ALIVE OR JUST BREATHING

Breathing is one of the essential functions of the body to survive just as a heart beat is. We need inhalation and exhalation in order to live every day and function normally but, have you ever contemplated the difference between living and being alive is? This has been one of the questions I’ve asked many people in my lifetime to gain a further perspective in what my peers believe. I would venture to say that 70% of the people I’ve conversed with regarding life have believed that a job strictly was for income and providing for themselves/family regardless of if the job was something they loved/enjoyed. One trend that exists is once we get past the high school/college age we stop doing things that we once loved doing to fall into the shuffle of 9-5 jobs that pay well but aren’t things that we are passionate about. Why is this? For some, its about paying bills and providing while others it may being able to have enough to afford an expensive lifestyle. While going through college, I was given the advice to pick a major that payed well and had a field that always had an open availability of jobs. Ever since I was a little girl, the #1 thing I knew I wanted to do when I grew up was help people, but I never had a specific career in mind. I went through college and graduated with a B.S. in Criminal Justice which was something that I absolutely loved learning about. I had ideas of jobs but wasn’t quite sure where my niche was and where I fit in the criminal justice field. Upon graduating, I decided to continue school for physical therapy classes because I excelled in health science growing up and knew a fair amount about the bones, muscles, and structures of the body. After a year and a half of taking classes, I contemplated my future and upon much thought and prayer decided that an additional 3 years of schooling and financial debt wasn’t something God had in His plans for me. The next career I started preparing for was the one of a police officer; I was ready and willing to swear into the field to help others out and pushing myself physically and mentally in order to serve others. Unfortunately, that was another path that God didn’t have for me this year. It was definitely discouraging to find out that my health wouldn’t hold up for me to help serve the community and try to impact it in a positive light. My heart became discouraged and I wasn’t sure what there was for me. Talking to God, I asked what He wanted for me in life because surely my purpose wasn’t just to live life.

This all actually happened on the same weekend oddly enough, I was at competition with the dance studio I worked at in Virginia. I had three separate people reach out to me about training and how I’ve helped them in the past, what they needed from me now and in the future to continue to change their life in a positive way. Opening my own fitness business has always been a dream of mine, but I’ve never pursued it due to lack of confidence in myself and my abilities. At the end of the Competition weekend, I had dancers and parents reaching out to me giving me nothing less than amazing positive vibes on how they enjoyed me working with their children or how their love of dance has grown over the past year. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed with happiness! I took that weekend, reflected upon it, and took it as a sign from God that I might be going down a path that He had for me. I’ve taken a leap of faith since and started my business Jen Peter Fitness LLC! Just like with anything, its something that takes time and is an uphill climb to the top but its something that I refuse to let slip by and not pursue due to fear of failure or the security of a 9-5 job. I encourage you to take a leap of faith and try something you haven’t had the courage to do before; do something YOU have always wanted to but haven’t! All the tools are within you, its just a matter of unlocking them and finding the confidence within yourself. People who believe in you will be attracted to your confidence and your wonderful vibes. Stop living life while going through the motions and start LIVING and being ALIVE <3

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