Let’s discuss unexpected situations that might derail our New Year’s resolutions and goals. On my second solo episode, I share my experience of signing up for a marathon but potentially being unable to participate due to a hurt MCL and the disappointment that came with it. In this episode, I talk about: - Alternative ways to get to your goals. - How to feel strong, healthy, powerful, and accomplished. - How to stay in self-worth. For extra support, click the links below.
Let’s discuss unexpected situations that might derail our New Year’s resolutions and goals. On my second solo episode, I share my experience of signing up for a marathon but potentially being unable to participate due to a hurt MCL and the disappointment that came with it.
In this episode, I talk about:
- Alternative ways to get to your goals.
- How to feel strong, healthy, powerful, and accomplished.
- How to stay in self-worth.
For extra support, click the links below.
Molly's Links:
📍 📍 You know how energizing a new year can feel with all those new promises to yourself. Like this is the year you're finally going to commit to that thing. This year is going to be your year, and then a little time into the new year and something goes awry and it feels like all your expectations about how the new year was supposed to go are shattered.
Has that happened to you? Yeah, me too. So after spending most of 2023, working through some hard stuff, addressing all the things brought to the surface through a pretty expansive relationship and subsequent breakup, career struggles, and even my feelings around my home, I entered into 2024 with a very clear vision.
I was excited to get this new business project off the ground, something I'll tell you about. Sooner than later, I've been looking at new homes to buy. I've been planning lots of travel for the year, and I was getting ready to start training for my very first full marathon. I was focused, motivated, and confident.
I was pretty damn pumped. And then while on vacation last week I had my first surfing incident, and now I'm back home fairly immobile with a possible strain or tear of my MCL. I'll 📍 know more after my MRI this week. So? How am I getting through this? Not so minor hiccup in my new year plans? Stick with me to find out how I'm working through these feelings so that you can apply them to your life hiccups too.
Welcome to I Am This Age, the podcast proving it's never too late. You are never too old. So go do that thing you're always talking about. I'm Molly Sider, a certified professional life coach, speaker, storyteller, and big time storytelling advocate. So I hadn't been surfing in a few years and in fact, I've only surfed for like less than five times in my life.
But I love it and I was so excited to finally go surfing again while visiting my dad in Florida. I told everyone I was going surfing and I was even feeling a little proud that a trip to visit my dad could double as a surfing adventure.
So when I crashed and twisted my knee, I went through all the steps of grief. First, I was in denial. I told everyone I'd be fine by the morning, and then when I wasn't fine at all in the morning, I moved into anger. I was replaying the incident in my head over and over and over again.
I was thinking of all the things I did wrong and I felt stupid, and I was mad at myself and I was beating myself up. Then I moved into the acceptance phase. I thought, okay, so if it's torn, it's just a little laparoscopic surgery and some physical therapy. It sucks, but I'll be fine and up and running in no time and life could definitely be worse. Of course, since no healing is linear, I've cycled through these emotions over and over again.
One day I was feeling pretty great. I limped to the corner and back, and I went out to dinner with a friend, and by the next day I was aching. I could barely put any pressure on my leg, and my spirits went from looking on the bright side to feeling like a pathetic failure. I was deep. In my victimhood. It was the first time since this whole thing happened that I actually cried.
I was, dear listeners, at a rock bottom. But if there's one thing that I know, it's that a rock bottom is precisely the time to implement all those tools you've picked up in therapy coaching from this podcast, and any other ways you've been learning and growing. So for me, that's been a lot of sitting in my feelings because after all, I can't exactly run right now. So when I feel like the world is against me, I consciously allow myself to feel like a victim for a moment. The key words being for a moment.
When I feel lonely and I'm experiencing some pretty big FOMO like I have been recently, especially as it's unseasonably warm and sunny in Chicago, I'm letting that loneliness wash over me. I. I breathe it in, knowing that if I allow myself to feel it without reacting to it, it will move through and out of me quickly and efficiently.
But here's the real challenge. When I'm already feeling lonely, afraid, sad, angry, or any of those catabolic emotions, when I'm already in my victimhood feeling out of control and like the world is against me, the work then becomes. Coming back to my worthiness to re-center and hold steady all of those visions I had for myself in the upcoming year, despite feeling like the world is throwing me off my feet.
It's not about positive thinking only or not allowing yourself to feel whatever you're feeling. Like I said before, allow those feelings in, lean in and relax into those feelings while staying steady in your worth.
Because the thing is we will always have visions and goals for our future, and life will always test us in our commitment to working towards those things. So maybe a test looks like losing your job when you were saving up to buy a new house or an unexpected breakup when you were beginning to plan for a family.
Or tearing my MCL just as I was about to start training for a marathon. This can make you feel pretty low, and oftentimes it's enough to derail you completely. , so when you are at your lowest, the challenge is holding patience, love, and worthiness in your heart and mind.
Moving through these challenges, trusting that on the other side of this hiccup, whatever it might be, are all the things that you've been dreaming and talking about the test is, do you still believe you're worthy of those things?
Are you going to allow yourself to be pushed off track permanently, or can you stand strong in your knowing that your ability to move through this hard moment, whatever it may be, with patience, acceptance, love, and worthiness will get you closer to the things that you say you want.
Now running the marathon may very well not be in my future, and that's a bummer. And if that's the case, I'm going to grieve that loss. But I also know that the reason I want to run a marathon is to feel strong, healthy, powerful, and accomplished. And I know that there are many ways that I can feel all of those things.
And even though right now I may feel a little disappointed in myself. I still believe I'm capable and worthy of feeling strong, healthy, powerful, and accomplished. And that's the key. So if you can move through these hard moments when life unexpectedly knocks you off your feet, just imagine how much stronger you'll feel on the other side. Imagine how much more you'll trust yourself. Imagine how much more you can then do next year. I hope 📍 you remember this.
Next time life throws you for a loop. Click the link in the show notes if you need some extra support. I'm always here for you. As always, please share the show with someone you think might also enjoy it because the more that we grow, the more we can help you grow. I have some really fun things in the works that I am excited to share with you, so make sure you stay tuned.
Until then, stay curious, and catch you all next time. Thank you to Dan Daven for the music. David Harper for the artwork. I am The. Sage is produced by Jellyfish Industries. I'm your host, Molly Sider. See you next time.