It's easy to do the right thing when people are watching. We don't want to be judged or for people to think less of us. 

But that's not the important part. Anyone can do the right thing when people are around. The true question is...who are you, and how do you act, when the world's not looking? 

Do you cut corners? Do you take the "easy" route? Do you throw your trash on the ground? Do you return extra money when you've gotten too much in return? Do you practice your values, even when you're by yourself? 

Doing the right thing, having integrity, especially when nobody is around, can be incredibly difficult. It means always choosing the right path, the right choice. It means potentially taking longer than other people to get something done. It means holding yourself to a higher standard. And that, my friends, can be one of the hardest things to do.

This holds true in every aspect of life. From personal relationships to business deals to work outs! Yep, even in workouts! Perfect example - when I am working out, if I miss the wall in a wall ball or I don't hit my toes to the bar in a toes to bar, I no rep myself. It sucks and it means I have to do an extra rep. But knowing that the rep wouldn't count in a competition and knowing that the only person it hurts is me, I hold myself accountable and do another rep. Yep, even when I'm working out by myself! 

The easy answer here is to be exactly who you say you are, even when nobody is looking. Do the right thing, always. Even when it's difficult.

And yes, I know...this is so much easier said than done. Take baby steps to get where you want to be. 

This is an easy one, but I see people doing it all the time. Throwing their trash out the car window or on the ground. I was sitting outside a Starbucks a couple days ago and watched a guy walk out to his car and throw his receipt and straw trash on the ground. Then he got in his car and drove away. I mean...seriously?! I have a trash bag in my car. And he literally just walked out of Starbucks, where I know are quite a few trash cans. That is legit one of the easiest ones to do. Hold yourself accountable, people! 

What about in relationships, business or otherwise? Are you open, honest, and up front with people, even when it isn't easy? I know I have struggled with this. Not in my business, but in personal relationships. And as I've gotten older (and hopefully more mature), I've realized it makes things so much easier when I am open and honest. It isn't always easy and I am often terrified to do so, but it always feels so much better when things are out in the open. And my relationships are much better too! 

I have another example for you, related to the business world. I placed an order for a friend a few weeks ago for some skincare and lash amazingness. The billing address I had for her wasn't correct, so it kept denying the order. I finally got the right address and was able to place it, no problem, and didn't think anything else of it. 

A few days later, I received notification from my front office that I had a package to pick up. When I get up there, there were four packages. I was expecting only one, so was shocked to see FOUR! Upon getting home and opening them, I realized they were four of the SAME order for my one friend. FOUR! I was shocked! 

It was later in the day, so I wasn't able to call customer service until a couple days later. However, I called and told them what happened. I fully expected to return the three extra orders and simply wanted to know the easiest way to do it. I also wanted to check to ensure my friend wasn't charged four times! Imagine my surprise when my company let me keep ALL FOUR ORDERS!!!! Yep, you read that right! They said it was their mistake, so I was able to keep all of the orders. Talk about being shocked!! 

It wasn't the easy route...calling in to customer service. I could've just kept all four orders and never thought anything of it. But I didn't feel right doing that. I wouldn't have felt right doing that. So I called. And it worked out in my favor. 

That's what integrity and honesty is about. It ends up working in your favor, even if you don't think it will. 

So ask yourself...who are you when the world's not looking? Do you practice what you preach? If you aren't where you want to be, today is a great day to start! Take those baby steps...and it will get easier with time and practice. 

Have a beautiful week! And if you need help holding yourself accountable, I'm here to help! Message me :) Let's get you on the right path! 

With love and wellness,
​Whitney

I was driving to the gym one day last week when I heard a song on the radio entitled, "Life Changes," by Thomas Rhett. I'd heard it before, but never paid attention to the words. That day was the first time I fully listened and embraced what he was saying. 

It is certainly true that we can hear God laughing when we make plans. Because it seems that no matter what we do, when we make any type of plans, something happens to change it up. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. 

Unfortunately, we often look at changes in our plans as setbacks or defeats. We think the world has ended simply because our plans have changed. 

Now, I am certainly not one who has embraced change very well throughout my life. I wish I could say that I've been a go-with-the-flow type of person since I was little, but nope. I've been a very set-in-stone type of person. I like having plans and knowing what's coming next. 

Once again...insert God's laughter here. 

I think, because of this, I needed a major shake-up in my life to show me that it is 100% okay to have huge life changes. That I will survive. That I will come out of it a better, stronger, albeit, different person. 

Now, don't get me wrong. I've had life changes before. I've lost close friends to me, whom I thought we would be friends forever. I've lost friendships and family members due to divorce. I've lost friends and family to death. And I've lost friends and family simply because they've moved on with their lives. 

It is certainly never easy. And I spent a lot of time wondering if I could have changed any of it. But I moved on. I grew from it. Or at least I hoped I did. 

But last year...well, last year brought forth a change in my life that I would have never envisioned. And I wish I could say that I have fully moved on and healed from what happened, but I haven't. Not yet. I am, unfortunately, still dealing with a lot of the repercussions and fall-out from it.

I have definitely changed. I have grown. I have witnessed friends come and go. I've been a friend who came and went. I wish I had handled some things differently. But I can't go back and do anything about any of that now. 

All I can do is embrace exactly where I am now. Embrace the changes that have been made in my life. Embrace that God has a bigger plan in store for me. One that I can't even begin to imagine. 

Life can look different in one month. Six months. A year. Shoot...life can look different tomorrow. 

What we can't do is stand still and hope that nothing ever changes. What we can't do is be scared of the changes. Allow the changes. Allow the growth. 

As for me, I have become a more go-with-the-flow type person. I still like my plans and schedules, but I've learned to be okay with not knowing. It's definitely still a work in progress, but I no longer stress if things don't go exactly as planned. 

