Change: The Catalyst for Personal Growth in Body, Mind, & Spirit

Hi everyone! My name is Jaylena Ladwig. I am 24 years old and currently reside in Northwest Oklahoma. I graduated from Oklahoma State University in 2021 with my Bachelors in Animal Science Livestock Merchandising (Go Pokes)! Upon graduating, I pursued a sales career in insurance where I still am today.

I hope you all enjoy this post and get to know a bit more about me below the surface:

Change. The word change in itself can hold many different emotions for different people. For some, it may fall under the classification as fun and exciting; and for others, it may be daunting and frightening. Personally, I have always welcomed change into my life because I have learned that with change, growth often follows.

During my years at Oklahoma State (2017-2021), COVID-19 took over a large portion of our lives—especially within my last two years in college; I am beyond fortunate to say that I was not among those that experienced a major life changing event during this time, (and I empathize with those that did), however, March of 2020, we were sent home from college.

Although great things did emerge during this period such as rekindling high school friendships, more time spent with family, and slowing down to take a breather in our busy lives, there were also many negative aspects that came along with it. Some of the negative things that impacted me personally were unhealthy eating habits, little to no physical exercise, poor mental health practices, drinking alcohol more often with friends, etc. I think we can all agree this was such a strange unknown we were faced with and a lot of us struggled to conform to our new reality.

However, after the pandemic was over and we were finally able to return back to Stillwater, unfortunately, I still carried a lot of these poor habits with me.

Fast forward to December of 2021, I had the privilege of being the maid of honor in one of my childhood best friend’s weddings. As much of a blessing this experience was for me, I remember getting the professional photos back from that wedding and not recognizing the girl that I saw in the photos.

I knew at that moment, looking at those photos, change was necessary.

Determined for progress, changing my daily habits to get my physical health in check was imperative. For these specific goals, I knew the 75 Hard Challenge was the perfect fit. If you’re not familiar with the 75 Hard Challenge, it is a challenge composed of healthy daily habits that detoxes your physical & mental health.

The “rules” are as follows:

• follow a diet (non-specific),

• drink a gallon of water a day,

• 2x45 minute workouts per day,

• no alcohol or cheat meals,

• and read 10 pages of a non-fiction book per day (I chose the Bible).

Physically, it was challenging, but the real challenge was finding the mental strength to not give up.

I grew up playing sports year-round so it did not take long for my body to get back into the groove of working out, but the discipline it took mentally was far from easy. Christmas, New Years, and my birthday all fell through the dates of the challenge, but I remained steadfast and completed it in March of 2022. After the challenge, I had tremendously improved my physical health but my mental and spiritual health still had ample room for growth.

If you were to ask my parents, they would say that I have always been very outgoing, ever since I was little. I love having friendships and connecting with others from all different walks of life. With that being said, I knew the next step for change was needed in my existing friendships and relationships.

When you make big changes to your life, or lifestyle, naturally you will start to outgrow those that keep you connected to your past self.

I was able to remove these friendships and relationships and replace them with those that encouraged me to be better. I am a huge believer in the quote that “you are the 5 people you hangout with”. Therefore, some friendships that I had cherished for years had to end for me to grow into who I am supposed to be. Today, I can say with 100% honesty that I have the best group of individuals around me that I call friends and family.

Of course, it is not easy to leave anyone behind in life, but I believe some people and places are only for particular seasons. A great question to ask yourself when it comes to friendships or relationships is “do they have the same morals and values that I do?” or “do their goals align with the goals that I have for myself?” I had to answer “no” to these questions for some relationships that I still had in my life, and though it was hard, I knew God would only open new doors for me if I was able to shut the doors I knew needed to be closed.

The next area of my life I wanted to tackle was my spiritual walk with the Lord. Although I have gone to Church and had a relationship with God since I was a little girl, the last couple of years is where I find that my relationship with God has truly flourished. I owe a part of this to reading my Bible every day during the 75 hard challenge (still continuing to this day). Along with doing this, I also joined Community Bible Study in the fall of 2022.

I have fallen in love with my spiritual journey and have found my true self worth within the Word of God.

Despite this Truth, throughout studying and learning the Word, I found myself still questioning a few areas of my life that still needed work. As I previously touched on, some friendships and relationships I had were not God led and needed to be removed from my life. It was not an easy decision but I knew in my heart it was the right one.

God’s best for me, turned into what I wanted for me, and I know that where God removes, He replaces.

