SPRING FORWARD PART 1:

WRITTEN BY: COACH MEL

WHAT IS YOUR WORD FOR THE YEAR?

is SISU!!!

sisu

(noun) Extraordinary determination, courage, and resolution in the face of adversity. An “action” mindset enables individuals to see beyond their present limitations and into what might be. Taking action against the odds and reaching beyond observed capacities. An integral element of Finnish culture, and also a universal capacity for which the potential exists within all individuals.

I think most people reading this can “own” this word. Feel free to steal it! When I first saw it I got the chills! I feel like most people who have experienced difficulties during Covid and post-Covid can relate. Let’s break this down:

Extraordinary determination, courage, and resolution in the face of adversity. I always say “don’t look back you’re not going there” but in this case, I think we should all take a walk down memory lane and give ourselves credit for what we went through and how we adapted to such a crazy epidemic. What did you do that was courageous during Covid?

Taking action against the odds and reaching beyond observed capacities. How did you take action during Covid? How did you reach beyond what you thought you were capable of?

A universal capacity for which the potential exists within all individuals. What potential did you discover about yourself that you didn’t know existed?

I am a very positive Coach and try to find the good in all storms. I always try to figure out what lesson the storm taught me. If you never fail, you never learn. I love pulling these analogies over to health and fitness. Let’s break this down even more.

Have you thought about what Covid taught us? For me, I think it taught me that we “can” be resilient. Before Covid my coaching style was a little “Jillian Michaels,” and now after hearing so many stories of tragedy and clients overcoming huge obstacles, I have changed the way I coach forever. I now Coach with compassion and empathy and meet my clients where they are at. What I am ultimately trying to point out to my clients is that if you overcame what you did during Covid, then what else is possible? Now don’t get me wrong, I am not a total softy! I still push my clients and get results, just in a different way now.

If you think about your life before Covid things were pretty good right? I hope you can answer “yes” to this question. I think that what I want you to look back at is that if you were living a healthy lifestyle before Covid, there were a lot fewer obstacles. What kind of obstacles have people faced? Number one for a lot of people would be that they were no longer able to go to the gym. For most, this was devastating! I had clients sign up who never thought they could get motivated to work out at home. Most people aren’t open to a change of routine. They use the words like “never” and “won’t” and start giving me their list of “non-negotiable” items. Well, first of all, “if nothing changes, nothing changes;” so this is a major roadblock! If you don’t do something “different,” you will be standing in the same spot next year. I love looking back on the past couple of years and seeing that my clients who said they would only be with me until the gym opened back up, are still loyal MelFit clients. My clients tell me they like not having to get ready, drive to a gym, and put their kids in daycare just to grab a workout. If you’ve always done something, it’s hard to change; but real growth lies in change.