I have always been active in just about any and everything you can imagine. My competitive drive is at times, overpowering, for lack of a better term.  I relished my athletic abilities, but when I got to college I had no sport to play, no practice to attend, no active anything to adhere to. Therefore I was forced to start this dreadful thing called “working out.” Insert the treadmills, ellipticals, medicine balls, and meathead guys in the weight room here. I hated it. I missed being a part of something bigger than myself. I missed my team. So I slacked off… Okay I fell off, all the way off. That mixed with two jobs, an overloaded upper level course schedule, being in a sorority, and numerous all-nighters equated to a 35lb heavier Carlie.

I was so disappointed that I ever let myself get to that point! I couldn’t believe how I let myself down. I had always been really healthy, fit, and athletic. I was always the one encouraging and inspiring others and now here I was: the girl who couldn’t even encourage herself, let alone anybody else. This wasn’t me. It couldn’t be me. I didn’t look like me or feel like me and I for dang sure couldn’t fit any of my clothing. So there I was at rock bottom. Not only did I feel like I lost a quintessential part of me, but my confidence plummeted too.

I meandered down there for a while until one day it just clicked. I was telling some friends about this mentoring program I loved doing and explained it with such passion that I surprised myself. I hadn’t felt that spark in a long time. One of my good friends must have noticed too because she told me that was the first time she had seen me this happy in a long time. “Tada!” like a lightning bolt it struck me. I had been so consumed with all the negativity in my life that I forgot to look out at the world around me. Not only was this a catalyst for me to conquer my fitness fiasco, but it also enabled me to focus my vision.

This up and down conundrum ignited a passion in me to help other people not only reach their fitness goals, but become the person they’ve always wanted to be. The person they were destined to be. I plan on getting my personal training certification so I can help people get back in touch with the body and the entire self that they love. When you feel good about you, you can do anything. Especially when striving to accomplish God’s purpose in your life. But it’s not just about being physically fit. Feeling good about you and preparing yourself for your goals requires a total transformation: mind, body, and soul.

My hopes and dreams for the world are that people learn to look beyond the narrow confines of themselves long enough to realize their true purpose in life. We’ve all been there, where we are so caught up with ourselves and what’s going on internally that we forget to look up and see what’s going on in the world around us. We become so consumed with our worries, fears, and problems that we forget about our talents, strengths, and quirks. We forget what makes us different and essentially us.  Like the old saying “You can’t see the forest for the trees.” We forget the big picture and have tunnel vision for the trouble directly blocking us. For me this happened twice, once with my fitness fiasco and once with the loss of a family member, but this consumption can arise out of anything.

It’s so hard to fight for things you care about when you feel broken inside, but ultimately that can be what heals you. Focusing on your purpose and your dreams in spite of how you feel internally and regardless of all the chaos going on in your life can lead to your breakthrough. Imagine what we could accomplish if we all branched out even though we’re going through storms. Not to mention that any second spent working towards your dreams is a second well used. So utilize your seconds wisely and don’t forget to look up and around every so often. A change of view may be just what you need.

My challenge to you is to shake up your “view.” When we look at the same things and have similar tasks every day, the monotony of life can begin to blur the world around us. One of my best friends gave me a quote that reminds me to look beyond the blur: “Focus on your purpose, not yourself.” For a daily reminder I scrawled it across the top of my bathroom mirror in expo marker. Your challenge is to find a quote, a picture, or a memento that reminds you of something important or reassures you of something you need to hear or of something need to do, and to place it in a feature location where you know you’ll see it every day. Whenever you stop “seeing” the item, post it in a new spot.

Here’s to seeing and thoroughly enjoying the forest in its entirety.

Carlie is a recent college graduate who plans on going back for her Masters. She is a Project Engineer at Balfour Beatty Construction and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Carlie loves volunteering in the community in various ways, but especially with mentoring programs and for homebuilding organizations. She loves almost any and every sport and has a newfound passion for yoga. Other past times include cooking, reading, traveling, learning, and trying new things.