I can always spot them – the traditionalists in the crowd. During seminars, when I hand out my breakfast recipes, there’s always someone that comments on my tuna recipe. “You can’t eat tuna for breakfast!” they reply. I ask why not? “Because you just don’t! Eeewww…”

Really? Hmmmm… I can see we have some work to do….

People often ask me my secret to living a healthy life. It’s simple, really. I’ve learned to buck tradition. 

What I mean is this: if you want average results, do what everyone else is doing. But if you want to create a unique life, with profound results, don’t follow the crowd. 

In my early life, I certainly followed the crowd. I did what I was supposed to do: I went to college, had a 9-5 job, good pay and good benefits, went on the traditional twice-a-year vacations….

But I was itching for more…my spirit was thirsty, and I needed to quench that thirst. And therein started my search for a real life. I started to carve out a life that worked for me, one where I could feel free, empowered and excited! 

Today, I live what some would call an unusual life: I train with the seasons. I don’t eat bread. I don’t do cardio. I don’t text. I don’t answer my home phone. I’m asleep by 9 pm. I eat raw meat and eggs. I don’t plan my weekends. I rarely watch the news. And I eat tuna for breakfast. 

To the average person, I live an unusual life, but to me it works beautifully. I try to teach this to my clients: live outside the box, stand convention on its head, question everything. There’s freedom outside the box. It’s liberating, and you can carve out your own life with your own set of rules, ways of living that better support you. 

If you’re living a traditional life, just ask yourself why. Does it keep you feeling safe? Accepted? Included? Is it easier? See, for me, tradition used to mean constriction, predictability, sameness. Today, living an untraditional life means freedom and individuality, and it honours my body and my spirit.

If living a traditional life means you are empowered and free, then by all means keep on keepin’ on! But always check in: ask yourself it you’re excited by your life. If you’re not, change it. You don’t owe anyone the ‘perfect life’. You owe it to yourself to live your best life, and in doing so you can show others how to do the same.

karen