Training Complete

I am finally feeling a little more pulled together this week as my training at Fitness Lady is almost complete! I have had the opportunity to train with a different employee each day and I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to meet all of these different women! There are lots of women on staff at Fitness Lady that I have had the pleasure of getting to know and one is just as unique as the next. One day I'm working with a girl in college, the next day with a mother of teenage girls, and the next with a sweet grandmother. One thing I'm learning about working at a "women's only" gym is that everyone LOVES to talk and share all the details of their personal lives. Well, maybe not everyone, but the fact of the matter is that as a personal trainer, people inherently trust you to fix their problems (physical and beyond) and in some cases you become their counselor. I love hearing stories about where people are in life and I really am starting to feel a connection with these new people here in Jackson. The women at Fitness Lady have welcomed me into their home...the gym is a second home for a lot of these people...and I am so grateful for that. While some come for the services at the Methodist Rehab or prayer support with our chaplain, some come for a social hour, and others come for a good old fashioned sweat session. Working with members on the gym floor and teaching my Wednesday spin classes are the best parts of this job! I can hardly believe I get PAID to do this! The next thing on my agenda is to complete my pilates reformer training and I am ready to start taking individual clients! Life is good!

A year ago, I would have never seen this coming. I thank God for these continual blessings that I so do not deserve. Despite some sadness and personal struggles I've had in recent history, I am extremely happy with how my life is unfolding. I think the darker times have helped me appreciate these days even more. When I look into my husband's eyes I have nothing but gratitude for where I am today and excitement for what our future holds. I've quit trying to live up to someone else's definition of a successful woman and am trying to let God define who I am.

This weekend I had a moment...a self-centered moment, questioning my self-worth and wallowing....well of course it didn't help the way I was feeling dragging my husband into my pity party. Thoughts like this come in tides, they roll in sometimes and then later go back out to sea where they belong. I am trying to choose the better response to that kind of tide within me and just wait until it goes out. After my moment was over and I sat quietly, actually LISTENING to what my husband had to say, I had the perspective to address the issues I was feeling. When I cooled off enough to listen and think clearly, I realized I had been defining myself based on pre-conceived, silly expectations of which I was failing to meet. Make sense? Didn't think so!

Here's why I bring it up. Maybe you have someone who tries to define you, minimize you, hurt you, rattle you, and steal your peace. The funny thing is – no one can steal our peace. We can only give it away or keep ourselves from experiencing it.

Who defines you? I had to ask myself that question this weekend. And I had to let the answer to that question settle my moment. And then I moved on.

So if you are struggling with someone else's definition of YOU (or maybe even your own silly definition), remember that just as no one can steal your peace, no one has the power to define you. And you don't have to refute or respond or react- At. All. Their definition is just that, theirs. It has no impact whatsoever on who you are, or what you can do. Leave them to their bitterness and move on to something sweet.

Danny and I at Ballet Mississippi's performance of The Nutcracker this weekend: