Meeting Yourself Where You Are
January 15, 2026
January tends to invite us to override our bodies in the name of improvement. But what if this month was about listening instead of pushing?
I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately as I move through workouts that look nothing like they used to. My mind still remembers who I was—strong, disciplined, capable of pushing through—but my body is living in a different reality right now. One shaped by chemotherapy, neuropathy, and a very real need for gentleness. And learning to honor that conversation, rather than fight it, has become an unexpected practice in grace.
I’ve felt this tension most clearly in the gym. I’ve tried to return to structured classes, telling myself that with enough modifications I could make it work. But even then, my body was overwhelmed. What my mind wanted and what my body could safely give were no longer aligned. So I shifted—back to my home gym, where there’s no pressure to keep up and no unspoken expectations. And once a week, I’ve found my way to a class at my cancer center—a space where the pace is understood, the limitations are shared, and the sense of community feels deeply supportive. Between those two spaces, I’ve learned that listening to my body also means choosing environments that honor where I am, not where I used to be.
Somewhere in the middle of all of this, I realized I was grieving a version of myself I kept expecting to return. I still thought of myself as the same person—the same strength, the same endurance, the same capacity to push through. But I’m not. And acknowledging that has been both tender and freeing. This body has carried me through something life-altering, and it deserves respect, not criticism.
Strength, I’m learning, doesn’t always look like doing more.
Sometimes it looks like stopping sooner, choosing differently, and offering yourself grace without needing to earn it.
And I wonder where this might be showing up in your life. Are you holding yourself to an old standard that no longer fits? Are you pushing when your body—or your heart—is quietly asking for something else? What might change if, instead of forcing yourself forward, you met yourself exactly where you are?
This January, I’m releasing the need to override my body in the name of improvement. Instead, I’m choosing to listen—to the quiet cues, the limits, the wisdom earned through experience. Meeting myself where I am doesn’t mean giving up or settling; it means showing up with honesty and compassion. And maybe that’s the invitation this season is offering all of us: to soften our expectations, honor the bodies we’re in, and trust that listening can be its own powerful form of growth.
Remember this: meeting yourself where you are is an act of self-respect.
Your body is not working against you—it’s speaking, and when you listen with compassion instead of judgment, strength looks different, but it’s still real.
-Laura
Live Fully. Love Deeply. Laugh Often.
