My word for 2025 is alignment, and I haven’t had any bigger misalignment than my environment. Both professionally and personally, my environments have been misaligned with who I am.

A young woman asked for one piece of advice that I would give to my younger self. I said, “Get around people who are doing better than you. You will have no choice but to improve because you will be exposed to new ideas and encounter opportunities that you never thought were possible.”

After I said that, I realized I needed to take my own advice.

When I went on my great run from 2000-14, I was in spaces, met people I never thought I would meet, and had adventures I never thought I would have simply because I was in environments where the thinking was, “Why not?” I stopped limiting myself.

In my wildest dreams, I never thought I could ever train for a fitness competition. I never made it to the stage, but I was around people who did, and it didn’t seem completely out of reach. Being in that environment and around those people forced me to work harder than I ever had in the gym and pushed me to a different level.

I have always believed that the people you surround yourself with play a big role in your success. If you’re around people who are determined to get better, who will do what most people will not do, and who hold themselves to high standards, there is no way it doesn’t rub off on you.

In her book, Grit, Angela Duckworth says that if you want to become grittier, you need to find a gritty culture and join it. Dan Chambliss, a sociologist, also says in the book that the real way to become a great swimmer is to join a great team.

I have felt so isolated over the last few years, which is why I am adamant that my next roles involve some form of collaboration. I need to be part of a great team. Over the last month, I have changed my work environment, and my creativity as a trainer is already beginning to return. During one session, I even said out loud, “I have become such a mediocre trainer over the last few years.” Yes, it is time for me to move on from training as a main career, but my environment was also not conducive to growth.

As James Clear said in his weekly email,

“You can be authentic and hardworking and still struggle to find your footing if you’re in the wrong environment.”

  • A fun person trapped in the wrong city.
  • A loving partner in a relationship that won’t reciprocate.
  • A great entrepreneur stuck in the wrong business.

Think about your placement as much as your performance. Plant yourself where you can thrive.”

Fish do not thrive in trees, and I do not thrive in low-energy, bland, and dull environments.

Authenticity and environment

I have designated this month as World Class Training camp, and I have come back to the authenticity of who I am.  This is a silly example, but it shows how misaligned I have been these last few years. I used to be interested in skincare, beauty, and fashion. I would love to try new beauty products, and honestly, the more glitter for outfits, the better.

In the past few years, I have been in Frumpyville and haven’t been all that interested in dressing up or the skin-care game. I am totally out of the loop when it comes to the latest beauty products and what is out there. My sister said I needed to get out of 1999, and it’s true. I have been left behind because my environment has lacked beauty, vibrancy, vitality, and zsa zsa zsu!  I subscribed to my old style and beauty guides, InStyle and Allure. wonder if Allure is still in. It felt like coming back to a fabulous old friend. 

Reconciling and not Regretting these past ten years

As my life is coming back into alignment, I have moved from regretting the last ten years to reconciling them as a necessary stage in my development. I do not think I would be able to handle the next phase of my life if I hadn’t been in the wilderness season these last ten years.

Painter Helen Frankenthaler reminds us that everything — even the mistakes and misfortunes — is material for your next move: “You have to know how to use your accidents.”Source: Paraphrased from Tyler Graphics interview (July 11, 1994)

Had this last ten years NOT happened, I may have been thoroughly convinced to settle for the short stick. I may have flirted with the idea of something more, but I would have let old wounds and identities convince me that the full and unconventional life I had glimpses of during my 2000-14 just wasn’t for me. It was for other people, but not me, because who was I to expect more?

Suppose I hadn’t had the misfortune of spending four years heavily involved with organized religion and in ministry, I would have settled into the default mode of “perfect patty” performative religious mode while seething inside, knowing that I wanted and needed more. I could have been convinced it was my last chance to not die alone and married a passive, bland, and beta male who sucked the life out of me until I eventually left. Instead of finally admitting what type of men I’m actually attracted to: those who are different, generous, embody discipline, have a strong presence and charisma, and are also unconventional in many ways.

Imagine if I hadn’t spent the last three years in a low-energy and uninspiring professional environment. I would have just coasted along in the fitness industry, thoroughly convinced that I had chosen this career and that I now had to stay with it. Instead, it forced me to confront the fact that I was wasting potential and now was the time to MOVE FORWARD and take on new challenges.

These environments that I have spent the last ten years in were catalysts for this return to my authentic self: the world-class woman who loves beauty and adventure, is vibrant and extroverted, and loves life and people she enjoys.

I am CONVINCED AND CONVICTED that there is more, and I don’t have to settle for a boring check-the-boxes lifestyle.

Simply by changing my environment, I am realizing how second-rate and third-rate everything in my life has been for the last few years, and I have already seen more action in the first two months of 2026 than I have in the last six to seven years.

My accidents and mistakes have caused me to develop my life philosophy:Don’t settle for the short stick!

Environment Moving Forward

What do I want it to look like?

  • Beautiful
  • High Energy and Vibrant
  • Estrogen and TESTOSTERONE. We must have both
  • Exciting
  • Colorful
  • Radiating Vitality
  • Collaborative
  • High Achieving
  • Dreamers
  • On Purpose

Research confirms that changing your environment is one of the most effective ways to shift your behavior.

A meta-analysis study covering over 2 million people) found that changing your environment is roughly 2.5 times more effective than willpower, education, or information at shifting behavior. 

Simply by changing my environment, I am realizing how second-rate and third-rate everything in my life has been for the last few years, and I have already seen more action in the first two months of 2026 than I have in the last six to seven years.

As we wrap up this last week of World Class Training Camp, I am focusing on aligning with a gritty culture and ensuring I am in environments where I can improve and thrive.