How are you doing?
That’s somewhat of a loaded question these days, certainly over the last year and a half.
We have all gone through a lot of changes in our lives as the pandemic unfolded (and continues to unfold). The biggest change for me began in March 2020. I didn’t have a job for the first time in three decades.
I know that’s not earth shattering news. Millions of Americans lost their jobs at that time. Many continue to struggle to this day. And I know we always talk about how it’s not if life knocks you down, but how you get back up. That’s easy to say, but not easy to do when it happens to you.
You’re trying to figure out what the next step is for you, and how you’re going to keep things afloat for you and your family.
Then inevitably, that time comes when you start yourself. And I’ll be honest with you. I questioned if I had royally screwed life up for me and my family.
How I was doing after a life-altering decision
A little over two years ago, my family and I left Erie, PA to become “beach people,” but more to the point for me to truly pursue fitness as my passion, as well as to shake things up a little bit and see what we can do in a completely different setting while trying to follow completely different dreams.
And a little more than a year into our time here, I thought I had made a really bad – and life-altering mistake. So I did what I’m sure a lot of people did at the time…and that was nothing.
At least for a little while.
I took it as an opportunity to get some rest. We had been going pretty hard getting my fitness career up and running, to the point where we took little to no down time to recharge. So I took a step back for a week or two to reassess things and clear my mind and ponder what happens next.
By the 2-week mark, I was going stir crazy. Aside from having five of us at home together for the first time in a long time, I realized I needed to get back to my fitness routine.
How I’m doing since making a dramatic change
My garage was essentially an empty shell, much like how I felt.
Like me, I knew there was potential there, but I didn’t know which direction to turn.
Then I thought about turning that space into a gym. I wasn’t even thinking about anything beyond having a space I could get a workout in, get a sweat in, and clear my mind to put life in perspective.
A year and a half later, Fernandes Fit LLC is alive and well, and thankfully continuing to grow. I was in an unfamiliar position before that. It forced me to realize that I had been far too comfortable for far too long after having been in the same industry for 26 years.
For the longest time, I thought being comfortable was what I wanted. But I was fooling myself. I wanted something different, to be my own boss. I just didn’t have the confidence in myself initially to do all that. It took life kicking me in the rear to get me going.
There’s no more time to think. There’s no more time to mull over potential options. There was just time for Action, and if that action turned out to be a mistake, then we’re in the same position we were before. We were no better, but we were no worse either.
Time to look deep inside
So are you where you want to be in life?
Or are you simply comfortable where you’re at and unwilling to change that for the better?
That’s why I started this piece with the question…
How are you doing?
Because these days, saying “Fine” or “OK” or “Not bad” doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface.
I look at that question a lot differently now, and the answer isn’t always the same.
There’s a lot more thought involved to it, a lot more personal introspection.
It may be time for you to do the same. You will be surprised by the answer.
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