NEWSLETTER: ‘You made me feel strong enough to stand up to this…’
This is from the April Elevate Fitness Newsletter:
We’ve heard it before, “It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.” This little nugget got stuck on repeat in my head and I ended up deep into why it’s true, but not in the same way for everyone. On the surface, it’s a sweet little saying. Inside though, it’s unique to each and every journeyman.
What’s my point? The biggest reason this rings true, as I’ve seen with initial client goals, is how they mutate beautifully into things so much bigger than what we thought we wanted.
I’d love to share a recent client success that brought me to tears and solidified why I adore this job so much. She had been dealing with a truly horrific coworker for much too long – about a year – who contributed to driving her into taking a leave of absence because of anxiety and depression. I can’t tell you how much I wanted to rip into this person, sleeves rolled up and nostrils flaring, and come to the aid of my friend. But you know what? I didn’t have to.
She texted me one day: “You made me feel strong enough to stand up to this [again, positively horrific but not the words we chose] person.” And she did. Oh yes, she did!
I mean, I don’t even need to follow-up on that. She was Mighty all along, even before I met her. But the strength she found from the dumbbells and truly genuine hard work transferred into a mental strength that allowed her to be her own superhero. Her give-away when she’s digging deep is a pump-up-double-hop, and it happens often – as it should. You know those fitness tanks with hilarious verbiage? She’s the model I would choose for the one that says STRONG A.F.
In our book, “30 Tips to Elevate your Life through Fitness,” we touch on our WHY for working out in a lot of the chapters, because it’s so important. So you might find yourself in the studio with us because you want to lose weight, gain mass, or just be bomb-ass on the field in your sport, but I guarantee you’re going to learn things about yourself you never knew. The WHY will gently mutate. And that alone is life changing.
Each goal we meet, all the small ones along the way – those fuel and change the destination constantly. All those highs and lows (and there will be a lot) in your fitness journey, those are what matter most. They will dictate which way you turn, even if sometimes it’s in circles. And you already know that you’re the one that chooses how to deal. I’m currently clawing my way out of a low from surgery – and you better believe I’m doing my best to smile back to the top. Or maybe it’s more of a growl.
One more thing – when we focus only on the destination, it suggests that there’s a ceiling on possibilities, an end. And that, my friends, is simply not true. They’re limitless. I know, because I’ve witnessed it, and lived it.
– Jesse Kepka, CPT, CES
