Get out of your comfort zone to change your life

I have so many thoughts swirling around in my head and my heart right now.

It’s Wednesday mid-morning, I skipped my workout because I woke up feeling really lazy after staying up too late, I’m supposed to be bringing my car into the shop to get the transmission looked at...but I don’t think I can leave the house until I get some of these feels out! So even though I’m struggling to find words to describe everything I want to say, here goes my best shot!

This past year has been a giant Anna-experiment in comfort zone busting.

The end of August (how is it already August??) marks one year since I quit my job to work for myself, and the ensuing emotional rollercoaster has taught me so much about myself, what I believe, and what I want for my future and career.

This past weekend was another comfort zone milestone. I was invited to a leadership retreat and flown down to Orlando, Florida to spend two nights and days with my Beachbody mentors Robb and Chelsea, ten of the other leaders on our team, and a top 10 coach Carly Del Carlo.

We were treated to a private photo shoot, delicious food and drinks, and lots of bonding time. I’d say “networking,” but it felt more like a bachelorette party-meets-girlboss mastermind.

Just being in the presence of so many driven, successful, ambitious, and big hearted people was oh so powerful and a little overwhelming to realize that they saw me as an equal.

Even though I grew up as a straight-A student and high achiever, I've always struggled with self-esteem and I used to be easily intimidated by outgoing, confident, outwardly successful women.

For years I was content to sit on the sidelines and read blogs, stalk social media accounts, and watch creative entrepreneurs do their thing. Over the past several months though, I’ve been feeling pulled towards that energy and a growing desire to make a bigger difference...to use my life and my story to inspire other women too. To come out of the shadows and BE SEEN and respected as a leader and mentor.

How did I start? With baby steps.

I started to really think about what I didn't like about where I was at in life, where I wanted to go, and what I needed to do in order to start moving in that direction. Then I immersed myself in personal development to gain enough confidence and self esteem to believe that I was actually worthy and capable of making these changes and feeling successful!

Fear and self doubt are mortal enemies to dreams and success, and must be eliminated ASAP! 

I started posting more on social media, started taking my blog a little more seriously, and started to recognize that my words and story have influence. Over the past year I’ve been able to help hundreds of women get started or re-motivated on their health and fitness journeys, and I am leading an amazing team of over 100 coaches who are changing lives and building passive incomes for their families.

For the first time in my life, I’m proud of myself. I feel successful, I have found my purpose, and I’m so excited for the future because I can see it unfolding. I still have a long ways to go to meet my big crazy goals, but I’m learning how to be content with the journey, and proud of myself for every single step instead of beating myself up for moving slower than other people. I’m learning that I can’t compare myself to others, and that I’m writing my own story. Everything that needs to happen will unfold when the time is right.

I’ve also developed a closer relationship to God and my own spirituality than I’ve ever experienced before, because blind faith is necessary when you’re creating your own career out of thin air.

This has been a terrifying 18 month process! But so incredibly exhilarating.

WHY LEAVING YOUR COMFORT ZONE IS SO LIFE CHANGING

• You won’t be able to figure out who you really are and what you’re capable of until you test and find your limits.

• When you empower yourself and set the bar high, you raise it for everyone in your life.

• When you uplevel your personal expectations and choose to surround yourself with successful, positive people you admire, you don’t have to look up to them anymore. Instead of putting your mentors and role models on a pedestal and keeping yourself low, raise yourself and look ACROSS.

• For all my fellow introverts: you don’t have to exude energy to be magnetic. Pushing yourself will increase your confidence, and you’ll start to exude a quiet power that’s all your own.

• TAKE YOUR PIPE DREAMS SERIOUSLY! You deserve to be happy. You don’t have to struggle forever. Everything you want out of life already exists somewhere out there….go take it!

"Whatever happens, stay the course, because there’s nothing cooler than watching your entire reality shift into one that is the perfect expression of you." (Jen Sincero)

For too long I just assumed that if I worked hard and did what I was told, I’d feel successful. But the real world doesn’t work that way. If you don’t take initiative for your choices and your life, you’ll never end up where you want to be. And if you don’t take a minute to think about where your ideal destination is...even scarier!

