Greetings, fellow human! Today I’m going to be real with you – it’s been a challenging few weeks for us around here. We are busy and blessed and things are going well, but of course life and business is not without its challenges. That said, if I’ve learned one thing in life it’s that challenge is the precursor to massive growth.
Normally it’s easier for us humans to gain perspective after a $#!%ty situation occurs because we’ve weathered the storm, felt the feels, and waited for clear skies to get a birds-eye view of the master plan of the Universe. But what if we could train ourselves to actively acknowledge the major shifts that occur during the challenges? Would that make walking through the rain slightly easier to handle? I think so, and let me tell you why…
life will make you not break you
Fact: you can’t launch yourself into the next level without a bit of turbulence – so why not be prepared for it. When you set an intention to level up your life, you must be prepared for seismic shifts to occur. This can often manifest as major changes in relationships, work, location, values, beliefs and more. Don’t be surprised if you get bombed by truth, slapped by uncertainty, and catapulted into confusion along the way… and don’t be surprised when you inevitably grow.
I was reflecting with a friend recently about how I feel like a new level has unlocked in me because I am now hyper aware of the benefit of change while it’s occurring. Awareness of a positive shift through “negative” circumstances doesn’t mean the discomfort feels any more comfortable, but it does provide hope. Why? Because we’ve all been there and we’ve all made it through to the other side. How do I know? Because I’m writing this and you’re reading this – we’re still here.
If you survive it, you can thrive from it.
Fortunately or unfortunately I have too many examples to count where sucky circumstances have resulted in an amazing outcome. The real power move is sitting in a state of awareness and positive anticipation while it’s happening.
As Steve said last week, life is happening for us not to us. While life can provide a plethora of sucky situations that make this fact hard to accept, it stands true. It’s undeniable that every challenging experience makes us more resilient. AKA what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger – just ask my girl Kelly Clarkson.
life’s a beach
When I got my first place in Toronto, I lived in a basement apartment in The Beaches. It had wonky-ass misshapen wavy hardwood floors, too many variations in ceiling height, and a random bidet in the middle of the bathroom… and it was $850 a month. I loved it. I went from an extremely high-paying job as a live-in Manny (man-nanny for those who didn’t know) where all my expenses were paid to this basement abode I couldn’t really afford because, while I’d made a ton of money, I somehow didn’t manage to save much.
Upon arriving in the city, I had booked my very first audition, a musical about Marilyn Monroe (it was so very terrible) and I thought I was an instant success, making a whopping $300 honorarium (a fancy industry word that means “basically free”) for 2 months of work. All my money went to rent and TTC fare to get to auditions.
As I worked hard to live up to the “starving artist” mentality, it got to the point where I would skip meals to save money, and instead I’d snack on saltines and ketchup packets I had collected from restaurants (my mom hates this story).
But here’s the thing: I was happy. Extremely happy! I had a newfound independence. I lived in a beautiful area by the water and I walked the beach every day. I made new friends. I got a random job at a pie shop. I was putting myself out there, booking random gigs, feeling fantastic – albeit a little too skinny.
Naturally, I would have stress about paying rent each month, but somehow, some way, because I trusted things would work out, they always did. And even though times were tough and I was literally living off of coins I found in my couch, I felt like I was living my best life.
In those moments of uncertainty I remember very distinctly thinking one day I’d be able to tell the story of how my days of being broke (or as I prefer, “financially minimalist”) would strengthen my character and allow me to focus on the things that matter – like living a fulfilling life!
building up the good vibes
Another perfect example of “embracing the suck” in anticipation of brighter days is the creation and build of our lil’ wellness wonderland. Oh yes, even a studio full of self-care dreams was not without its nightmares. Vortex began construction in April of 2021, with a projected “8 week build”. As anyone who has built anything knows, 8 weeks actually means 8 months.
As the endless amount of comments on the beauty of our space would suggest, so much went right. But naturally, during the process, so much went wrong. Delays in materials, constantly extended timelines, shady trades people, stress-filled sleepless nights, and more. And of course all this went down during the height of a global pandemic. Good times.
I’ll never forget a moment after the framing and drywall went up, where I was sitting on the concrete floor in Pod 3 before it became Pod 3. I had the architectural drawings spread out in front of me and realizing that we were inside of the vision we’d created. It was powerful – tangible even! I could feel the joy that people would soon feel in our space. I knew people were going to love it and that once all the chaos of building the studio was over, this would be a space where people build themselves – a space to feel calm and connected. Thankfully I was right.
You see, when life throws us situations that seem to leave us powerless, we actually have all the power in the moment that if we simply understand we aren’t being punished – we’re leveling up and experiencing a life-changing shift in realtime.
Remember:
Just because change is rarely comfortable doesn’t mean it’s bad.
Just because things are hard now doesn’t mean they won’t get easier.
And just because you don’t know how things will work out, doesn’t mean they won’t.
They will… they always do!
