Being a personal trainer has given me a new perspective on life, and here’s why.
I had always had the perspective that you can do anything you put your mind to; my grandpa had instilled this within me as a young boy. And time after time, I think back to that when I go through troubling times. When you’re going through a busy time in your life, when you’re going through a loss of a friend, when you’re going through a time where you just feel you have no motivation, just know that “you can do anything you put your mind to,” and likewise, get through anything you put your mind to.
Now I’m still a fairly new personal trainer, with just over 6 months of experience with several different types of clients. And many, if not all times, I am impressed at what folks can do, “when they put their mind to it.”
Most of the time it is challenging themselves, that gets them to really push:
“Okay, this is your 11th rep.”
“I can’t do it!”
“You got 13 our last session…”
“…I can do it.”
They do it. EVERY time. Your mind is stronger than your body is. Every time.
Similarly, yet different, I seem to underestimate people when we are just beginning our training relationship. I don’t think this is because I’m just new to taking on clients—I think it is because I see a body, not a mind, when I’m training. As I get to know the person, session after session, I start to see their mind, I start to see their spirit, and I know what their mind can have their body do. And I can help them be there to compete against themselves, as we all should be.
An older woman’s motivation for wanting to see me recently was that she was not able to get up from her chair at a restaurant. She also wanted to work on her balance—her friends have fallen down, and she doesn’t want to reach the same fate.
“We’re going to do heel to toe walks. Have you ever done those before?”
“My daughter does those. I can’t take one step without losing my balance.”
“Well we’re going to give it a shot. Which side of you should I stand on so I can catch you when you topple?” I jokingly asked.
“Can you be two people?”
The first 10 steps did not go so great. There was a lot of…toppling.
“Now this time, focus your eyes, focus your mind, on one point across the room. Do you see the bottom of the stairs? Keep your eyes and your mind focused on that point, and don’t look away. And step.”
Every step. Perfectly aligned. I think she and I were both impressed.
When you really give yourself the goal, when you really motivate yourself to complete that goal, you really can do quite anything, “that you put your mind to.”