Don’t get swept up in the current of life.

It’s easy to just go with the flow, work towards other people’s goals, respond to the demands that family and co-workers put on our time, listen to what society tells us we should or shouldn't do, but if you’re constantly living in “reactive” mode, you will never know what your true purpose is. You’ll never experience pure joy that comes when you realize that it IS possible to make a living by doing exactly what makes you most happy.

As soon as I realized that I wasn’t ever going to get the feeling of success and fulfillment I wanted until I stopped passively waiting for something to magically happen, I decided that I couldn’t sit on the sidelines anymore. I had to get uncomfortable and put myself out there.

Stop playing victim and become the hero of your own reality show.

For me, that opportunity came in the form of Beachbody coaching. For you, it may be something different. But please do yourself the favor of deciding what you actually want. Five years from now...where do you want to be? What do you want your daily schedule to look like? Is your current job laying the groundwork to get you there? If now, decide to make one small change to shift your course in the right direction.

Stop taking what you can get, and start creating what you want.

You deserve it, and you are worth it.
 

xo Anna

Beachbody does not guarantee any level of success or income from the Team Beachbody Coach Opportunity. Each Coach's income depends on his or her own efforts, diligence, and skill. See our Statement of Independent Coach Earnings located at https://images.beachbody.com/coach-office/downloads/statement_of_independent_coach_earnings.pdf for the most recent information on our Coaches' actual incomes.

I help ambitious, creative, quarter-life women get out of their own way, find their voice, and grow into their full capacity so they can make a difference and create freedom without having to compromise or change who they are...READ MORE.

My favorite part of my job is helping women have that AHA moment and recognize their own power and potential for the first time.

To learn more about joining my team as a coach, email me!

Summer Corn and Black Bean Salad

Apparently I've been stockpiling all the delicious healthy recipes I've been creating all summer and haven't gotten around to sharing them on the blog! My sincere apologies. Let's bring the recipes back, shall we? 

Ok first of all, let's talk summer.

This summer? Has been cray.

We've been traveling every other week, from big European adventures to quick weekend getaways to Michigan, and combined with moving into our new apartment and staying on top of my coaching business, it's been really challenging to stick to a consistent meal planning routine! I usually love trying a few new recipes every week, but lately it's been either giant salads to detox from vacation, or throwing together the fastest and easiest meals I can think of.

Luckily summer is my favorite food season (except for fall....ok and maybe Christmas....), and undoubtedly the best season for whipping up fast, fresh, no-cook meals. Nothing compares to all the fresh fruits and veggies in the farmers markets and roadside stands popping up all over the Midwest right now! 

I grew up in the cornfields of central Illinois, and the humid and fresh smell of irrigated fields of corn brings back so many childhood memories. Even in the middle of Chicago it's easy to find fresh corn almost any day of the week. (If you're in the city, you can find a local farmers market here!) Ben and I picked up some fresh sweet corn at the Wicker Park market after church on Sunday, and I put it to use in this delicious summer salad. Did you know that you can eat fresh corn raw? It's SO GOOD! 

The sweet corn pairs perfectly with creamy black beans, crunchy veggies, juicy tomatoes, and a squeeze of lime, seasoned with salt and cilantro. So easy, so good. Make a big batch of this salad at the beginning of the week to pair with grilled chicken or steak, or bring it to a cookout or potluck!

Summer Corn and Black Bean Salad

Serves 4, can be doubled for a potluck!

Ingredients

+ 3 ears fresh sweet corn
+ 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
+ 1 bell pepper, chopped
+ 1/2 red onion, chopped
+ large handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
+ large handful of cilantro, chopped
+ 2 T olive oil
+ juice of 1/2 a lime
+ salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Slice the kernels off the corn (alternatively you could use defrosted frozen corn), combine all ingredients in a large bowl, and enjoy!

