Category: Motivation

Celebrating a New Path

This was originally scheduled to post yesterday on 6/1. However, in light of the events in Virginia Beach the day before I felt it was not the time to celebrate. Overnight, I had some breakthroughs and recognized it’s even more important to celebrate life at this time. We must each choose to be the light and celebrate life while we honor the tragic deaths of others, this is what leads to healing. #VirginiaBeachStrong

Have you ever looked back on your life and seen how one new opportunities arose based on prior choices; ones previously unseen or unimaginable? Perhaps the first one was a choice you were afraid to take… yet you took it anyway… then more and more pathways opened up.

Well, in looking back over the last five years, I can see where new opportunities and choices that arose after a seemingly simple career path change. However, little did I know at the time how that one change would lead to a cascade of changes; literally, so much of my life today is very different than it was on 6/1/2014.

The first step was when I moved out of the field and back into the clinic. In doing so, I freed up more time and energy for life, living and seeing… Almost immediately, I changed my diet (at the time to Vegan) which lead to my spurt with running.

Since 2014, I’ve removed over 60 pounds from my frame. Yes! I said 60 (and no, removed does not mean surgery!). Though this has taken me most of the 5 years to accomplish, the final 10 or so has been through intermittent fasting; not running nor being Vegan, although I’ve given both a go now, twice each…

Within a few months of my job change, the shifts also lead me to see that my nearly 15-year-old marriage was failing; miserably. Had I stayed in “the field” of home health, I would not have had the energy nor emotional capacity to go through such an upheaval as the divorce required. The running I mentioned earlier lead me to meet many friends who were supportive during this time of separation & divorce, as many had endured or were enduring the same! It’s still amazing to look back and to see all of the support I had all along; though I often felt lonely…

The separation and subsequent divorce lead me to start blogging (just passed the 4 year blogiversary in April). Blogging has pushed me to explore greater depths of understanding and it has introduced me to new concepts through being able to see life through the eyes of others, too. I’ve also made some interesting and supportive connections over the years.

Five years later and  my work has expanded to include 2 clinics, mentoring of 4 other therapists, numerous public health and physician education events and acquiring my certification as a pelvic rehab specialist. When I started, I worked part-time in pelvic health and part-time in general orthopedics. Now, my caseload is nearly 100% pelvic health. It’s an amazing journey to summarize in one quick paragraph.

During this time, I’ve also moved twice and changed cars twice. Before this, I had never lived “alone” meaning without another adult in the house, much less purchased nor leased a car on my own. Needless to say, these years have taught me a great deal about myself and much of this learning has been chronicled in the 688 blog posts to date. So today I celebrate the many changes. And wonder what the next 5 years will hold. Even as I have set some personal goals, I’m confident surprises are in store.

5 years from now, I’d like to look back and see where I have:

  • Published a book or two giving guidance to others on their journey.
  • Given TED Talks (or similar) on navigating through change.
  • Reduced my hours in health care to 20/week or less.
  • Paid off consumer debt.
  • Maintained my weight loss, my meditation practice and increased my consistency with working out.
  • Continued to actively expand how I support my children in their growth and development.
  • Improved my relationship with my parents.
  • Settled into a deeper relationship with myself.
  • Invited a compatible partner along for the journey.

So stay tuned! Who really knows what tomorrow will bring?!

May we each follow our natural curiosities, discovering new opportunities as we travel through life. May we each give ourselves the freedom to choose change, even when at the time it may seem tough or a mistake, knowing more chances await …

Namaste

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Choosing Happiness while Ditching the Facade

Mom, Physical Therapist, Healer, Daughter, Sister, Friend, Woman, Ex-Wife, Ex-Girlfriend, Employee, Student, Blogger, Breather, Investor, Borrower, Tenant, Driver, Consumer, etc, etc, etc.

We can have so many roles that at times we lose site of who we truly are. Each of us can have multiple labels that come with different and sometimes complicated and conflicting expectations. Sometimes these roles come to define our identity and then we lose ourselves in living up to unrealistic expectations. Why do we do this? To meet the expectations of others, living and not, and some of these expectations are often only in our minds.

In allowing these identities to define us, we lose personal freedom while we gain a false-sense of security. We then find ourselves needing to defend this false sense of self, less someone begins to see the cracks in the walls or the foundation. Separation from others deepens as we lose ourselves to the facade – to the mask – of who we want the world to see. We become trapped in our own self-created prisons; the place we created to protect ourselves now keeps us from true experiences.

In this place we avoid following our hearts’ desires and instead we find ourselves stuck on the paths we believe we’re supposed to follow. How does this serve us? We believe that by following the preset path that we will be more safe, that our survival will be more properly preserved. Yet on the inside we’re dying from misery of living below our unique abilities.

Each of us is here for a unique purpose. When we cage ourselves, we are much like the lion in the zoo whose pride (literally and figuratively) is taken away. He is unable to follow his instincts and roam as he may. Instead he treads the same paths, dreaming of running across open savanna’s. (what is your heart’s dream?) Unlike the caged lion, we can choose differently. We can choose to break free of the false identities, the roles in which we play.

