways I never thought imaginable.  I am certainly not the young 17 year old girl I was when I moved into residence and I am proud to embrace the changes that have come along with my experiences at the University of Toronto.

So what’s next? People constantly tell me I “have it made”, knowing exactly what I want to be doing with my life and having the jobs in place to obtain my goals.  Newsflash people, I worked my butt off to be here and this is only the beginning! Upon graduation, I know many feel unsure of what the next move is.  Reality is; we have to make that move in order for the magic to happen.  A few months ago on my blog my motto for life was, “be happy always”.  This is still definitely true and practiced daily, but a new quote has resonated with me as of late that I wanted to share with all of you.

“Your life doesn’t get better by chance, it gets better by change.”

I actually got this as my fortune in a fortune cookie a few years ago and used to have it taped on my wall at my old apartment.  I recently came across it this past week while sorting through old papers and it assured me that things will all work out.  Instead of being afraid or unsure of what our next move is, just make one.  All too often we are quick to shoot ideas down or hesitate to take a risk.  In order for things to happen, those changes need to occur.  Over these past 4 months my life has changed from being in a long term relationship living with someone, to living alone, and now to graduating.  What’s next for me?  I am moving in a month, and now exposing myself to new career opportunities and working on my own personal brand.  Doesn’t seem like much from the outside, but for anyone who works for themselves, you are constantly learning and taking risks to change your life and career for the better. 

To the people still sitting here feeling unsure about how to make those changes, take a few moments and evaluate your life.  Ask yourself what you want right now, what you want in a year from now, and what you are willing to do to get to that place.  Here are my answers:

What do I want right now: to expose myself to new fitness opportunities in the city and build connections and relationships with new people in the field of fitness

What do I want in one year from now: to begin offering opportunities to participants/clients directly through my personal brand and reach people further away from me geographically via better use of social media

What am I willing to do to get there: learn from others who have already done it, read up on successful business models for fitness entrepreneurs, attend other facilities and create lists of pros and cons to their businesses and use my time effectively to provide more content weekly to my clients

Once we put it down on paper, we can use this as a visual motivator to accomplish those goals and see changes in our own lives.  Don’t be discouraged by trying to develop big goals either if you are unsure. Maybe you have that long term interview-worthy answer to where you see yourself in five years, and maybe you don’t. All it takes is thinking about that one thing you want to change first to get the ball rolling. Each step makes for positive change, regardless of size.

Be fierce.  Be strong.  Be vibrant.

Rachel

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