What Changes Us?

I wrote a bio back in 2012 that talked about a huge life event.  I went from being a CPA (certified public accountant) to becoming a Chiropractor.  It's interesting because I wrote briefly about my life long purpose too, but how little did I know what that purpose would grow into...

Some things I didn't mention because they hadn't happened yet, like the 12 years we had a CrossFit gym.  What an incredible experience.  Functional Movements, Constantly Varied at High Intensity.  It was very intense at times, but it was such an awesome time too.  It's now been 14 years, so we are 2 years out from having the gym, and life keeps on getting better.  My purpose keeps getting deeper and helps me continue to grow more and more focused.

Three ENORMOUS events over those years rocked my world.  There were quite a few BIG events too, but I'll cover one of the enormous ones here:  COVID.

COVID shut our gym down at the 10th and best year as a business.  We had grown, matured some might say, into hiring a business coach TwoBrain (CLICK here for more info), and they really really helped.  What an amazing group.  Definitely the best decision we made in business was getting a coach.  Makes sense right?  We were "Coaches".  Coaches need coaches.  Athletes need coaches.  Everyone benefits from finding the right coach.  Definitely a great time to be alive because there are coaches for everything from nutrition coaches to financial coaches.

BUT the big big thing I learned from all this was:  Events don't change me.

Changing me, Changes me.

Think about that for a minute.  

When I went from being a CPA to being a chiropractor and gym owner it was an event, but it didn't change me.  

When I referred to the three enormous things earlier that rocked my world, they were events, but they didn't change me.

We can lose someone in our lives, a very traumatic experience (I know about this too), but this doesn't change me.

if we don't change ourselves it is easy to go back to normal.  It's a new normal.  The event might have changed the environment we live in.  Losing the gym meant I no longer woke at 4am and went and turned on the lights at 4:45am to get ready for the 5am class anymore.  My new environment was usually my bed at that time.  After the event my environment changed, but I didn't.  

Whether I became a different person, whether I became a better person, that was a change I had to make.  

Now don't confuse what I'm saying.  We don't do it alone.  I have two of the absolutely best coaches in the universe coaching me today, so I didn't do it alone.  I did have to change, and in my case I had to call and hire the coaches to help.  I had to change and start listening to them, rather than telling them how I run things.  I had to change and start moving rather than sitting, doing rather than talking, acting rather than just thinking...

The event doesn't change us.  The event changes the environment.

The new environment didn't do it.

We change or we don't.  If my car breaks down, then I walk or stay home.  The environment changes.  If I'm not a walker and don't want to walk and never walked and not going to walk, then the event didn't change me.  I sit on my couch rather than sitting in my car is all, different environment...

I haven't thought it all the way through, and I believe the events in our lives can be a catalyst for change.  I wonder though if even that depends on the type of person we are, or rather the type of person we are willing to become.  We might be someone that sees an event as an opportunity to change or someone that sees an event as a good time or bad time that is either fun or sucks and nothing more.

What kind of person are you?

Do you want a life event, let's say a new diagnosis or another new environment to be a catalyst or just another day?

Interesting.  

Something to ponder at least...