...and just when you think about giving up, remember, you may be the inspiration others look to.
That sounds kind of like a grand gesture kind of statement, so bold, but it's so true.
For me, I find inspiration from the coaches at Elite. When I come to training and see them giggling and jumping around. Trust me, they're literally jumping around, like jumping beans. I'm convinced they either drink too much coffee or there's something in the water they're drinking. The coaches at Elite work such long hours, from open to close. The club opens at 6:30am and closes at 10pm but I doubt they actually close on time. Needless to say, that makes for a super long day. So when I show up and am feeling already a bit beat up because of the stress and pressures I carry, I feel like seeing them gives me a second wind. Seeing them reminds me that I really am so blessed. To complain that my business launch is going much slower than I want and that this and that isn't happening or is, well, I really can't complain.
Even I don't want to hear my first world problems. Can I label them that? Is that what they are?!
Anyways...
I went to Elite to train tonight and while I was grabbing some water, one of the coaches approached me. He wanted to introduce me to someone, a guy who apparently has watched me box. I know many of the members, maybe not by name but by face, but I don't recall meeting this particular guy. When I reached out to shake his hand, he blurted out "you're my idol". I giggled and was flattered but told him "oh gosh, I shouldn't be but thank you so much."
And right there I knew I was wrong in saying that.
We all know our own personal shortcomings and are our own worst critics, but when someone says a compliment to you, you should take it and say thank you. Don't be so hard on yourself because the truth of the matter is you never really know who you may be inspiring. And that brings me to anther point, something I was discussing just the other day with a girl at the boxing club. Sometimes you have to be inspiring to be inspired, like tonight.
I had gone to boxing late because I wanted to train without my coach and I knew the energy of everyone there would help pump me up for a hard session. I consider myself very much a familiar member of Elite and I really try hard to encourage those around me. Whether it's commenting about an awesome kick combo they did, a hard punch they landed, or how I'm relieved to see someone sweating just as much as I am, I'm always trying to motivate those around me. Energy is contagious, both good energy and bad energy, so I'm always careful to make sure I bring positive energy to the club and let it spread like wild fire.
I wasn't feeling particularly inspired to train hard but some of the big guys were training tonight and they always catch the eyes of others training. I felt a bit pressured to train hard, to show them that us females can turn heads too so I went to town on the heavy bag, round after round. At the end of several rounds, one guy came up to me, introduced himself to me and asked me if I was heartbroken. "No, why?" I asked. "Because you beat the crap out of that heavy bag as if it was an ex-boyfriend". And just like that I was inspired to keep it up.
Being inspired is hard but sometimes you're the inspiration others need and sometimes you have to be inspiring to be inspired.
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