These relationships/friendships all had a common denominator which was social drinking. It’s no secret that drinking has such a large presence over our society today. With my spiritual growth and strengthened walk with the Lord, I made the decision that I wanted to stop drinking alcohol. Not only did I start to feel conviction from the Lord with drinking, I knew that it wasn’t good for my physical or mental health.

In a society where almost everything revolves around drinking socially, it can be difficult to be in environments with friends and feeling pressured.

For years, I did give in to the pressure to fit in with the crowd. I didn’t want to be labeled as someone that “didn’t want to have fun”. However, I found the right people that were nothing but supportive of my decision (which is so important). They wanted to be around me, for me, and not just for the social setting we were placed in. Of course, it is okay to have a drink on special occasions or on vacation - everything in moderation - but why not be different? Why not be a leader and make that change?

I believe Craig Groeschel, the senior Pastor of Life.Church, says this best: “If you want to do what everyone else does, you can expect the same results.” With the goals and success I want to achieve in life, I knew that continuing down this path would only hinder my growth. This decision was something I needed to be 100% committed to, to be better and to set myself apart. In this new chapter, I’ve had friends also find inspiration to make that change. Today, I stand proud of my decision and am a huge advocate for sobriety in a society that praises drinking.

Since removing myself from the typical early 20’s social settings that usually involve going to bars or clubs, I have a newfound love for hobbies that fill my cup and make me feel good. How amazing is it that we have so many options to explore in this beautiful life? I love going to the gym and getting exercise daily, but I also love to go on hikes with friends on the weekends. To date, I have hiked 8 state parks in Oklahoma and 1 in Arkansas. I have also fallen back in love with reading books—specifically thrillers— but also fiction and non-fiction Christian books. At the beginning of this year, I joined a book club and have found so much joy within our group that meets monthly. I am also still a member of Community Bible Study (CBS) within my area and love meeting weekly for fellowship with such incredible, Godly women. Additionally, if you know me, you know I’m a big music lover! Live music has always had a large presence in my life and I love to attend concerts with friends.

Finding joy in these different hobbies and communities has truly helped me find my happiest self. What hobbies do you have or could you implement in your life to “fill up your cup?”

Of course, I am far from perfection and still struggle on my journey to becoming the best version of myself. However, I do not think that is something that any of us will ever achieve.

The act of being the best version of yourself, is a daily decision that requires discipline and consistency.

One thing that I catch myself struggling with at times is comparison. With social media, it is so easy to compare our journey alongside others and, at times, question the path we are on. However, that is the beautiful part of life—all the different paths and experiences that are personal to us. I am very guilty of being a planner and wanting to have control over every single part of my life (Type A to a fault.) But I learned that with God, there is no such thing as control, or plans for that matter. Once I started to release my plans and wishes to God, fully surrendering my need for control, I found myself to be happy where my feet are. As cheesy as it sounds, how will we ever be truly happy in life if all we are wishing and longing for is the next step? Instead of always looking 5 years into the future, now I find myself living for each day, taking in the beauty that life has to offer while trusting that God will deliver a beautiful harvest for me when the time is right. Instead of being impatient, keep the faith of His goodness & trust in His timing above all.

One of my favorite verses to lean on when I catch myself worrying about the future or comparing my current season is Isaiah 60:22 which reads “When the time is right, I, the Lord, will make it happen”. Trust that God is working in your current season and be completely present — where your feet are. I think we are all guilty at times of not practicing gratitude when the reality is, you are probably living at least one of your past prayers today.

To wrap this all up, I can fully attest that change can be a beautiful thing. I would not be the woman I am today without God, the healthy habits I incorporated into my daily life, and the discipline it took to get me where I am today. As I have written this piece and reflected on how much growth I’ve made, I am proud. I am proud of who I am today and know that no matter my next season of life or where God brings me, I will be bringing my best foot forward. My love for the Lord is unwavering, I have amazing friends and family that hold me accountable, and I truly feel that I am the best version of myself today.

If you are finding that you may be in a slump or feel like you can do better, I encourage you to take a look at areas of your life that may require change. You never know what change could produce if you do not have the courage to make that next step forward. You are worthy of a beautiful, healthy life and if you start today, your future self will thank you.

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Finally, I want to thank anyone that might read this. I hope that this entry can better or inspire at least one person. Please feel free to reach out to me if you are in need of prayer, encouragement, or just need someone to talk to. You can find me on Instagram @jladdy_ or send me an email jaylena.noel@icloud.com