Hello everybody! Welcome back to my blog. The purpose of this blog is to help people find their way to a healthier lifestyle. I mostly talk about exercise, nutrition and the science behind them, which are my areas of expertise, but I also talk about sleeping habits, minimalism and many other subjects related to wellbeing and healthy lifestyle. 

Today’s post is a little bit different to the ones I normally do. A few months ago, I decided to put and ending to an almost 10 years career to start from scratch a new and very different career path in Animal Studies.

A true dream

When I was a little girl and pretty much since I remember I always wanted to become a vet. To get into vet school in Spain, particularly in Madrid, you need to have very high marks. I almost got there but the stupid social pressure of going to uni right away after high school pushed me to choose another degree so I could go to uni ASAP, instead of doing something related to animals that could help me to go to uni later in life.

The truth is, I do not regret what I did. Studying sport science has brought me so many things: knowledge to lead a healthy lifestyle, skills to share this knowledge with the people I have come across in the past and coming years, including people who I love and care for. Working in the fitness industry has given me so many great moments as well as great people, and perhaps thanks to that I came to Australia and met the love of my life, many great friends and experiences, and the wildest adventure of my life. I wouldn’t change a thing.

Downsides

Nevertheless, working in the fitness industry, as working in any other industry, has a downside. I totally got burnt out. Seeking clients constantly and confirm 3 times before a session with the current clients so that you get paid and therefore, you can pay your rent, having constant access to your phone making it difficult to enjoy the moment, being very active in your social media, checking your phone before going to sleep to make sure that your client is going to show up and check your phone as soon as you wake up to see if there is any cancellation, waking up at 4 and sometimes 3 am to get to work on time, and most of the time finishing at 8 or 9 in the evening. All these things were really playing on my mind for the last 3 months working as a PT. I was supposed to be the one educating people about healthy lifestyle, healthy habits, sleep hygiene, the importance of avoiding the blue light from screens and going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, but I wasn’t applying any of these rules to myself.

I believe that if you want to educate someone, you must be their number one example. their actual inspiration. If your GP is telling you to stop eating sugary foods while eating a doughnut, they’ll lose credibility, and I think that’s the same for any other professional. You cannot tell your kids to eat their vegetables if all you eat are sausages and simple carbs. You must lead by example, and they’ll admire and copy what you do. I am not saying that all the PTs or fitness centres play by the same rules, but what I have personally experienced has been pretty much like that.

Seeking your true dream: action plan

Enough with talking about the reasons why I decided to finish my fitness career! The purpose of this post is to encourage you to do what makes you happy and to push your limits. Of course there are many things to take into consideration before you quit your job and go back to uni or college, but if you really want to do something, make a plan step by step and follow them. In my personal case, I started looking for jobs as a babysitter before I quit. Babysitting is something I really enjoy and gives me plenty of time and flexibility to study, plus I learn a lot of skills for when I have my own (if I ever do!). On top of that, I decided to work as a casual brand ambassador. Both jobs give me what I need in this moment of my life: money, time, and flexibility. You do not need to follow the same steps I followed, but if you’re thinking about making a life changing decision like this, you need your own action plan.

Seeking your true dream: why you should do it

If you were born in a society like the one I was born to, you know what I mean when I talk about social pressure and study a uni degree as soon as you finish high school. In other countries, such as Germany, teenagers are encouraged to have a gap year or two after high school so they can travel. It’s quite common, especially those teens who still do not know what they want to study or do with their lives after high school. They go off to another country or multiple countries, they learn from that experience, sometimes they never go back home, and sometimes they do with a much better idea of what they want to do. No wonder why some countries have a much better and happier life than others. But if you, like me, had to choose on the spot and ended up realising that perhaps it wasn’t what you wanted to do for the rest of your life, you can change things around.

I can hear already the parents, people with mortgages, people who need to care for a family member, or people who relay on a good salary saying: yes, sure, that’s easy to say when you don’t have this, this, and that responsibility. I understand where you come from, but I don’t think that it was easier for me or for any other person. In my personal case, it’s a challenge to start from 0 in a different country and in a different language, I don’t have the economical support of my family if something goes wrong, and this may hold me back for a couple of years from doing something I really want to do, which is having my first child. I do not know what are the specific things that may be holding you back, and maybe it’ll take you longer to prepare your action plan than it took me, but why not going for it?

It doesn’t matter how old you are, how many children you have, how many responsibilities you have, and of course it doesn’t matter how long it takes you to transition, but if you want a career change, go for it. Or simply stop complaining about your current situation and try to find the beauty on it. But that’s a subject for another post.

Last but not least, be ready to feel fear, uncertainty, moments of stress, moments in which you think that it was a mistake, and even moments in which you’ll miss your old life. Try to focus on what you’re going to achieve, visualise yourself doing what you always dreamt of, and if needed, seek some professional help.

That’s it for today! I really hope that you enjoy it. If you like what I do and you want to support this project, follow me on Instagram and Facebook, like the post and comment! Should you have feedback you’d like to leave, a comment to share with me, or a cool idea for a post, send me an email to sanchisayslifestyle@gmail.com