Dear Homegrown Yogis,
For the past year, I have been trying to attend a teacher training led by my own favorite yoga teachers. And when I write for the past year, I am not exaggerating. Yet every time I go to book a training, a conflict comes up – a last minute studio event is scheduled, Freida is invited to her best friend’s birthday party or an out-of-town friend announces she will be coming to visit. I’m sure all of you can relate. It oftentimes feels like the stress entailed in getting away outweighs the upside to wherever you are trying to go.
When a “Yoga for Athletes” training I had been eyeing for months was announced for a weekend in October, I thought this was it! I didn’t have a single thing on my calendar for that date – it was perfect! Or so I thought…. As soon as I announced my intention to go, it seemed like conflict after conflict came up. And just like I had been doing for the past year, I decided that the timing was impossible. After feeling sorry for myself for a few hours, I pushed it out of my mind and moved on.
This past weekend in teacher training, we were talking about the importance of creating your own opportunities as a new teacher. As I often do, I shared a Tony Robbins quote from Awaken the Giant Within: “More than anything else, I believe it’s our decisions, not the conditions of our lives, that determine our destiny… If you don’t make decisions about how you’re going to live, then you’ve already made a decision, haven’t you? You’re making a decision to be directed by the environment instead of shaping your own destiny.”
BAM! I felt like Tony Robbins was speaking right to me and calling me out. I was allowing these scheduling conflicts and my busy environment to control my destiny, and that is certainly not a powerful way to live. So I booked my training and then purchased a non-refundable plane ticket. Talk about commitment, right? Of course conflicts have come up and I have no doubt that last-minute issues will arise, but I have decided that shaping my own destiny is worth moving around schedules and dealing with some stress.
During this incredibly busy time of year, I invite you to make a decision as well to do something, whether small or big, that shapes the destiny that you choose.
With love,
Rachel