Canuck Corner-Installment #11
When I was 5 years old, my mother always t
old me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down happy. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.
For this blog I have chosen to write about my resolve to evolve – Whether we choose to see it or not, our life is too short to worry about small things. Though some circumstances in our lives [at the moment] may seem fairly significant, we must realize that the things that are really important are the things that are going to matter in ten to twenty years, or twenty to fifty years. Life is too short to sweat the small stuff. We have to choose to live our lives in the present and for the future.
I do not consider myself someone who becomes easily annoyed, or frustrated, but lately I have found myself toiling over the smallest things. Currently I am dieting for a competition, doing two a day cardios, weight training 5 days a week, posing practice 3 days a week, endlessly cooking and preparing meals, working full time in a “non-fitness” related job, and trying to take care of my friends, family and pets all at the same time. I often feel like I am letting people down because I find it hard to ‘create time’, or when I have an extra hour or two, I am often too tired to want to do anything. I know this is the “competition prep” life of a serious figure competitor who doesn’t work at a gym, but after 8 months and 5 competitions in 2012, I need a break.
Now that is not to say that I am not extremely excited for September. I am competing in California at the Muscle Contest Tournament of Champions IFBB Pro Figure, and then barring I am still in the top 5 in point standings come September 9th, I will be competing in the IFBB Figure Olympia in Las Vegas, NV, September 28-29 (I am currently tied for 2nd with Larissa Reiss in the Figure Olympia point standings, and there are three pro figure shows on September 8th). At the Olympia , in addition to the possibility of competing, I will be networking and mingling with great friends and athletes, as well as doing some photo shoots. Competing at the Olympia is the highest honor an IFBB athle
te can achieve, and I have worked hard all year to represent my country well, and to hopefully give my supporters and fans motivation to stay steadfast towards their fitness goals.
Despite the competitions, shoots, and traveling, I feel like I have been spinning my wheels of late, and often find my mind wandering in various directions with respect to next steps. We must live our lives doing the things and for the people that we are passionate about. Living a life without passion and without hope for the future is not really living your life at all. I am insanely passionate about competing – it makes me happy, and those around me may not completely understand why it is as important as I make it, but as with anything else, this is my choice for my ‘right now’. Just like anyone else who chooses to go back to school, gets married, has kids, or moves to Thailand – it is their choice and it is to be respected. Often times I feel like Carrie from Sex and the City. In one of the episodes she is always celebrating other people’s weddings, showers, new babies, etc., however there are never any parties for the single girls (and don’t say birthdays because everyone gets them!) and she is shamed or pitied by those who have ‘nested’ and don’t understand what it is to spend money on shoes and beauty products ‘just cause’ anymore. Heck if you work for your money, and your bills are paid, why should you feel badly for spending some of it? Now let’s go to Sephora shall we.
Being a ‘plan ahead’ person can be a godsend when you are trying to get organized and make things happen efficiently and effectively for a competition, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into managing the slings and arrows life can throw at you, nor teach you how to adapt and make due when things do not go quite as expected. I have relocated twice since 2010, and despite my having made the choice to move for personal reasons, I have had to start new jobs, make new friends, geographically distance myself from my family, and adapt to two entirely new cities. So now that I have lived in Central, Western and Eastern Canada , I find myself evaluating where I have been, and where I am going both professionally and personally. It is an exciting time, with many possibilities in front of me. I’ve often thought about what I will do after I hang up my suit and clear heels, and whether or not I will still want a place in this fitness industry that I have called home for the past 6 years. Some people do it (like Monica Brant and Jen Hendershott), but for the most part competitors come and go, making way for the new crop and disappearing behind the stage lights like they were never there.
I do believe the next 6-12 months are going to be pivotal ones. Big events, big changes and just growing up along with those around me. I have chosen the path of least resistance in that I will accept and support those challenges which come my way, versus calculating risk and trying to manage all perspectives. It just isn’t possible! So with that I will round out my last 10 days before the Tournament of Champions, working hard and looking forward to the new and exciting things that are coming my way. I do not covet other people’s successes – I make my own. 2012 will be no different!
Yours in Health,
Natalie
Natalie Waples
IFBB Figure Pro
www.nataliewaplesfitness.com
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