It’s Been 7 Months Since My Last Post. Why I had to S.T.O.P.

It’s been seven months since I wrote my last blog post and I wanted to apologize for it, but the truth is I needed to stop because my life demanded it of me, and for that I can’t be sorry.

I won’t bore you with the details of went down (at least not today), but what I will tell you is where these past seven months have led me…and that is right back here.

For those of you who have been following my blog, you may recall from one of my very first posts that I wasn’t quite sure where I was going with it or why, except to say that I just felt the desire to write and to share my journey with all of you. 

My life over the past several years has taken many twists and turns, but the most profound change was when we relocated to San Antonio from Toronto just over two years ago. After taking time to get my family settled into in our new life, I had the strong urge to do something (anything!) productive again.

You see, when we moved I had to put myself on hold…not because I wanted too, but because I had too. And, while my husband was off building his business and doing great things, I was stuck at home unable to work and feeling sorry for myself because of certain rules surrounding our work Visa. I felt like I was in this constant holding pattern, which had me questioning nearly everything including the move, what I was doing with my life, my ability to parent, my relationship with my husband, my relationships with others and so on. So, when life really went off the rails last Spring, I needed to just S.T.O.P. and take pause. I needed to spend time with myself and to re-evaluate. 

Over the past seven or so months, I began to see things about myself that needed to change – behaviors, perspectives, expectations, beliefs, etc. I had to get honest with myself about where I was, how I got to there, where I needed to go and why. 

The process sucked. There were a lot tears and a definite fear of failure, but when the fog finally began to lift, I learned a few key things, which I now see had prevented me from from moving forward and living my best life. I defined these key learning by using the acronym S.T.O.P.:

1. S – Stop obsessing over getting everything perfect on the first try. Overthinking and overanalyzing leads to making decisions out of fear. Decisions made out of fear are always the safest choice, which may not necessarily be the right choice (Thank you @RachelHollis for this little nugget!). 
2. T – Trust that whatever happens has happened for a reason and that the reason may be part of a much bigger plan. 
3. O – Open your heart and your mind to the lessons all of these life experiences bring you (good or bad) because sometimes these lessons are intended to prepare us for bigger and better things. 
4. P – Prepare for the things you know you can control, let go of that which you cannot. Nine times out of 10 life doesn’t turn out the way we expect or want it too, so remain open to everything and anything .

I had had thoughts of shutting down this blog and throwing in the towel on the kids yoga stuff because it was left dormant for so long, but my gut (which is usually pretty bang on), told me otherwise and as my perspective began to shift I began to get more clear on what my purpose might be. 

Now I don’t yet have it all figured out, but here’s where I’m at…

Over the next month or so, I will be revamping my blog to focus more on the work I am doing to bring children’s fitness and yoga into the San Antonio community and beyond. This is an area I am deeply passionate about and something I believe every child should have access too beyond school PE classes.  

I have already begun this journey by teaming up with my local gym (EnergyX Fitness) and the children’s museum here in San Antonio (The DoSeum) by offering both children’s and family fitness classes, but this is just the beginning. 

I cannot thank you enough for the continued support as I find my way. If there is anything you would like to know more about, if you have any questions or would like me to write on a specific topic, please feel to reach out to me at strongkindminds@gmail.com. 

Marisa
Xo