It Doesn't Have to be so Hard!

Hey there friend,

Thanks for stopping by. Today I'd like to share a bit of a personal story and help you see that "life, recovery, staying healthy etc etc" doesn't have to be as hard as you might be thinking...

I’ve always thought it was funny that my parents' wedding anniversary was April 1st aka April Fools Day!

Mum always swore that because it was after the “Noon” deadline,  that it wasn’t a joke…getting more and more aggravated at any attempt at a joke, as the years went on.

via GIPHY

And so naturally every April 1st, I can’t help but think about my parents, both of whom have passed and try to recall memories and stories of life when they were with us.

Some good, some, not so good…I’m sure you can relate from your own family too?

Now, let me set the scene…before I was 11 years old, I think we moved 4 or 5 times around different areas in the UK. I recall VERY little about my childhood before this point in time.

We always moved for Dad’s work, he was an electrical engineer specializing in the telecom industry and I can always remember him needing to travel a lot for work ( a job that likely is non-existent these days, replaced by an IT specialist ).

But from the ages of 11-18 we lived in one place…a tiny village called Portbury, of just 800 people. I remember mum putting her foot down and saying she wanted the consistency for me and my younger brother for school.

Something happened during those years…Mum and Dad put down roots. Made friends, had social nights, played table-tennis and skittles (a bit like bowling) , dinner parties, and met friends for a drink before Sunday lunch around the pub (very English!).

I left home at 18, to move in with my then boyfriend who shortly thereafter became my first husband and father to Paige and Jason (my kiddos). 

My brother, Clive (who has also passed)  flew the coup to move in with friends, as soon as he got his first job.

Honestly, between you and me, I thought mum and dad would stay in the village, the place that they “seemed” to be so happy.

But, within a year…they were off again, and went through 3 more house moves after that…before I had this conversation with my mum…

You see, I had moved to the US when I was just 22 years old and remained close with my mum especially (even though she wasn’t always easy) and we’d talk at least once a week on the phone. This was when it cost $1 a minute to talk to the UK!!

This particular day, I remember hearing mum’s sadness across the miles, she was distant and a shell of the woman she’d been when living in the village.

It tugged at my heart strings, as she told me how lonely she felt. Dad was still traveling for work, no friends, although she was working, she felt like the “new girl”...(I can relate after my childhood and moving 7 times in the past 9 years myself and having to start over from scratch after a car accident and breast cancer!)

But…as the problem solver I am, I gently made a few suggestions for meeting people, the library, the knitting shop…but I’ll never forget the weight of her response…

“Karin, what’s the point? I’m too old, too tired and it’s just too hard now”

via GIPHY

I just wanted to jump across the Atlantic Ocean in one massive leap and give her the biggest hug.

Now, perhaps you’re reading this and wondering what this has to do with you?

Well, as I was thinking I started wondering if you’ve ever been in a situation in your life where you felt so good, happy, ALIVE?

• Friendships that were so special, feeling like you fit it for the first time?
• A job that made you feel like a rockstar, where someone trusted your ability and made you feel confident in yourself?
• Or perhaps you finally found a diet that works and you lost 7 pounds!

And then, it all came to an end.

Perhaps you, like my mum, believe that your time to have any of these again has passed. 

Maybe that voice inside your head is saying to you…

“What’s the point? I’m too old, too tired and it’s just too hard now”

(Pssst…nobody else needs to know what you’re thinking…this stays between us!)

For me personally…I’d like to share a belief I’ve carried in my heart for decades now, it was even a catalyst to get out of my first marriage…

I believe that… we all go around this earth once in this body (I’ll let what happens after we leave this earth, to your own beliefs)...

And I believe with every ounce of me, that we ALL deserve to feel ALIVE, full of joy, laughing daily (even through the hard stuff) and to never feel alone.

It’s my honor as your coach to help you achieve that…and you might be saying…

What’s the point? 

You deserve it!

I’m too old!

You can teach an old dog new tricks! It’s NEVER too late!

I’m too tired!

Taking care of yourself, the right way, fills up your teapot, it doesn't drain you!  (LOL, I think of our body as a teapot )

It’s too hard!

Because you don’t know yet how to make it easy, instead! ..... I do!

So, please ask yourself today, as you sit quietly with this blog and a cup of tea…

How many people do you know that are constantly trying new diets and have nothing to show for it? 

Diets are hard AND they don’t work!

What if, eating healthy, and all of the other things you really want to do to stay healthy aren’t as hard as you’ve been believing?

I hope today I’ve given you some food for thought? 

Is your voice inside your head is saying to you…“What’s the point? I’m too old, too tired and it’s just too hard now”

Your loving and resilient coach,

Xoxo Karin

P.S. If you want to feel ALIVE again, full of joy and laughter, not getting thrown off course every time life gets hard and you've struggled with adopting and sticking to ANY healthy habit in the past, and want to embrace a healthier lifestyle, especially after a breast cancer diagnosis...then what's been missing from your healthy toolbox are Resilient Routines!  Discover 10 Key Components to Your Successful Resilient Routines HERE.