I Measure My Success By How Much Fun I’m Having – Guest Blogger Amy Thompson

Life is fun! Fun is something I had let slip from my life because I wanted to hide myself away, I wasn’t happy and had zero confidence. Not anymore! Getting healthy and feeling happy has given me the confidence to really start living my life. And I’m loving it! “I measure my success by how much fun I’m having.”

This year has seen me having a go at things I would have previously thought impossible or that I would have shied away from. I have run over 300km. I have gone bike riding. I have climbed mountains. I’ve gone after what I want, time and time again. I’ve said yes. To dinners. Lunches. Brunches. Morning teas. Coffees (peppermint tea!). Nights out. Weekends away. Walks. Runs. To invites. To friends. To family. I’ve started putting myself first and looking after my health, both physical and mental, and I feel a million bucks. I’m no longer the spectator…I’m the doer, the have-a-goer, the ‘I don’t care what people think anymore’ person, and it makes my life so much more fun. I have put myself out of my comfort zone so many times this year.

It hasn’t always been easy…I have had many ‘meltdowns’ but have come through a stronger and better person. The difference now is; I know I can cope. And I know I have a strong support network who will help put things in perspective. Thank you all for keeping me sane. “The truth is…sometimes you have to do what’s best for you and your life, not what’s best for everyone else.”

To get to this point has taken a lot of hard work. I’ve listened to the experts, Matt and Annette, and put my trust in them. I trained, both weights and cardio. I gained as much knowledge as I could about nutrition. I worked on changing my mindset…a hard thing to do when you’re used to thinking a certain way about yourself for so many years. I did a lot of work on values, working out what was important to me and what I could change to live in alignment with these.

Sometimes the results came fast and strong, other times nothing changed. It was at these times that I had to dig deep…I could have gone one of two ways, but with the support of so many people I chose the only way that the ‘new’ me could live with. I persisted and knew I was doing what was best for me and that the results would eventually come. And they did. “If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you.” And now I’m stuck at 55! This is a pretty good place to be stuck at…55kg of weight gone FOREVER! This amount still amazes me! It hasn’t all been smooth sailing! I’ve felt every emotion along the way. From joy to fear. Amazement to anger. Happiness to sadness. Positivity to being afraid. Strong to weak. Alive to feeling helpless. Matt and Annette, the personal trainers at Assist Personal Training sensed my mood along the way and knew when I need extra support. Thank you. Would I change anything? No! The highs and lows have got me to this point. There will be more highs and lows in the days, months and years to come and I know I will be able to deal with what life throws at me. Bring on 2017 and beyond.