2999: Turning Wellness Challenges Into Wins by Kathy Robinson of Athena Wellness on Lifestyle Change

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[00:00:37] And I'm Justin Malik. We're going to jump right into today's post as we optimize your life. Turning Wellness Challenges Into Wins by Kathy Robinson of AthenaWellness.com Think back to the last time you arrived at a new place in mind, body or spirit.

[00:00:59] Perhaps you achieved a wellness milestone, started a new job or project, or made it through a life transition of some sort. Think about how good that felt. Were you proud? Relieved? Happy? Now think back further. What prompted you to make the change?

[00:01:18] Most likely of some sort of challenge, either an internal realization like dissatisfaction, stagnation or a new desire. Or there's an external event that prompted the action. In my book, The Athena Principle's Simple Wellness Practices for Overworked Professionals,

[00:01:36] I shared three wellness turning points where I felt like I was out of crossroads, scared and uncertain, but knowing I had to make some changes. Each time, it felt like I was facing an insurmountable challenge like I was trapped in the way things were with no way out.

[00:01:54] But looking back, I can see I had numerous options, but I was too mired in the situation to objectively identify and assess my alternatives. I was lucky. My wellness challenges were not born out of crisis, which allowed me to make deliberate changes that built over time.

[00:02:11] This first one was focused on exercise and nutrition when I was in my mid-thirties. Getting physically healthy, preparing me to go deeper with subsequent realizations of dealing with mental and emotional burnout from a long career on Wall Street, and then with a spiritual alignment at a writer's retreat

[00:02:30] that led me to live a more purposeful, values-driven life. For many people though, the need to focus on health may be more immediate through a diagnosis or a test result. Conversely, the call toward wellness may feel vague, like more of an elusive pull

[00:02:47] to incorporate healthier and more meaningful life choices. So many of us want to make healthier choices, we want to turn our wellness challenges into wins, but don't know where to start or feel we don't have the time. But lasting meaningful change happens one step at a time.

[00:03:06] As a result of taking the smallest of actions, we can experience a boost in vibrance, confidence, and alignment with our deepest selves. This creates momentum that paves the way for bigger changes over time. Challenges are not immovable objects.

[00:03:23] Everything shifts and changes over time, people, places, experiences, personal and professional situations. The old adage is true, the only constant is change, although when we're ready, change can feel like it's happening too slowly. If you're feeling stuck and it seems like you're out of options,

[00:03:44] here are a few ways to reframe your challenges as opportunities and create a path forward. Number one, use your crisis or challenge as fuel. There's a saying in the corporate world, never let a good crisis go to waste.

[00:04:00] Crisis opens our thinking to actions we wouldn't have taken prior. It's a way of reordering what felt like fixed set points by reexamining the situation, questioning the ways always been done, and finding new solutions. When I began to make changes to my exercise and nutrition habits 20 years ago,

[00:04:20] it landed me on a wellness path that would someday become my passion and livelihood. Number two, rethink your question. It's healthy to use fresh perspectives and new solutions to old problems. When I decided to leave Wall Street, it wasn't about stopping the burnout I was experiencing,

[00:04:39] it was about integrating the things I loved into my life. Six years after that, the life change I wanted to make wasn't about becoming a writer, but more about who I am as a writer and how she can live her life in a way that's true.

[00:04:55] Number three, break it down. Challenges are complex and their sheer size can be overwhelming. My mid-30s exercise plan was a 12 week program that I could plan weekly, execute daily, and repeat the cycle over again. Incremental improvements add up, create momentum, and unearth new possibilities.

[00:05:18] Number four, don't underestimate the emotional component of change. There will be grief. You're heading to a new place and you're leaving old dreams and ways of being behind. You're diving deeper, no longer content to live a surface level existence.

[00:05:37] The people, places, and experiences you've come to rely on will change as you do. Had I known all the changes that were ahead of me in my 40s and 50s, I would have been paralyzed by fear. Looking back from my current vantage point,

[00:05:52] I can see the necessity of those shifts and how they led to life transformation. And number five, keep your eye on the big picture. Have visual reminders of why you're putting in the effort in the last year of my corporate career.

[00:06:07] I wore a necklace that only I knew the meaning of. It was a symbol that reminded me of the new lifestyles creating and what I wanted to achieve as a budding entrepreneur in the second half of my life. They put all my effort in context

[00:06:23] and kept me focused on moving forward one step at a time. I hope this process brings some clarity and ease as you turn your wellness challenges into wins. May you continue to honor yourself by embracing wellness as a vital and ongoing process

[00:06:39] of making choices to create a healthy, integrated, and fulfilling life. You just listened to the post titled, Turning Wellness Challenges Into Wins by Kathy Robinson of AthenaWellness.com Thank you to Kathy. Some nice reminders in here. First, that often change comes about because of adversity.

[00:07:05] I know it's not the best thing to hear when you're in pain, for example, either physical, mental, emotional, and so on. It's not fun to hear something like, well, this is actually good for you because it's making you stronger and more resilient

[00:07:19] and will lead to better choices and actions in the future. We might roll our eyes as we're suffering and just want it to be over. But it is true, at least to some extent, because without those hardships and challenges, we truly would never improve.

[00:07:36] Kind of like how constant comfort is really quite bad for us. We need discomfort in order to grow. I could definitely use the reminder, so thank you to Kathy for this one. And we're at 2,999 episodes of this show. Hard to believe if you're listening to this right now.

[00:07:54] Real big thank you for being on this journey with me. Can't believe it's been almost eight years and 3,000 episodes. I never ever would have thought we would have come this far. So really thank you and do stick around because tomorrow will be an interesting episode.

[00:08:10] So again, thank you. Have a great rest of your day and I'll see you tomorrow in episode 3,000 where your optimal life awaits.