[vlog at the bottom if you’d rather watch/listen!]
This blog/vlog has a special place in my heart! Not just because I’m sharing a bit of my story and experience, or even because it was a huge part of me being able to do what I love, but because so many people go through life limited by what others might think! When I say ‘others’ I’m talking about people that have no impact or involvement in your life! We worry what a random person on social media might comment or someone we used to know in high school but not longer keep in touch with might think about what we’re doing. Society has conditioned us to compare ourselves to others and think about how they will look at our actions! We don’t have to live that way. It can be really counter productive if we allow it to be.
As long as we’re not hurting anyone and not disregarding our responsibilities, what we do, shouldn’t be affected by people’s ( Mainly the people that have no real part in our life!) opinions.
So, you have a goal you’re scared to go after because of what others might say or think. Don’t be. I know, easier said than done but remember, they don’t live your life. They aren’t the ones that will have to live with not going after what they wanted, you are.
Forgetting what others might think about my goals and what I’m doing is something that allowed me to start doing things that I love and helping others while I’m at it. I originally planned to go into acting after graduating college. I ran track and cross country all year and also majored in Theater, the most time consuming major in the world (doesn’t help that all the teachers have a chip on their shoulder because the world thinks it’s a joke!) and just stuck it out because I thought that’s what I wanted. Well graduation came around and I decided I would hold off on perusing acting and try out being an assistant coach for cross country. Not my thing! I loved the head coach but not so much the hours, not so much anything about it besides that. I knew it wasn’t something I wanted long term so I decided to finish out the season and leave rather than staying for track. I didn’t worry that people might think I ‘failed’ at it or wonder what happened when I left before the full year was up. I knew it was the right choice for me(don’t worry I didn’t leave the head coach in a tight spot, he had help).
So I decided to go after acting because that’s what I thought I wanted. My brother lives in LA so I went to take film classes and stayed out there for 2.5 months! I also had an amazing time here, my brother is awesome and fun, LA is so cool to visit and what wasn’t to love? Went on some auditions, took the things I learned and went home to the East Coast to peruse acting in Atlanta before deciding that I really only enjoyed theater. This film stuff was boring, all the roles for my ‘type’ we’re overly sexualized and I just wasn’t comfortable with it.
All the time I was perusing acting I was living at home with my parents in SC. This isn’t something that’s popular these days. People my age thought it was a little weird and some adults probably thought my parents we’re crazy for having me! I was 23 when I moved back in and stayed until I was 26. This is where I started SugrySixPack. I owe so much to my parents on this one! They let me stay and go after what I wanted so that I could have part time jobs rather than a 8-5 that took up my whole day.
I could have let being the only person my age I knew living at home after college make me worry what everyone I knew was thinking. Most people I knew were in grad school or had a stable job and their own place. I could have worried that, to the outside world, it looked like I was ‘falling behind’ in life. What would that have done for me? That would have sent me down a path I didn’t want to go just to that I could appear to ‘have it all together’ by other’s standards.
I share this not to promote living at home, that’s just what it took for me, but to remind you that it’s not important what it ‘looks like’ to the world. It doesn’t matter if they think your fitness goals are too big or your career goals are crazy or that side hustle just isn’t practical! If I would have allowed other people’s opinions to push me into something I didn’t want to do, my life would be completely different.
Remember guys, whether it’s fitness goals or anything else, if you want to go for it, don’t worry about what it ‘looks like’ or if anyone else believes you can do it. It’s better to have tried to go for what you wanted than to never know what you could have done!
Sweat, Smile, Repeat!
Niki
