Do you want to stay the same this year?

I would guess your answer to that is “No”. Who wants to stay exactly the same, year after year, never evolving or improving? Where is the fun in that kind of life?

If you want to improve, what are you doing to make sure you end 2016 as a better version of you?  My challenge to you this year is to do something that scares you.

Forget the long list of resolutions for the new year that will likely fall to the wayside by March. Just choose one or two things that you’ll do this year that scare the bejeezus out of you. Why? Because it will make you change.

Facing a fear will force you to deal with some deep areas in your life that need to be brought to the light. You’ll also have the amazing feeling of looking back afterward and realizing you accomplished something spectacular. You’ll see that you are capable of far more than you thought.

That is how you renew your mind, and your life.

Maybe it’s finally going for that job that seems above your skill level. Or signing up for a 5k. Maybe it’s telling your crush how you actually feel about them. Perhaps it’s hiring a trainer, knowing they’ll push you out of your comfort zone. Easier said than done, right? I know.

I am only presenting such a large challenge because I’ve committed to it myself already. There are three areas in my life I’m doing this in – work, relationships, and fitness. The biggest, and surprisingly the scariest, is fitness.

My “Scary Something”

I have decided to compete in an NPC Bikini competition this spring, and will be sharing that journey publicly (double scary!)

For a few years, friends and strangers have told me I should compete, and I’ve always brushed it off. That bar felt way too high for me. Like most people, I dislike parts of my body; I LOVE food; I love comfort and ease, and the way chocolate and wine seem to make everything better. Being in the spotlight isn’t really my cup of tea, either.

Honestly, though, bearing it all in a bikini in front of a few hundred people (many more if you factor in social media) is minor in comparison to the HARD work it takes to get on that stage. Intense workouts and restrictive dieting for up to 12 weeks sounds as close to impossible as I can imagine. Even after that hard work, thinking that my body could look as good as others who compete sounds like a dream world.

Yet I look at those photos of amazingly in-shape women and get a little jealous. It’s one thing to have muscles and maintain 17-18% body fat and teach others to do the same. It’s another to get down to 10-11% body fat and not fall over in 5 inch heels on a stage. I want to be able to say that I had the strength to be one of “those women”.

So, my friends, I am competing. I am diving in and embracing the challenge and doing what I always said I couldn’t do. And I am committed to sharing that journey in hopes that it will inspire you in some way.

Will you join me?

Leave a comment below, sharing what your “something scary” is, and a date that you’ll aim to have it accomplished.