The Power of Change

Amy Krazizky is a Pilates instructor and founder of Cores & Effect Pilates. Here, she reveals what change has taught her about life and explains why sometimes it’s worth taking the plunge…

Making a change. What does it mean to you? Is it exciting? Daunting? Throughout my personal transition from one career to becoming a Pilates teacher and suddenly owning my own studio, I found myself riding a big roller coaster of extreme emotions, from anxiety to deep fulfillment.

Change may require you to sacrifice focus from one of life’s demands to invest that energy elsewhere. But it can give you the power to live with more courage and greater intention. Change can be motivated by your desire to focus on yourself and navigate a more fulfilling life. Or it can mean transitioning into a new job, moving to a new house, or getting out of a dysfunctional relationship.

Working through change can teach us prompts and strategies for dealing with our messy lives.

Here is what change has taught me through some challenging times…

  1. Be committed, not half-hearted! Don’t be light and indifferent if you want change. You basically have to get messy, dirty and own uncomfortable situations. Understand the darkness and the struggles ahead.
  2. Once you get messy with change, you do not stay there! To move forward, you need to ‘own’ it. Find what needs to change and use the support of those around you – friends, family, intelligence, research – to access the information you need. Once you’ve broken down the constructive steps you have to take, it will lead you toward an easier, quicker and hopefully pain-free journey.
  3. Are you everything to everyone? Are there days when it’s just too much? Honest conversations about what you should do as opposed to what you can are critical, with yourself first, and then those around you – family, friends, colleagues, etc.
  4. Don’t be scared of feeling vulnerable or putting yourself out there by making change happen. We tend to feel that people will think less of us if we share our truth, that we will perhaps not be accepted. This can leave us feeling very disconnected.
  5. Don’t let past experiences define who you are. We tend to live in fear of disappointing. By not letting the past define us we can have more clarity in our thoughts and focus on moving forward. We become more comfortable in our own skin.
  6. Let go of judgement, of others and of yourself.
  7. Replace negative behaviors with positive ones. Have you noticed how we all engage in self-destructive behavior at times?
  8. Ignore when things don’t go ideally to plan the first, or even the second, time! Shut out negative voices (and heck can they be loud!) Stand your ground and get deliberate. Dig deeper!
  9. Let go of perfectionism – it’s self-destructive! Stop with the unobtainable goals that take up too much energy and time. And would you please take off the game face? We are not always in control. We don’t always need to be in control. And guess what? Imperfections are not inadequacies!
  10. Let go of comparisons. This takes mindful, constant awareness…just saying.
  11. Be authentic. Try something new. New Challenges and focuses can make you feel like you’re breathing properly for the first time. You can wake with an energy and vitality for life that might’ve previously been lost, or at the very least, challenged. Throw caution to the wind and don’t let your self-expression take a back seat.
  12. Drop a ball or two. If some things don’t get done on the list, so what? You may not live up to your own expectations at times, but you don’t need to prove yourself to anyone. Losing the need to is freeing.

So feel brave, and perhaps feel a little afraid, but feel very much alive when you embrace change.