(Each 1 cup serving = 1 yellow, 1/3 green on the 21 Day Fix)

What's your favorite summer potluck dish?

xo Anna

On life transitions, new beginnings, and rolling with the changes

Good-bye, old apartment!

Last week Ben and I said farewell to our first official home together, the old walk-up apartment we've lived in since we moved to Chicago exactly three years ago.

So much can happen in three years!

Where do I even begin?

Well, right now I'm writing this post in my new office/workout room/studio in our new apartment in a different part of town. I have SPACE to breathe, to create, to feel inspired.

I never fully realized how important my environment is to my overall mental state and confidence until just this past year.

You see, our old apartment never really felt like "home" to me. It was just a crappy, crumbly, place we landed when we were just starting out here in the city. It was impossible to keep the dirt and dust at bay, our bedroom floors smelled like ancient cat pee, we only had one drawer in the kitchen, and our "second bedroom" was a closet shoved under the stairs.

Near the end of our lease, I started to finally appreciate the high ceilings, tiny little porch, and natural light, but it's easy to feel sentimental about a place when you know that you're about to leave.

I'm not trying to be negative, but it was really hard for me to find the positive. I visited my girlfriends and tried not to be jealous of their shiny kitchens, pretty decor, gorgeous views, and cozy spaces.

The truth is, I never had the confidence to take charge of my own home and believe it was worth some investment and love. I preferred to play "victim" and feel sorry for myself. I hate the critical and negative side of me who is bitter and jealous, but she ruled my life for much of the past several years. My inner and outer spaces reflected each other, and our apartment was part of my identity as a broke, struggling, under-employed, quarter life crisis girl who had no sense of direction or focused ambition.

A series of events in the winter between 2013 and 2014 flipped an ON switch deep in my core, and for the first time I started to realize that I actually had control over my life, how I felt, and what I did with my future.

I decided I was worth more. I decided to fight for my confidence and happiness. I started to share my story and my message on social media, and the rest is history, just like our old apartment on Melrose Street.

This year in particular, I've taken an intense dive deep into myself, because I know for certain that I am here on this earth to make a big difference and for the first time in my life I actually believe that I can do it. I've invested a lot of emotional energy, time, and money into personal development books, courses, and coaching to help me finally break through the stupid blocks that have been keeping me "stuck" and holding me back. The perfectionism, anxiety, and feeling of never being good enough. It's all gone, because I made a simple choice that I didn't want to feel bad about myself anymore.

So I came lightyears, but our crappy apartment stayed behind, no matter how many trips to IKEA we made to try and resuscitate it. 

I'm reaching this point in my coaching business where I can see myself growing into my full capacity as a guide and a leader, and for the first time ever I'm not scared or overwhelmed at the thought of being successful, of being seen, of having responsibility. But I still felt physically stuck in our old place, where so many old memories kept me connected to that old girl who was so insecure and controlled by fear. The fear of never feeling good enough. 

That fear is gone.

And I have now officially left it PHYSICALLY behind. Same mirror, same reflection, completely different game.

We now live in an absolutely beautiful space, in my dream neighborhood, with a dream kitchen that makes me giddy just to be in, and a back deck already strung with lights. 

Three years in the old apartment and it never felt like home. It only took one day in this new space to get that feeling I didn't even know I was craving. This is the place where all of my stagnant creativity and passion and dreams will explode into reality.

By up-leveling our living situation, I feel like I've up-leveled every single facet of my life.

I didn't expect to feel THIS happy just because of a simple move. And instead of feeling guilty or waiting for the "other shoe to drop," I'm just going to ride the high and soak it all in, because I'll never forget how far I've come to get to this place. I'm not going to diminish my joy, because if you're currently feeling stuck or working through your own story, I want to be able to show you that there is hope. You are capable of SO much, if you just keep putting one foot in front of the other and don't give up.

Is everything perfect? Of course not. And I know there are challenges ahead that I'll deal with when they come. But at a certain point, you have to shift your focus from everything that you still need to work on and improve, to everything that you already have. 

Right now, I have everything I ever wanted, and life is pretty damn good. 

xo Anna