Reboot, reset, or jumpstart call it whatever you want it, it is a challenge to change a lifestyle.

After my MS diagnosis on 11/11/11, I have been rebooting my lifestyle on a semi-regular basis. Managing MS and lupus without utilizing any pharmaceutical options requires discipline and focus.

November 11th is a reminder of the beginning of a very long journey to good health. Last year, I celebrated the anniversary of 11/11 with a 50 mile Ultra Marathon. This year, I can’t run more than a mile pain-free. My body is betraying me and I was not in the mood to celebrate the anniversary 11/11 this year.

In 2020, for the first time in 9 years, I cancelled a training class because of the symptoms associated with my chronic diseases. Historically, I work through the pain. I did not cancel a class when I was suffering vertigo, I warned my clients that I might tip over, but I taught the class. When a MS hug constricted my breathing, I taught spin class.

A historic pandemic, that targets a weak immune system and small businesses, is a tsunami of stress directed at my small, unprotected island. Coaching health and wellness doesn’t protect me from life. Let’s just say I got caught in a tsunami, and it wasn’t easy to get out.

I made the decision a few months ago to begin another lifestyle reboot. I am a work in progress which means I am always working to make progress. In the beginning of my challenge, I couldn’t sleep 8 hours at night or walk more than a mile without pain. Bed rest and exercise weren’t healing me. Now I am sleeping through the night, unless a stressful situation keeps me up. I am walking, but not running.

I am joining my clients for this six week Fall Reboot. Let’s get healthier together.

What are my goals?
More Hiking

Before the pain started, hiking was an opportunity to feed my competitive spirit. I heard about the NH48, a hiking patch for hiking all 48 of the New Hampshire 4,000 Footers, and I was taking it to the next level. I was on track to bag all the summits before my 49th birthday, until pain derailed my plans. My first solo hike, after weeks of debilitating pain, was something special. Now, I schedule my week around the weather and shut off my phone for those miles on the mountain. I am finding a new level of peace in the woods.

Be a good example for my clients

I have a hard time understanding coaches who don’t walk the walk as they talk the talk. If the challenge is too difficult for me to manage with my busy schedule, how can I properly coach people? I am coaching myself for the next weeks and holding myself accountable to the challenge and my clients.

Be patient

A healthy lifestyle is never about a quick fix. Patience is not by any means my strongest trait, but I am excited for growth during this Fall Reboot. I am working on balancing intensity with calm.

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

I will not be perfect for six weeks, but I will be different, because the same is not working.