I am a creature of habit (guest post).

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Please welcome Pamela.  While she’s sharing her musings on change—I’m off living the change.  At a conference. Outside our tribe. Learning, exploring and embracing the change.   Ill be back soon with stories, I’m sure.  Until then lets talk about HABITS…

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I am a creature of habit.

I start each day with a cup of tea while reviewing my schedule and checking email. I plan workouts, blog posts and meals on a weekly basis.

Sunday is ALWAYS Pancake Day. I thrive in routine. Change is the enemy of my habits and my sanity.

There is one exception to my dislike of change: my clients.

As a personal trainer and health coach, change is my business.

You may think my job is about exercise and nutrition. On the surface it is. Dig deeper and you’ll find my real function – change manager. My real job is to help clients overcome a lifetime of bad habits and change their attitude about food and fitness. This is where change and I become best friends.

Ironically in my own life, I fight change. I don’t like it when it’s time to change workout programs. But I do it because I know new challenges bring the positive change I want to see in my body or my attitude. I procrastinate when it’s time to update software. But I know if I don’t things will eventually stop working. So I update to prevent problems later. I HATE it when the grocery store rearranges the aisles. I know it’s part of their marketing strategy but don’t they know they are slowing me down? Then again, when it comes to food maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

My clients don’t often see that side of me. To them I am the biggest champion that change ever had.

I know it’s their fear of change that is holding them back from the life they wish (and deserve) to have. My job is to show them what they can do, what is possible. I start slowly with the simple tasks. Perhaps it’s asking someone to do a plank a day to change the idea that exercise takes too long. When someone says they aren’t hungry in the morning I ask them to grab something small, like a banana, with their coffee to get their body used to eating breakfast again. Push ups on toes are scary. However, if you modify them on knees or at an incline they still work the same muscles without the intimidation factor.

Then one day they tell me about the yummy mug soufflé they made for breakfast, how easy and filling it was.

I love then I finally ask for just one push up on toes and they give me six.

I no longer see fear in their eyes but a glow from their new-found pride and strength.

Now they believe.

Now change is not something scary but a new adventure.

I HATE change.

I LOVE change.


It’s a fine line between love and hate.

Which side do you fall on?

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Comments

  6. Interesting thoughts here. Routine is so good for me, but I’m the opposite, where eI am naturally drown to “over change.”I change thing when it’s unnecessary or detrimental even to progress or goals. I thrive on routine though, but I just freak out when I notice I’m in one. I love change because I’ve always had this strong belief that change=growth and routine=stagnation, but as of this month (I went on a bit of a change my life spree to too much detriment) I realized that both can create growth, and, surprise surprise, it’s all about balancing routine with change. So now my self-improvement goals are on accepting routine into my life and keeping my changes healthy and intentional. Working out as a routine is a great one to start with!

  8. There is a comfort and familiarity with the same thing…but when I try something new and soon accomplish it I feel so very proud 🙂
    I love trying something new and after hard work and practise bring able to do it. It used to discourage me, but now I find the challenge to be exciting. Funny how your perspectives can change once you realize what you can do when you try 🙂

  9. When i’m too much in a routine, it turns into a rut. At the same time, in some areas, i don’t have enough of a routine. Whether i want the changes or resist them depends on where i am stuck, and where i’m not.

  10. Coincidentally, I was talking to my hubs about change this morning. He’s hesitant to start a workout program because of the disciplines involved — he feels he has none. However, when I pointed out how disciplined he is with his work stuff, he had no comeback for it. The discipline is already there. He just needs to change things up and transfer that discipline to the workouts.

    I truly believe everyone possesses a bounty of can-do abilities. We just need to let it out like a big ‘ole fart.

  11. I used to love change in every area. Now I’m getting old and cranky and tend to resist lots of change. I do like to change up my workouts though!

  12. Pamela – you & I are so alike in terms of daily routine – I like my routine BUT for my own workouts – I love changing them up BUT I do love sticking to my type of workout – but at least I change it up a lot. 🙂 Change is good in the gym & in lifestyle changes! 🙂

    Great post!

  13. My LIFE is change right now! My husband’s job just relocated us to a different state. I transferred with my company, but it’s still all new coworkers and kids (preschool teacher). Learning a new city, new fitness routine (I stopped being a Zumba instructor) and an awesome new outlook on life!

    I think I was ready for a change, regardless of the move or not. My habits just weren’t working. I was sick of feeling depressed and angry all the time. So I have been making small, little habit changes. Just a couple. But they build momentum and all of a sudden I’m feeling happier and more relaxed! I’m not entirely sure what caused the shift in attitude or if it is a combination of things, but right now I’m just happy it finally happened!!

  14. I’m going through lots of changes here and they are scary but needed. Changes test me to practice living in faith over fear. Which is difficult but lines up with the life I want to be living.

  15. I am so with you on the grocery store changes! I am still recovering from our grocery store remodel this summer. I’m OK with changing up my workouts, but more resistant to change on other areas.

  17. I love trying something new and after hard work and practise bring able to do it.
    There is no comfort then that, and familiarity with the same thing…but when I try something new and soon accomplish it I feel so very proud,…

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