Turning Passion into Purpose
- Sydney McBride
- Nov 21, 2020
- 5 min read
Well, finally sitting down to write this feels scary. My hands feel clammy, my cheeks feel warm with uncertainty, and my heart races with anticipation and a healthy dose of fear. But most of all, I feel excited at the opportunity. I experienced the same feelings when I first shared my blog with family and friends almost….two years ago. TWO YEARS??? How does time fly so fast? Back then, I had no idea where it would lead me, or if I would even continue to publish anything. While it has been a while since I’ve shared any words (I’m talking like 9 months! Yikes!), I have been hard at work transforming my health and fitness, and making the most of my free time outside of work, working out, and school. That’s right, I’m currently pursuing my master’s degree in strategic communication! Maintaining each of these areas of my life is sometimes a challenge, but I always focus any bit of my free time on my husband, our precious pup, and our families.
Since February (coincidentally right about the time I last published a blog post), I have been consistently following a nutrition and exercise routine, and it has been LIFE CHANGING. Not to be dramatic or anything ;). To be more specific, I got fed up with going to the gym several times a week, only to go further and further in the wrong direction. After doing some research, I decided to give at-home fitness a try, and I joined Beachbody. Now, don’t stop reading here thinking that I’m trying to sell anyone anything! I have just become passionate about the results I’ve seen and I want to share it with others! After a couple of rounds of a 21-day program, I decided to jump all in and I started a more intense program called 80-Day Obsession. And y’all. This program CHANGED me. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. Yes, obviously the physical results were nice, and admittedly, that was the main reason I set out to complete this program to begin with. But more so, I showed myself that I was capable of making a commitment to myself, and I was capable of giving it enough priority to actually be able to see it through to achievement. I gained confidence in myself, in my physical abilities, and in my willpower. I witnessed firsthand what it feels like to become passionate about a process, remaining fully dedicated to the end. And most of all, I fell in love with a new lifestyle that carried over into my daily life, even after the 80 days were over. My sister was able to join me for the last part of the program, and after completing the 80th workout, it felt oddly incomplete. Up until that moment, I had imagined that finishing the program would feel much more exciting, like crossing the finish line of a huge race.
The fact that I didn’t experience those emotions sounds like a bad thing, but it’s actually great! I realize now that I didn’t feel those things because I knew at that moment that it wasn’t the end for me. I didn’t reach some crazy finish line, come to a halt, and hang my hat. No. After I finished that last workout, I knew that my journey had only just begun, because I had now made my health and fitness a major part of my lifestyle. Wow. This is getting really cheesy, really fast. Sorry for all the cheese.
In fact, I was so changed by this program, that after just one week of having completed it, I started it AGAIN. This time with my mom and my sister alongside me. And the round two results were even better than the first. Overall, I lost 25 pounds and who knows how many inches (I don’t because I measured wrong the first time I took my measurements…..Listen, I was never good at math, that’s why I write for a living…). Although I was embarrassed to share my before and after pictures, I was encouraged by my sister who said it was inspiring to others, and I wanted to be an encouragement to others!
That brings me to why I’m even writing all of this. Seriously, if you’ve made it this far, pat yourself on the back! After sharing my journey and my progress, I had so many people reach out to me about their health and fitness, and I LOVE talking about this with them. Someone told me one day that I should share some of this new lifestyle on my blog, and I liked the idea, but I thought to myself that no one would want to read what I had to say. After all, I’m no professional, I’ve only been doing this for a few months, and I was worried about what people would think of me. But then, my brother-in-law (shout-out to you Scott!) made a comment when I shared my round two results that stopped me in my tracks. He said “Be a good steward of what the Lord has given you!” I realized that what the Lord has given me is a passion to help people live healthier lifestyles! And that’s when this idea popped into my head. I may not be a professional, but I’ve gone through this process, I’ve seen success, and my motivation to do this comes from sincerely wanting to help others. So...
What if I use my blog and social media to create a community of friends who can encourage and inspire each other to live healthier every day? The thought of it honestly terrifies me. I have no idea what this looks like, but I just know that I am passionate about this, and I love talking about it with other people who ask. Whether you are currently doing a Beachbody program, pursuing fitness in a different capacity, or just want encouragement and accountability to eat healthy, we are all in it together! Ever since my mom and sister started working out with me, I have a whole new outlook on accountability. It used to terrify me, now it motivates me.
If you are interested in walking alongside me, I’d love for you to let me know! Like I said before, I’m not sure what this looks like, but I want to get an idea if anyone is even interested in this (besides my mom...hi again mom ;)) before I come up with more concrete ideas. Whether it's holding you accountable to exercise, or just sharing recipes and meal plans...I’m literally thinking of just starting a Facebook group and seeing where it goes. Fitness is hard. Making healthy choices is hard. Let’s do it together!
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