Defining your New Normal 4- Anchors and a Confession

Hi. I’m Minna, co-founders of Foco Academy, functional health and wellness coaches. As the world starts to wake up to the new normal, a lot has changed so we are also tweaking the focus of our messaging on how to get ahead in this new environmental, this new world. We are still focusing on time, health, and relationships and we are still utilizing the same set of success principles. 

Let go of anchor 

A guy, a police detective, once said:

 A guy I fish with, once told me a funny story. He'd just bought an anchor, and as he went forward to tie it to the anchor line, he slipped and fell overboard. Suddenly, he's sitting on the bottom of the lake in fifteen feet of water, cradling his brand new anchor. He didn't want to let go, but he was running out of breath. Realizing his choice was drowning or losing his anchor, he reluctantly let go and swam to the surface. 

Then the police detective said,

 The job has been my anchor and I've been holding on to it for 23 years. I don't want to let go either, but I've run out of breath'.

A person gets so used to a role, so comfortable in that role that, even though unhappy, the fear and trauma of stepping outside the role feels worse than the pain of continuing in it. 

 Such roles include:

The victim (why it, it's so unfair)

The martyr (I gave up everything for you)

The last angry man (I'm mad as hell at everybody and everything, but I will keep taking it)

The misunderstood genius,

And so on

What are you holding on to? 

What are you imprisoning yourself into? 

What's anchoring you to stay exactly where you are, even though you are running out of breath? 

Who's keeping you in place so that you can't move forward?

It may be the people that you hang out with, your friends and even your family. 

It may be the false security that you get from your job. 

Or maybe it's your laziness. Is it? Isn't it easier to just keep doing the same thing, day after day, week after week, year after year, without having to think about how to improve your life?

Look at what the pandemic has done to us. People have been working from their own home, comfortably, some work in their pajamas and some don't even have to brush their hair. 

Now that you are being asked to go back to work, people are saying,

'Oh no, it's too hard!'

'I can't deal with the traffic again!'

Some go as far as asking for stipend to pay for parking fees and toll charges. 

Alright. Maybe slightly off topic, but let's get back into it.

Here's a confession.

For us, what's keeping us from growing, from getting ahead, from achieving bigger, better things, is comfort. 

We made this big move from the Bay Area to Houston Texas. We made the first difficult step to move and then we got comfortable.

We allowed ourselves time to settle in our new home. 

We moved from a 50 year old house to a brand new home. The floor boards don't squeak, there's nothing to fix. Everything works. Everything is energy efficient, state of the art. And because we allowed ourselves time to settle in, we got comfortable. We stopped moving forward. 

Now, we are like a cargo train that has stopped and now starting up the engine again and starting to move. 

In the beginning, it is going to be a slow drag. It will take a lot of effort to start moving but once we do, once the train gets going, it is going to chug along with much less effort. 

So for us, now is the hardest time to get moving. 

But we are committed to doing it. We are committed to help you get ahead in this new normal while we are also figuring it out for ourselves. 

And we are going to share our wins and losses with you, the lessons learned. And we hope that you will join us in building our new normal and to shape our lives into something that we truly desire.

For you, here's what we want you to do. Think about what is imprisoning you. 

Every time you say 'I can't', catch yourself and change it to 'I will'.

Every time you feel a resentment, switch it out to a feeling of gratitude.

Every time you say 'It's not fair'. Get over it. Search for opportunities instead.

Every time you want people to feel sympathy for you, change it out to a desire for accomplishment.

 A perfect example is how Simon Biles withdraw from the Olympics, abandoning her team mates because 'it is just too much stress'. 

Rather than asking for sympathy, what would happen if she had challenged herself for a bigger accomplishment? To become an even bigger success? To lead by example?

Every time you feel depressed, celebrate the small victories instead.

You delivered a project on time, you did your workout with your personal trainer, even though you felt blah that morning, you had no alcohol or sweets for a week.

Celebrate the small victories!

By the way, if you are feeling unhappy, here's one thing you could do to instantly lift up your spirits. 

It's a simple thing to do, even though you might feel a little weird at first.

Every time you feel unhappy or depressed, start laughing. Out loud. Make yourself start laughing. 

We used to think that your psychology drives your physiology, meaning that when you feel happy, you start to laugh. 

But the opposite is also true. When you start laughing, you will also feel happier. Your physiology can drive your psychology.

Give it a try.

Until Next time Love What you Live and Live what you love

Make sure that you follow us on our Facebook page because as we work together, next year is going to be the best year of your life.

We believe that whole life success means a balance of work, health, relationship, finances and contributions. We help you achieve total success through nutrition, exercise, mindset and lifestyle. If you know someone who can benefit from this blog, share with them. Let them know that you care about them. And of course, leave us any comments below. We love to hear from you.

We are not medical doctors. This blog is not intended to diagnose medical condition, or replace your health care provider. The contents of this blog are for informational purposes only. Statements on this website have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Always consult your personal physician before starting any fitness or exercise program or changing dietary habits. The content of this site is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. It is not a substitute for a medical exam, nor does it replace the need for services or counsel provided by medical professionals. However, we do hope to inspire you to become healthier, more self sufficient, and more aware of options.

Sources:

Michael Grant, Line of Duty

Dan Kennedy, The ultimate success secret