Hi everyone!
It seems that last weeks email was a bit controversial. For the most part,
people appreciated it. However, a few may have misunderstood a few things. I
write this blog each week in an attempt to stir a bit of communication. If that
means firing people up due to differences of opinions, so be it. My days of
thinking I can please everyone are long gone. I used to lose a lot of sleep
trying to make everyone happy and keep them motivated. I've been the General
Manager of both a 6,000 and an 8,000 member fitness facility in my mid 20's.
I believed at the time that I could make all of my members happy. Its
impossible! and it almost drove me to an early grave trying. I made a lot of
money, but wish more than anything to have those years back. Money, nice
houses, and nice cars drove me to "succeed". My definition of success is
COMPLETELY different today than it was then. Stuff is junk. A car takes you
from point A to point B. A house is not a home. Titles are silly. Providing
for your family is not financial, its time related. The Jones' are on their
own. I have nothing to prove to anyone and find peace in God. I wear my heart
on my sleeve and am who I am. I will always strive to be better, but I won't
strive to please the world. In the BIG picture, the things that stress us to
the point of explosion every single day do not matter at all. I used to live to
work. Now, I work to live. I used to live to workout, now I workout to live.
Wait..... that last part sounded a lot like "wellness". No it didn't. You can
live "Fit" "Wellness" to me
is defined as "not sick". Surely, I can aspire to be better than "not sick".
Fitness CAN be fun! The road there can get you out of your comfort zone, and
teach you so much more about who you truly are and can change who you aspire to
be. There is nothing wrong with aspiring to BE GREAT!
Trust me; I still try to please everyone, but these days I am more
focused on life balance, my families' happiness, and simply being true to
myself/beliefs. I may please you, the results may please you, but I'm not going
to put on an act and schmooze. Over my lifetime in fitness clubs, I have
observed countless bad trainers. Its always driven me crazy and I'm sure it
always will. I am a very "Results" oriented trainer. I am very matter of fact
and to the point. I don't do small talk, I absolutely despise gossipers,
meddlers, story fabricators, laziness, whining, spoiled brats, stay away from
negative and pessimistic people, hate drama, mindless TV, or anything else that
robs me of energy, productivity, or results that I aspire to achieve. I am
constantly trying to set the sails of my ship to give more attention to things
that matter. I'm not going to spend an hour of my time convincing someone that
my opinion is right. That hour could be spent throwing ball with my two sons or
having a phone conversation with my parents to let them know just how much I
love them while they're still here. Its just an opinion. Everyone has the
right to have one. Mine may work for me now, and heck, I may have an entirely
different view tomorrow.
There was also a part in that last email that stated: "I am
preaching to the choir" You guys get it. You all are doing it. I love the
transformations that I've witnessed. I am not necesarrily referring to the
physical. I've seen each of you grow in amazing ways. It fires me up to see
people raise their own bars to levels they never deemd possible. It excites me
to no end to see people take on a new hobby, step out of their comfort zone, and
grab life by the horns. It excites me even more for those people to inspire and
set the example for those around them. This is life changing stuff. We can all
share in that. We are a family of support, motivation, and love. Lets join
together in the pursuit to positively change the lives around us.
Oh yeah............ Don't forget tomorrow
is the Firecracker 5k and 10k. It starts at 8am at the college. It should be a
lot of fun, and I look forward to cheering you on!
Hey Trent,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed both last week's blog and this one. Both have had me thinking, and I figure that's usually a good thing. I'll trust you to allow me to do a little out loud thinking here.
I'm not surprised that last week's content riled some folks. I thought it came off a little like "if you're not running a marathon a week then you're just not trying." However, I took it to mean that if I'm not pushing my (possibly erroneous) limits, then I'm missing out on fitness that I might achieve. Thing is, I think that everyone does have limits and each person's limit only applies to them. Your limit is not mine, but we can each benefit from pushing our own and, in my case, not beat myself up because I can't get to your limits. Relatedly, there's a thing about aging. I can push all I want and I'm not going to run another sub-40 10K, let alone set a new lifetime PR. What I CAN do is delay and/or slow the inevitable declines that come with age. In fact, if I try to do too much then I just get injured and lose ground rather than gain it. I see this playing out with olympic runners as much as with my own body, although at very different levels. As with many things, I think it's about balance. That applies to hard training days balanced with easier training days and also to time spent at work and time spent with family, and other pairs of choices. Again, my balances don't have to be like yours in order for each of us to have a balance that works for us. (I also think that balance in the large view can include elements of what appears to be imbalance in the short term, but that's another topic.)
Anyway, I have found your blog to be inspiring and challenging and helpful and thought provoking. Thanks for all of that. I very much admire the man you have become and are becomming. Keep up the good work.
Oh...and by the way, I hear in you some of the same satisfactions I have been fortunate to have both in coaching and teaching...and parenting, for that matter. One of the most notable is seeing someone accomplish things that they thought they couldn't. Sometimes they just have to discover their potential by making the effort to meet the challenge. I'm sure you see that in the folks you work and compete with, and your support of them (even while you're challenging them) in the process is often what makes the critical difference.
Coach