Trust in the process. Have faith. Hard times will come and that’s a guarantee, how you handle them and what you learn from them, not that is up to you.
On this journey as a fitness model and competitor, I have learned many life lessons. I have come to realize that many of the lessons I’ve learned through training for a show and competing can be applied to every day life. Today I want to write about a very simple but significant lesson I’ve learned; trusting the process.
I’ve been sitting on this topic for about two months now as I was putting the very concept of “trusting the process” to test in my personal life. Now, one thing I know for sure is that if you follow a good nutrition and exercise program you will see good results. I know this from my fitness competition days where I personally experienced having to trust the process and seeing it work magic on my body. However, when it comes to real life events and trusting that everything happens for a reason, it can be a little more challenging for me to sit back and trust that everything will turn out okay.
Let me tell you how I put trusting the process to the test. Two months ago I walked away from a job without another one lined up and not even any prospects. I was stressed out of my mind, I have these reoccurring bills that seem to come at me every month. Not only that, but I would need money to buy chicken and egg whites and of course take my son, Christian to Target, the place I easily spend a $100 when I just went in for one thing. Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about ladies! On the flip side, if I wanted to get all crazy, I had another option; not working and spending the next two months with Christian living like a free spirited human no longer chained to a desk.
So began the internal struggle, the planner, controlling side of me said to “get a job now” and the calm, cool and collected side said “stop and enjoy the summer with Christian”. After some struggling I decided to spend the next two months kicking it with Christian. I was fortunate enough to be able to cover my expenses for this time period so I decided to take advantage of it. I would TRUST that the right job would come at the right time. Summers are my time to spend with Christian and how perfect it turned out that I was able to spend the next two months with him instead of dropping him off at the daycare then gazing out my office window wishing I was with him at the pool instead.
We had a wonderful and memorable two months together! Then in perfect timing an awesome job opportunity presented itself. Christian would soon be leaving and I would be able to start my new job a week after he left. The timing, and the opportunity were perfect, better than I could have planned. You might think it to be a simple coincidence. I’d like to think it’s because I chose to follow my heart, let go of the need to be in control and to just trust the process. I had my doubts many times, but I could either sit around and stress, or let go and trust.
The “process” as I refer to it are the events that happen to us, most of the time they are unexpected and can often times be hardships we go through. I am still learning to trust that each event is happening or has happened for a reason. If we allow them, these experiences can be an opportunity for growth, or just simply an opportunity to see things in a different light. It also makes things a lot less stressful. I mean when you think about it, sitting around worrying is a lot of hard work and wasted energy. Hard times will come and that’s a guarantee, how you handle them and what you learn from them, not that is up to you. Trust the process.
