2022 didn’t start so well. Let’s change that up …

After two years of holding on, pushing through, staying strong and being positive, I was ready to move on. But the start of 2022 didn’t work out that way and I found it tough ...

The 2019–20 bushfire season was the worst NSW has recorded: 26 lives were lost, 2,448 homes were destroyed and 5.5 million hectares of land were burnt. In January 2020, as Australia was in the midst of the bushfire crisis, the first COVID case reached our shores and by March 2020 we began a two-year cycle of school closures, lockdowns, border restrictions, limited human interactions and many other changes to our daily lives that we could not have even imagined before this time.

It was a tough couple of years, but from a personal point of view I did OK. Both my husband and I were able to keep working. My children were safe and had access to great educational resources and no one in my family became unwell.

I felt quite driven and motivated during this two-year period. I stayed positive and kept the business and our family rolling. In hindsight, it seems that I was holding my breath, waiting for the time when we would all be vaccinated and life would resume as it was pre-2020. Unfortunately, it wasn’t that simple.

Fast forward to Term 1, 2022. I was ready to get back into life with the kids at school and camps and social events back on the calendar. With regards to work I had my group program ready to go, PTs and small groups all in the calendar, plans for Fit My Day hikes and social events all cued up … and yet, 2022 had other ideas.

As the COVID numbers bubbled up in our previously low-case areas, many of our Fit My Day families were having to contend with sickness, isolation and cancellations. Events were happening again, and yet there was the added stress of wondering whether you or your child would make it to the much longed-for party, camp, sporting event or music performance, or if a positive RAT would lock down the family for a week.

Then came the rain. Heavy, unrelenting, constant rain. The mud, mould, flooding, dampness, cancelled sport and training sessions, restless kids, wired dogs, no outdoor training … it was tough. Even the locations of our hike in May is having to be re-assessed due to track landslides.

I love to always be setting new goals whether it be in my work life, family life or my own health and fitness. However, last term I felt like I was stuck in the mud (quite literally at times) and simply going through the motions some days. And, on reflection, I have come to realise that that’s OK.

Over the Easter Weekend my family and I went to the Katoomba Easter Christian Convention which involves a number of seminars featuring fantastic speakers sharing on faith-based topics. The weekend’s theme was “True Grit: God’s call to fortitude in a world of fear” and I was on the edge of my seat, ready to re-discover my True Grit in what had been a pretty “grit-less” few months.

The first talk, however, pointed out something different that I needed to hear - and that is that it’s OK not to be OK. The second thing I learnt through my friend who was away with us (let’s call her Tori) was that it’s also OK to tell people that you are not always OK. She suggested that it can actually be helpful for others to know that we all have moments when we feel unmotivated and a little stuck in a rut.

So Term 1 is done, and I’m very ready for Term 2. Now that’s not to say that Term 2 won’t present its own challenges, however I am going into it with more realistic expectations. Accepting that COVID and the complications it can present are a part of daily life gives me the head-space to feel more prepared to face what’s ahead. I am once again feeling excited and ready to support you all in health and fitness this term. Here are 4 things that I know have made all the difference in how I’m feeling moving forwards:

Escaping from day to day life. The weekend away did wonders for how I was feeling.
Talking things through with a trusted friend.
Committing to one small change that can be done on a daily basis that is positive for your health (I’m going to start going for a walk after dinner again - rain, hail or shine).
Reaching out for what renews you spiritually. For me, that was being reminded about God’s strength and His love for us.