How do you know if you don’t try?

We hear it time and time again:  If we want change, we have to put forth the effort.  That nothing changes or happens without our willingness to work at it and work for it.
And how can we expect to change if we don’t try new things?  After all, isn’t that how change occurs? By doing things differently than the way we’ve been doing them?

So the question is:  Are you a person who is willing to try new things to make the changes you want to see and feel?  And to enjoy the changes you make so that you can sustain them for a lifetime?

In the movie Runaway Bride, Julia Robert’s character has a period of self-discovery, in which she realizes what she likes and does not.  In a pivotal scene, she literally makes every egg recipe available and finds that Eggs Benedict are the only kind that she likes.  

It made me think about my own likes and dislikes, and I’ve realized that discoveries in my own nutrition and fitness have been very similar.  And it’s been this willingness to try and discover what I actually do and don’t like that has made a huge impact on me.  

Because for me, if I don’t enjoy it, I won’t stick with it.

One example of this is kale.  It’s an incredibly nutritious leafy green, and I know this.  But at first, I was a bit unsure as to how to eat it. Because I like crunchy snacks, my first thought was, “Kale chips!  Everyone loves them, so they must be great!” Well. I tried them. Both by making my own and also buying them prepackaged.  What I discovered is that I do NOT like them, Sam I Am. Not in a box, not with a fox, not in a house, not with a mouse…  

But I wasn’t going to give up, and so I tried eating it in different ways besides baking it into chips.  And in this process, I discovered that I like kale steamed with garlic, and also in salads and soups. But it was only through trying it in a variety of ways that I found different ways to enjoy eating it.  And that enjoyment keeps it a part of my weekly diet.

This also holds true in my workouts.  For me, handstand pushups are something I do not enjoy.  And it’s not because they’re hard (which they are), but it’s because I do not like being upside down; I was never the kid hanging on the jungle gym at recess.   During our CrossFit workouts, I tried doing handstand walks and box handstand pushups, but the walks freak me out, and multiple reps on the box mess with my sinuses. And since I want to keep my sense of balance and also to be able to breathe, I’ve chosen to do shoulder presses instead.  I found a way to change the handstand pushups to meet my needs and goals, and even though it’s not the same as pressing my body weight, the modification I’ve chosen works for me. And I can maintain that change indefinitely.

There are so many choices and modifications we can make, whether it’s with our diets or workouts or anything we want in life.

The key is to keep trying new things to find out what works for us.

And so the question is, are you willing to put forth the effort to try new things and different methods, and then keep trying if it’s not perfect the first time?  To not give up until you succeed in the changes you want to make to improve your health?

Here’s to your success!

-Sue