So when will you choose happiness, breaking free of the false-identities? When will you choose to follow the whispering of your heart, your soul unleashed?

What I’m talking about here is happiness without condition. What happens in our lives can shape us or break us. Even the heartaches and struggles are here so that we can choose our values, our path, our perspectives. Strength is built by doing and by choosing to “level up” and be our greatest selves. When we place conditions on our love, on our happiness, both cease to exist.

Namaste

If not now, then when? When will you listen to the whisperings of a soul ready to be unleashed?

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The Lessons within The Pain

The pains that we feel are cries for help, attention, and love. These pains are all messengers that something needs to change. While the form may change in that the pain can physical, emotional, mental or spiritual, each form is a lesson left unlocked. What is this pain trying to tell us?

Instead of pushing it away, fighting it, anesthetizing it, can we take a moment to lean into it? Feel it, walk into the fire; the contraction. Feeling into the middle of the source of our pain, we can begin to relax, almost as if we stood in the eye of the storm. Being fully present with this, we begin to feel the grip of the pain begin to loosen. We can then only be transformed. Sometimes the pain needs to be taken in smaller bites. Sometimes it can be taken in all at once.

Our pain has something to teach us. What are we not learning? Rarely does change occur when we are comfortable….

Believer – Imagine Dragons

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Building a New Life by Moving Beyond the Status Quo.

Making positive life changes involves opening up to new possibilities. When we can see a different path, this allows us to take steps towards a new way of living. I recently wrote a friend about some life changes I’ve made in the past few years, moving from a closed perspective to a more open one that allowed me to move differently through life:
When I couldn’t see myself surviving alone, I stayed in an unhappy marriage. When I couldn’t see myself buying another car, I suffered (literally) in a car that made my hip hurt to drive. When I could see something different in both of those scenarios, I was able to take the steps I needed to make changes. 

It takes our ability to believe in ourselves for us to take the next step. We deserve and can have something better in our lives if we choose to allow ourselves to first and foremost believe in something different. This is a major step that cannot be missed.

Once we believe in a new possibility and in ourselves to live it, then we can begin to take tangible steps to make that belief a reality. Consistent homage to our new vision is required, as there will be tough patches where breaking away from the status quo can steal our thunder. It is in those dark moments that we must call upon our faith in ourselves and our abilities to live something better. Having a tangible reminder can help us keep the faith and keep moving forward in obtaining our dreams.

“I always wonder why birds choose to stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on the earth, then I ask myself the same question.” ~ Harun Yahya

What keeps us doing the same things, expecting different results? Albert Einstein is credited with saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. At this point, it’s important to ask ourselves what might be holding us back. Is it a fear of failure? Perhaps it is also a fear of success as Marianne Williamson suggests here:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world.”

So how can we better serve ourselves and the word by being more than instead of less than? Each step forward begins with our ability to believe in ourselves to be something greater than we were the step before. Let’s each take another step forward today.

May the fourth be with you.

Namaste

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Strength of Character 

Strength of character isn’t built when the sun is shining, the sea is smooth and all is well. It’s built when your sails are torn, when the waves are high, when the rudder keeps slipping and when you’re still determined to give it your best. 

(C) 2017 Tiffany Cara

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Even Subtle Changes are Important 

Making positive changes in our lives is a process. However, I find that many people (including myself) seek huge changes and become disappointed if those changes do not occur overnight. This can be a challenge, because this can keep us from appreciating the subtle shifts that can lead to bigger changes. 


At the onset of any journey, just a few degrees of change in the beginning can lead to bigger changes further down the path. Acknowledging subtle changes early on can also help us to see and appreciate greater shifts as we move forward.

So while we nurture big dreams and visions, knowing that all of the little changes that we make today allows for greater pieces to fall into place tomorrow. Even if the shifts today are by small degrees, by continually redirecting our focus on the prize allows us to make our way to it. Even if sometimes appears that the change is only by a few degrees those degrees add up to big changes in the long run. 

Just as I share these thoughts, I am applying them to my own life; reminding myself that this is a process. Growth occurs at the edges of our comfort zone and to get where we are going next we need to push that growth edge on a daily basis. For it is the cumulative change that we seek. Today, by choosing to live a little differently, we affirm the changes we seek. Instead, to stay where we were yesterday, prevents us from being better and greater tomorrow. With each degree that we allow ourselves to expand into new territories, the more our perspective changes and the more we can better see the next right step to take. 

“I am learning to appreciate the subtle changes that I am making today.”

Images: BrainyQuotes

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Monday Motivation: Chasing Our Heroes

By chasing our heroes, we find new ways to push our growth edge. By continually moving out of our comfort zones, we make our best a reality, over and over again. 


Last night, a very good friend shared with me Matthew McConaughey’s Oscar acceptance speech. It blew me away! 

I hope you find it does the same for you. Today and every day, let’s find new ways to “chase our heroes!”

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