Back to school

Back to school

Back to school OptiMum Health

Well, that’s it then.

The summer hols are officially over as schools go back
for us today.

Some parents may be cheering, others may be a bit more
reticent.

Either way, whichever you’re feeling is essentially a
response to ‘change’.

Some people relish change, many dislike, fear or even
dread change.

I know as I tucked my boys up in bed last night they were
going through the ‘what ifs’ and ‘I don’t want to go
back’. I also know that none of those fears of change
will be realised and that they’ll come bounding out of
the school gates later with smiles on their faces.

Yet we all have those reactions to change.

You may have decided that, once the children are back
in school, you’re going to:

– get back to the gym

– start getting fit

– change your eating habits
Now the time is finally here though, you may feel
differently about it….

What if you look awful in your gym kit?

What if people look at you funny, or even laugh at you
in the gym?

What if passers by comment on you while you’re out for
a run?

What if you really can’t stick to chicken, veg and
salad for more than two days in a row?

So you start to water it down.

“I’ll start on Monday….”

“I’ll just get this sorted, and then I’ll really go for
it….”

Alternatively, you may be one of these people that
delights in change and you are positively excited at
the amazing new You that’s going to appear overnight
from making these planned changes.

Only that excitement wanes a little and then starts to
flounder as the reality of the challenge you set
yourself bites in, perhaps the results aren’t quite how
you imagined and it’s actually a bit difficult all
round.

We all respond to change in our own unique way – as we
ourselves are unique.

That’s something to be understood and even celebrated.

So, what about accepting it for what it is?

A change.

What if you change those ‘what ifs’ to include some
positive outcomes:

  • what if I really love getting back to the gym
  • what if I start to feel more energised the more I move
  • what if I feel healthier for looking after myself more

What if you try it out and if it doesn’t work, you make
another slight change to make it better?

You might try one gym class but end up preferring
another. You might set out to run every other evening,
but find you prefer to go swimming.

The only rules are those you set for yourself.

So go for it…what’s the worst that can happen? Balance
that against the best that could happen?

As Sheryl Crow sang “A Change Would Do You Good”

Enjoy the journey.

 

Fear of change can be worse than the change itself

Fear of change can be worse than the change itself