Life ebbs and flows. There will be good times. And there will be bad times. But it's how you adjust and react to both of those that will define who you are and how you make it through. 

Take it from me...lean on the people who offer their help in the bad times. Accept it. Don't be too stubborn to think you can handle it alone. And in the good times, be there for other people. Reach out. Make sure your friends and family are doing okay. 

I don't know much about where life is taking me. But I do know that life changes, and can change on a dime. This time last year, I had no idea where I would end up. How it would all play out. But I am finally at the end of a very long, bumpy chapter. One that I hope to close very shortly. 

And I'm ready for the next one! 

I hope you all have a beautiful week. I can't believe we are in the last week of July (already!!). I feel as if this summer is absolutely flying by! It's true...blink, and it's gone! So enjoy it while you can. Don't hold grudges. Say I'm sorry. Kiss and make up. Give hugs. Give compliments. Offer a kind word or a shoulder to lean on. Say I love you. Truly mean it. 

I love you all. And thank you for your continued support! I can't wait to share my next chapter with all of you! 

With love and wellness,
Whitney

We spend so much time trying to figure it all out. Everything from what we are doing with our lives. Job situations. Marriages. Kids. Money. All of it. 

And in trying to figure it all out, we stress ourselves to the max. We overthink everything. We try to control what happens. And then we're unhappy with the outcome when we CAN'T control any of it. 

I go through periods where I remember that I'm not in control and God has everything in His hands and I'm at peace. And then, other times, I stress and worry because I think I'm the one who has to control everything...that I'm the one who has to make sure everything turns out okay. And...well...we all know how that turns out. 

We ask ourselves, or at least I did (and occasionally still do), "Why me?" whenever anything happened that I didn't agree with or want to happen. And while I tried not to let it get to me, it always did. I couldn't understand why things were happening that I didn't want. That I couldn't control. 

It's hard letting go of control. Of anything. We like to be in control...or feel like we are in control of everything. And in reality, we are in control of very little in this world. We control our thoughts, our feelings, our attitudes, and how we react to others. But really, there isn't much else. And that's a hard thing to come to terms with.

I know that I was a self-proclaimed control freak for a long time. I hated not being in control. I hated feeling like I couldn't or wasn't in control of my life. 

It seems so silly to write that, because I now realize I wasn't in control of my life at all. Duh. 

God has our whole life planned out long before we were even thought of to our parents. And yes, we are free to make choices in our lives, because there are always choices. But in the end, God has it all mapped out already. Whatever is meant to happen is going to, regardless of how much we try to control it. 

Everything I've gone through, all the situations, the hardships, the troubles, and yes, even all the good things...they've led me exactly where I am now. They've pointed me in the direction I'm supposed to go. They've made me who I am supposed to be.

And the best part is that I'm still a work in progress.

I know that I have to let it all go...the need to be in control of what happens. I have to trust and have faith that God has something so much more in store for me. 

And when I stop to thank God for all He has done for me, I find myself at a peace I don't often feel. He has always provided for me, even when I thought I was handling it all on my own. 

So stop stressing. Stop worrying. Stop fretting over the what if's or what may happen. Have faith. Trust. Believe that there is something so much more (than you) looking out for you. Because in the end, God always provides. And He shows me this exactly when I need it most, over and over again. 

I hope you all have a beautiful week! 

With love and wellness,
​Whitney

Sometimes I like to do things the hard way. You know...that whole stubborn thing. 

I have been trying to figure out for months now...yes, for MONTHS...how to get back to where I was last year before my life was flipped upside down. I've made notes. I've tried replicating what I was doing. I tried asking friends. I've tried... Every. Little. Thing. 

Until I realized something... I can't go back and do what I did back then. Because I am not the same person I was then! This past year has changed me into someone new. Thus, the old way of doing things won't work for the new me! 

It was like a light bulb went off for me. 

​I mean...a light bulb that took six months to turn on! But still!! 

We often spend so much time looking back at what was that we forget there is so much more out there for us. I don't have to do what I did last year to be successful. And the more I fought to do the same old stuff from last year, the more discontent I felt. It was right there all along, telling me what I was trying to do wasn't right. I just wasn't listening. 

So as of last week, I have let go of going backwards. Of fighting the old. I am embracing the new and moving forward. I wish I could tell you exactly how I came to terms with that, but it literally hit me one afternoon after trying to search my brain for different ways of doing things. 

What I love the most about this realization is that the world really is my oyster. I literally have it at my fingertips, to do with it exactly what I please! 

There is no rule book. I don't have to struggle to figure out what worked last year. I get to decide and experiment what works for me TODAY! And that is exciting! It opens so many possibilities for me! 

This same thing can be said for everything in life. If you struggled when you were younger or had some bad things happen, don't look back at them with regret or despair. Focus instead on what you can do today to make things better. How can you address those things today to make a better future for yourself? 

There's no sense in beating yourself up, in looking longingly at closed doors, at fighting the old and the "what-ifs." You can't change it. You can't make any of it different. But what you can do is change it from here going forward. And you can focus on building everything up! 

I don't know about you, but I love that about life. 

So here's my plan for you. Forgive yourself. Yep - that's the first step! Forgive yourself for whatever you're holding onto. And then decide what you want your future to look like. Make goals. Set a plan in motion. And then execute that plan. 

I know it sounds way easier said than done, but I promise, this is doable and attainable!

Can't do it alone? That's easy! I am here to help! Let's chat about what I can do for you as your Health Coach! Having someone help with accountability and setting those goals will make achieving them that much easier! I'd love to help! 

I hope you all have a beautiful week! And focus on building the new (instead of staring longingly at the past!). 

With love and wellness, 
Whitney