How Well Do You Adapt to Change?

By , SparkPeople Blogger
I've always been a creature of habit.  I remember when I was young, I was reluctant to learn how to drive.  I had a very hard time moving out of my parents house on my own.  Any time there have been big changes in my life, it's usually taken quite a bit of adjustment.  I've always been slightly envious of those people who are able to just "go with the flow" and take change as it comes.  I've never been able to do that easily.

If you follow my blogs, you know I love running.  Before kids, I trained regularly for marathons and loved to push myself to see how much faster I could get.  I remember the days when I felt like any run under an hour was pretty much a waste of time.  My, how things have changed.  I still love training for endurance events.  I ran one marathon last year and plan to run another next fall.  But these days I'm happy to find any time for myself to exercise.  I'm no longer disappointed if I don't have the perfect workout.  I've learned to accept the fact that being regularly active with two small children and another on the way is an accomplishment.  That's right- I'm pregnant with baby number 3.

I was still running the week my first two were born, something I was very proud of.  This time, my body hasn't cooperated quite as much, so I recently started walking and will continue that (along with strength training) until the baby arrives (which won't be long!)  Making the transition from running to walking would have been a really big deal to me in the past.  I would have been totally disappointed with myself that I couldn't push harder and tough it out.  But my priorities and expectations of myself have changed.  I've realized that my fitness level doesn't define who I am.  Exercise (specifically running) will always be an important part of my life.  But if I have other, more important things to focus on for a while, that's okay.

So I'm trying to become a little bit more like those "go with the flow" folks I've always envied.  Don't get me wrong- I still have a very hard time with that in most other areas of my life.  But right now, where fitness is concerned, I'm trying to listen to my body and give it what it needs instead of fighting for what I think I should be able to expect of it.

How well do you adapt to change?  Whether it's fitness, nutrition or other areas of your life, are there times when you've struggled with it?