Chasing my Dreams!

My road towards changing my life for the better started (very surprisingly!) before my Chasing my Dreams bucketlist adventure was actually born (in 2011).  Back in 2008, I simply woke up one Friday morning, and a thought raced through my mind “I just don’t want to….I cannot… feel this way anymore…I feel just like a ‘fat nobody in a wheelchair’, I’m lost, I need to get out of this negative mindset that I am lost in!” – then and there I decided that, before the upcoming weekend was out, I WAS going to find a gym that could help me.  I wasn’t quite sure how they could help me, I had no idea of the changes I had to make or how I was going to do it….all I knew was that, there was a very, very strong feeling deep inside of me, call it intuition, call it ‘I just knew I needed to change’, call it what you will, but there was absolutely no denying that I had to make a change…and it had to happen NOW – and somehow I just knew that ‘joining a gym’ was the key to making this change.  It was such a powerful feeling, I just could not deny it.  So, after many phonecalls, and visits to various gyms around the Sunshine Coast over the next two days, I happened to stumble across (after almost giving up, as I just could not find one which felt ‘right’ to me – not that there was anything ‘wrong’ with those other facilities, they just didn’t ‘click’ with me) Suncoast Fitness, in Maroochydore.  Suncoast Fitness was basically my last resort, as I was really starting to feel disillusioned.  This right here, was a huge lesson on DONT GIVE UP – you just never know what, or who, is around that corner!

After chatting to staff over the phone, then going down to the facility and seeing it for myself – something struck me deep inside (a feeling I have now grown to absolutely love along this journey!) – I felt a ‘click’ deep inside me which told me that I am exactly where I belong…I was exactly where I needed to be…

Over the next couple of years, slowly my mindset started to change from being absolutely frustrated with this body of mine which has never worked 100% – to one that I was starting to dominate over.  I was getting my body to do things, and gain strength in ways that I never, ever dreamed it would be able to do…and I was fast discovering the absolute power the mind has, inside of us all.  I never actually set any firm, big ‘Fitness Goals’ back then, I was just concentrating on getting rid of this negativity that had become deepseated inside of me, and getting my fitness levels up from where they were, which wasn’t very high at all.  From 2011 however, when my bucketlist was born, and I was also discovering the power of setting goals and what an amazing adventure life could actually be, I started to set actual Fitness Goals – challenges which I had NO idea how I was going to achieve them, but I just knew that I wanted to do whatever I had to do, to achieve them – I (now) enjoy striving towards these, with everything I have inside of me.  Once I started setting these Fitness Goals – well, the results speak for  themselves, really!…

2011 – stood up for the first time in 17 years
2012 – “Climbed my Mountain”, Walked along the beach on Sunset, and Slowdance
(all during my, Suncoast Fitness-sponsored “I Believe I can Climb” SBH Qld Fundraiser Event
2014 – Walked the majority of the 2km distance (on my crutches) in the Sunshine Coast Marathon, and now preparing to attempt to Climb an Indoor Rock Wall, on my birthday in December 2014
2015 – I intend to climb Mt Coolum on the Sunshine Coast, on my crutches..no matter how long, or what it takes, to achieve it!

What an amazing ride (and a lot of hard work!!) the last 6 years has been…I wonder what the next 6 years will bring?!

Thank you so much to Suncoast Fitness owner Mark Stitt, the various trainers I have worked with/received support from over the last six years, staff and members who are so very encouraging and supporting towards me….and last but not least, a special thank you goes to Mike from MG Personal Training, for all the amazing, and hard work you have put in with me over the the years…and the genuine way in that I know that you are aware how very important these Goals are to me – I can never thank you all, enough!

BRING ON my next Fitness Goal! (attempting to) Climb a Rock Wall on December 22nd (my birthday!)….stay tuned for 2015’s fitness adventures – its going to be something quite special! 🙂

Anything is Possible…when you decide that you ARE going to change your life!