Hey there. I used to think that if I just kept moving, kept distracting myself, and kept piling on new goals, I could outrun the feelings that made me uncomfortable. What I’ve learned over the years is that you cannot outrun yourself. If you are not calm on the inside, the chaos always finds a way to catch up. It might take years, even decades, but eventually that inner noise demands your attention.
Internal calmness is not about being passive or ignoring challenges. It is about creating space inside yourself so that when obstacles come, you can face them with clarity. In fitness, this shows up in many ways. If you are calm, you can handle the scale not moving for a week or two without spiraling. You can adjust your workouts when life throws a curveball instead of quitting altogether. Calmness lets you zoom out and see that one meal, one day, or one missed session does not define the entire journey.
When you do not have that calm, everything feels bigger than it is. A small setback turns into a full derailment. You find yourself chasing distraction after distraction, trying to quiet something that can only be addressed by slowing down and connecting inward. This is where the inside/out approach becomes essential. Fitness is not just about sets, reps, and macros. It is about building a relationship with yourself where you can breathe, reflect, and move forward in a deliberate way.
Beyond fitness, this lesson applies to a lot of areas in life. In relationships, calmness allows you to listen instead of reacting. At work, it helps you navigate stress without burning out. Even in daily routines, calmness creates a sense of flow. The more we practice being steady inside, the less control outside circumstances have over us.
Calmness is a practice. I am not calm all of the time “I shoot for 85% of it 😉 “ and I do not expect you to be either. But even if you are calm most of the time, it changes how you carry yourself through challenges. It shifts the tug of war from panic to perspective. And it is in that perspective that you realize you have always been enough, even if the world tried to convince you otherwise.
If you are ready to build fitness and life strategies from an inside/out place of calm, I invite you to join The YLF Experience. It is where you learn to build confidence, consistency, and calmness in a way that supports the life you want to live.