From Tired to Thriving- Part 1

Author: Jessica Dahl
May 19, 2019
As I type this from the plane from Bali to the US, I think about how grateful I am for where I have been and what I have overcome because those moments only make us stronger and prepare us to share with others.  Finding purpose in each season of our life actually can give us hope reminding us that one day we can tell the story in hopes it encourages another.


Why would someone like myself care if anyone has energy to pursue their dreams?  Well, I have been there a few times myself.  In those hard seasons I felt like a failure, hard on myself, like I wasn't good enough, and that there was something wrong with me.  After experiencing it, overcoming and helping others on their journey, I realize how many of us have experienced mass fatigue or exhaustion at some point and it keeps us from being the person we desire to be.


Since I was young I was healthy. I was that weird girl that would go to the gym with her dad at 5AM when I was in middle school because I actually enjoyed it.  I loved the rush it gave me feeling energized, strong and confident.  I did sports growing up, I ate fairly healthy and all these benefits went into my later years.  When I was in beauty school I worked at a gym at the same time and began working out at the front desk motivating all the guests that would walk in the door.  I would watch the sunrise and jumprope with them, laughing and talk about the things we cared about in life.  One day I got caught lifting weights at the front desk by a country wide manager, and he thought it was amazing and believed everyone at the front desk should do the same thing because it's motivating others to live a healthy life.  I became an inspiration to many guests and the corporation,  just by being myself.  I never knew who was watching but found out people from all over wanted me to train them.  When I began working at a hair salon, it became long hours of work, sometimes only eating one meal a day, I packed on about 10 pounds and feeling the stress weigh on me I knew I needed to make a change.  I started back up the lifestyle that I had before.  When others saw my changes, they wanted them too!  I gladly began a challenge and invited others into it.  Both men and women were working out with me feeling better and stronger.  When I moved to California, I had a dream to start fitness classes on the beach, so that's what I did. It was seriously such a blast! Was it easy? No, but hanging out with people on the beach and making them feel more confident on the inside and out….. What could be better?


Months after moving I began feeling weird body symptoms. I had NO idea what was wrong with me. Honestly, my brain hurt so bad I thought I had a brain tumor.  I was so fatigued all the time and became forgetful.  Although I looked normal to everyone else, I didn't feel like myself.  It seemed like it took so much energy to think of the right words to say because I didn't feel they were coming out right.  The feelings never went away.  I thought I was crazy.  The hardest part was knowing that no one could tell that there was anything wrong with me..they all said I was fine. But I wasn't.


I went to the gynocologist because I hadn't had my menstrual cycle in 2 years and when the results came back she said, "you need to come in, I need to see you."  That is not something you want to hear from your doctor.  She told me that I had lost all the estrogen in my body and that I was running on empty in many areas.  She explained the process that due to stress (physical, mental, emotional &  environmental), that it was too much for my body to handle and I was now reaping from it.  She told me I needed to change my whole life around if I wanted to live without massive chronic problems.  With her saying that, I knew it was serious and I needed to make some changes.  It's a loooooong story we can save for another time..but this was the FIRST time I realized how important it is to care for myself on a holistic approach before I could serve anyone else.  I have always been a strong, independent, driven, purposeful woman, leading many things, so when I had to change my lifestyle…. I didn't want to.  It made me feel like a failure, weak and sad. BUT I DID have a vision for my life and where I could be so it made it all worth it if I followed what the doctor said.


During this season I had to learn so much about my body, mind and emotions.  I had never actually taken the time to FEEL what was really going on with me.  I was told to do yoga, go on walks, meditate, and find joy in everything.  I found it weird and very different than my norm.  Yet what I can say from this experience is I had a vision for my life, I knew what I was going through was only temporary and if I could get through this I would be on the other side.  It wasn't easy, but I did it.  I did it only because I held onto hope, belief and purpose for a future of what was in my heart.  There were some really bad days, some days where I cried myself to sleep, some days where I felt really misunderstood, where I felt weak, but I kept my focus on a bigger purpose than myself.


This is part 1 for why I care that we have energy and the proper tools in order to pursue our dreams in a healthy and whole way.


My desire is that you would gain clarity, have more focus and pursue the things in life that you care about most, because I would hate to see you begin and not be able to see it through.


Please know I see you, I am with you and encourage you no matter what season you're in. If you feel like you're in the pit of hell without an ounce of hope, I see you. If you feel like you see a glimpse of where you're going, I see you. If you know exactly where you want to go yet don't know how to get there, I see you.  Now it's time to allow yourself to be seen and one step at a time to have hope for the future you desire to go.
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