“5 by 5 rule: If it’s not gonna matter in 5 years, don’t spend more than 5 minutes being upset about it.” ~anonymous

I don’t know who said this, but it’s a damn good rule. Take a moment to reflect on the things that are weighing on your mind right now. Your worries and fears, your to-do list that keeps your adrenal glands on high alert. Will these things matter in 5 years?

Looking back, what were your worries 5 years ago?

In 2017, my boys were 19, 15 and 12. I worried about their health. I worried about their grades. I worried about their sleep, their screen time. I worried that they wouldn’t go to college. I worried that they would never learn to do laundry and clean a toilet. I worried that the cancer drugs I was taking would have long lasting side effects. I worried about planning classes, and filling trainings. I worried about my 53 year old body changing. You know what I didn’t worry about?

A global pandemic. A hard stop on my beloved travel job. Becoming an empty nester. Learning new technology that hadn’t even been invented. Losing my 24 Hour Fitness family. Isolation. My Mom getting in a serious accident.

Fast forward, the pandemic forced me into a whole new way of serving people. I have a home studio where I teach virtually. I learned technology! Our trainings are now ‘Hybrid’ and our audience is now world wide. My kids moved out, and moved in together. They live in a mansion in the Hollywood Hills (for reals) They all opted out of college, the youngest said no to finishing High School. They are thriving, creating, getting along, and they all do laundry. Not sure about their toilets.

What are your worries today?

If I let the past inform me, I will stop worrying about the future. Clearly, the things we worry about rarely happen, and the things we can’t even imagine show up on our doorstep. My commitment is to live in today. And today I am in Manhattan, Kansas with the lovely women in this photo. Sharing one of my greatest passions, human anatomy. Celebrating life in a body that is nothing short of a miracle. I am drinking delicious coffee at a local coffee shop, sharing my deep thoughts with you.

Yesterday, I heard this quote by Parker Palmer. “There is so much in the world that we can be consumed with, but can’t control. The only thing we can control is within three feet of where we are at any given moment.”  He is known to hand out yardsticks to his students, as reminders to always be aware of the three feet around us, and make the impact we can there. When he goes to sleep at night, he asks himself, what did I do with my three feet today?

Three feet from me right now is an older gentleman drinking his coffee. He has been here awhile and he looks lonely. Excuse me while I make a difference in my three feet.