I have a friend who’s always been afraid of fully committing to a relationship. I would tease him that he wasn’t a risk-taker like I was. I risked flipping and twisting 50 feet through the air with skis on. I risked overcoming a career-threatening spinal injury. I risked traveling to third world countries to volunteer time with disadvantaged children. I risked putting my heart on my sleeve to find true love. And I risked braving a consulting business as a motivational speaker in a world dominated by men.
My friend was all too quick to point out that this self-proclaimed risk-taker still hadn’t taken the risk to have children. I knew that I wanted children someday, but the thought did scare me, so I always managed to put it off every time my husband brought up the notion. I realized I was being a hypocrite and wasn’t taking the risks I so proudly claimed. So the next time my husband brought up the topic of kids, I decided I would just go for it and take the plunge. Ten months later, I gave birth to a little girl who changed my life and never allowed me to question these big decisions again.
There are many instances in life where you have the opportunity to decide to take the “scarier” route. Instead of focusing on what you could lose, why not think about what you could gain. Pick May as the month you’ll actually start to cross off the items in your list of “100 things I want to do before I die”. No one wants to leave this Earth with regrets. It’s time to put those regrets to bed. I, too, have some items to get to in order to live up to that self-proclaimed title.
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Motivational Weight Management Tip
My experience of working with the Biggest Loser contestants and Symtrimics has inspired me to leave motivational diet, health, and wellness tips at the end of all of my blogs. These tools will be driven from the actual advice shared in my weekly motivational Transformation Talks. This week’s tip: Ask yourself if you are settling for the number on your scale. Do you tell yourself the number is “good enough”? Why don’t you deserve to be at a healthier weight? It’s time to quit settling because eventually you could look back at this as one of your biggest regrets in life.
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Nikki Stone won Olympic gold after she overcame a near career-ending spinal injury to win America’s first gold medal in the sport of Aerial Skiing. She was honored with the task of helping train the current Olympians on overcoming distractions, dealing with pressures, and harnessing confidence going into the Vancouver Olympics. And most recently, she was asked to be the motivational expert for a new Biggest Loser regional program.
Stone now works as a motivational speaker and recently authored the much-talked-about inspirational book When Turtles Fly: Secrets of Successful People Who Know How to Stick Their Necks Out (with contributors Lindsey Vonn, Shaun White, Tommy Hilfiger, and more). For more information, please visit www.WhenTurtlesFly.com and www.NikkiStone.com.