Starting Over

STARTING OVER

This is a time of year many people find themselves starting over. People often use this time of year to start over again with exercise. I always have new Pilates clients and people that fell off the wagon over the summer getting back into the habit of exercise. Some people think starting over will be painful. If you let it, starting over can be a freeing process. 

There was a time in my life I had to start over and over again. Nothing was working. Before I knew it, I was living in the rubble of what I had hoped my life to be. I decided to leave New York and go back to Nashville. I didn’t have a plan. I only had an idea and a promise to myself that I would work toward a life that would build me up, not tear me down like I had let happen years before.

A lot of things had to break down, including my body and my health, to realize it was time to change. I finally took the steps to work toward a better life. The last thing I wanted was to start over again. But this time it worked. 

Often times Pilates students have to start over. Letting the past stand in the way, can make the process can be frustrating and painful. Comparison of one’s self from the past can have adverse effects when seen negatively. I try to remind clients that if they have done it before, they can do it again. This time will not be as hard because they have knowledge from the past they can build on. They do not have to figure out every single thing again. They have a good foundation. 

If you choose to free yourself from the negativity of the past, that is when starting over instead becomes taking the next step. That is when you can turn around and look at all the steps that got you to the place you are now. You can then appreciate those steps rather than be overwhelmed by the steps that exist in front of you. 

How can you let go of the past and take the next step today?