LIVING IN MELBOURNE; A THREE MONTH CHECK IN
“You’re not a true Melburnian until you’ve found yourself ordering a fancy coffee”.
So far all of my posts have commenced from an almond flat white and the bustling background of a local coffee spot (pretentious, right?). And this post is no different!
NB: Knowing your coffee preference is like a ritual over here. Few seem to order coffee by the standard and I kind of love it.
It is the beginning of a new month and I am sat in ‘Brother Baba Budan’ on Little Bourke Street, wolfing down the biggest brownie to have ever passed my lips (Charlotte Berrystone you would be proud- and it’s rather fittingly our 9 year ‘friend-versary’ today according to Facebook). Those of you reading from home may well be preparing your “summer bod” ready for that first hit of temperatures above 15 degrees. I too am guilty of waltzing out in shorts like i’d never seen the sun before at this time of year in the UK. But this year I am leaving the house to 20 degrees in full length leggings and a scarf, complaining that is is feeling chilly. Spending three months in the hottest temperatures Melbourne has on record has accustomed me to the heat! As we are now into April, the Australian summer has supposedly ended and I am definitely building up an appetite for warming dinners and treats. Gym-goers- it’s bulking season right?!
So three full months in and I am still here. On the 1st January 2019 I had no prediction of where I would be at this point. Would it be in Melbourne, elsewhere in Aus, or would it be back in the UK?
I initially felt that I had nothing to show for myself other than a gallery of food insta’s and a few drunken anecdotes if I were to return to the UK right now. But enough of the negativity- what have I actually gained from being here? After listening to a podcast it made me address my reasons for coming out here, and evaluating what I’ve actually achieved so far.
WHAT was it I came out here for:
Self-development
Career ambitions
Health and fitness
Cross-Fit
WHY these objectives:
I wanted to learn about my weaknesses and how to overcome them. Moving to a different country provides the perfect opportunity to live independently from the support network i’ve lived by for all my life.
I sought to gain a further insight into what I might or might not want to pursue for a career. To have a clearer plan for my future; do I want to return to Law?
I intended to immerse myself into the culture surrounding health and fitness over here, and to feel inspired by any ideas or concepts which haven’t yet been established back in the UK.
I wanted to develop the gymnastics skills I had not yet mastered and gain competition experience. This is the one year I can commit myself to pursuing something I love with minimal distractions or external constraints. It is an opportunity for me to get as good as I can!
When structured in this way, I have come to realise that I have gained so much more than just a few food Insta’s and drunken anecdotes. I have established that I definitely can’t work in hospitality for the rest of my life (ha) and my interests lie in managing my own business (a long-term goal). I have achieved my first muscle up and proven that I am physically capable of a lot more than I think! I have learnt (and am still learning) how to deal with occasional feelings of loneliness, how to carry myself when I am feeling un-confident. Learning that we cannot choose our external circumstances, but what we can decide is how we respond to them.
Everyone has their own 💩 going on. Some choose to give into their self-doubts, and others choose to crack on and make a conscious change to get out of the rut. The people I feel most inspired by are those that make that effort to see beyond temporary hardships. In the words of the CrossFit Coach Ben Bergeron,
“Mental toughness takes practice. Recognise that the only time you’ll get to practice is when you’re having a bad day. Every time you choose to respond productively, you make yourself more mentally formidable.”.
Positivity is a choice you have to make daily and it is contagious. If I am to leave this world today having only my health and a few hundred dollars to my name, I want to have left people better off than before we met in some way. Beyond any material aspirations, I guess in some ways that’s my purpose in life. Because who wants to be remembered for being a Negative Nancy? Deep, haha. Another lengthy post, but I look forward to the day I can reflect on these posts and remind myself of the “journey” it took to get to where I will be.
