My heart is pounding.
I’ve stopped breathing as I scroll down my blood test results, looking for that ONE number.
The number that will tell me everything.
The number that speaks into every piece of food I have eaten in the past three months, every liquid I have drunk, and every supplement I have taken.
It speaks into every choice, and the swings of frustration and isolation I felt staring at fruit, pizza, beer, and cookies.
My A1C.
When I finally find it, at the bottom of the third page, I can’t believe my eyes.
I never expected THIS.
It’s the lowest it’s ever been. It’s a total reversal. My body chemistry has completely changed.
I stand in shock for a moment, staring at the number, just to convince myself it’s real. And I think,
Oh my gosh…I MADE it.
Have you ever felt this; that feeling of arrival in your Art?
Do you believe in change?
You are pre-diabetic.
Even as the nurse on the other end of the phone was telling me this, I was in complete shock and denial.
I’ve been active my whole life, I eat organic, and I’m thin. How is this possible??
Her diagnosis was confirmed by a bio chemist nutritionist named Kylie Reiffert of KR Nutrition.
And I made a decision in that moment. I wanted to be healthy, and I would do whatever it took to bring my blood sugar down.
I set my sights on a number, and started working with Kylie last summer.
In one fell swoop, most of what I was used to eating was taken off my plate. I had always had a dancer mentality around eating, and now my body was going to burn fat for fuel instead of carbs. I mourned my popcorn, chips, and crackers. I said goodbye to craft beer, and had to learn a completely new way of eating.
I was hungry a lot, and felt really isolated going out to eat, as I struggled to find things on the menu I could eat.
Everything was turned upside down.
In three months time, we were able to bring my A1C down from 5.8 to 5.5. The range for pre-diabetes is 5.6 – 5.9. This was a HUGE win, as Kylie shared she had never seen anyone do this before.
I went from being pre-diabetic to just under. I wasn’t out of the danger zone yet, as pre-diabetic starts at 5.6, so the diet continued, and I stayed the course.
And then I plateaued.
The next blood test was exactly the same, and I cried. It had been a rough four months for me, including getting a nasty stomach flu, and trying so hard to get back to a healthy weight.
But even more so…I felt so discouraged.
Why wasn’t my blood sugar number changing?
Why was it standing stock still?
Have you felt like this in your art?
Worked so hard towards your goal, and see the same results?
Do you set a timeline to achieve your goal and then find yourself at the date with no change?
It can be SO frustrating!
So, what do you do?
Do you believe in change?
I was recently listening to this brilliant podcast called the Dharma Ocean. The teacher was speaking into one of the greatest questions we ask, especially as we are working towards our goals.
The goals of,
Publishing your novel
Booking your dream gigs
Selling your Art
Producing your show
and ultimately,
Thriving in your Art.
His question was,
How do we create change?
The answer was very simple,
Commitment.
He spoke into a deeper commitment, a wholehearted commitment. One that isn’t dependent on what you feel by the day or hour, but transcends swings in moodiness and experiences of pain and pleasure.
Unless your commitment transcends that, it doesn’t mean anything, and we won’t change.
The commitment has to be unconditional. It means you leave the option to quit out.
It’s really LOVE. Love for your Art, for your voice, and for the passion that expresses through your words, music, and brush.
This is why it’s wholehearted.
He had a brilliant ship analogy, saying you get into your boat, you point your ship due east towards your goal, and head there. Your journey is not dependent on the water. Storms may come and go, you may pass shiny islands with palm trees, but you stay the course.
It can be common to have commitment that is contingent, which translates to
I’m committing BUT leaving options open.
If our commitment is not wholehearted, we won’t make the journey. And then we won’t experience the fulfillment and fruition of our efforts. In essence, we give up.
And I get it! We go through SO much on this path. Some days we feel inspired, and other days we feel we want to run ANYWHERE and hide. I felt all of this in the last year, and it was compounded by other health issues like a neck injury, building my business, and also experiencing disappointment after disappointment in dating.
But the main point it, whatever we are feeling in that moment, we practice self empathy, allow it to pass THROUGH us, and then come back to the direction.
Come back to the goal.
Come back to the number that tells you everything.
Come back to the journey.
Stay in the Boat.
If I had given up, I would have diabetes.
If I had given up dating, I would never have met my incredible man and experienced the love I was hungering for.
If I had given up, I would not have doubled my business in one year and be writing to you.
In one year’s time, I went from 5.8 to 5.0. This is a miraculous result. I could have given up at the plateau and said, It’s NOT working! It wasn’t easy, I went through some hurricanes, but I stayed the course. Why?
Because underneath every wave was the belief in our greatest reality,
CHANGE.
Change is constant. You are changing as you read this.
And the beauty is,
YOU decide what that change will be.
Believe in change. Nothing is permanent.
Set your sights on your goal.
And stay in the boat, with your whole heart.
Photography by: Caitlin Cannon