Please take a minute to watch this video before reading this blog post.

Life = Risk

How many of you have failed repeatedly at something? Have you given up? Is that it? You can’t do it so why bother trying, right? Well, this video got me thinking about my own life. Those of you who have met me know that my body is not that of the average fitness instructor. I am larger than most and, as my grandma would say, I’m a little ‘fluffy’ (my grandpa would say I was built like a brick s***house – lovely!). Barring my years in senior high school, I have always been on the big side.

I was also really smart. My grade 3 teacher once commented that I was the only kid she new who could read a novel during math class and still be able to get the answers correct. I was an A student, all right! Except in one class – Physical Education. I was awful! I had no coordination, I felt like a lumbering idiot and I was afraid of being hit by a ball, no matter what size the ball was! That one inevitable C on my report card was the bane of my existence. But I kept doing it. One year I achieved a Silver award for the Canadian Physical Fitness Test. That was a hard-fought silver, let me tell you! And still, the C’s kept coming.

In grade 8 I discovered that I could run long distances. I was coming in first when we did 3 & 5 Km runs in PE. It was bizarre! In grade 9, a friend of mine crossed the line before I did and she felt so good about herself. She told me that her goal was to beat me. Me?! No way! At this point my C’s had given way to C+’s. I had no upper body strength and was still afraid of those round flying projectiles.

I think it was in grade 10 when PE became an elective. I took it and got a C+. My parents were not happy because now my grades were going to count toward university entrance. I fought for my right to take PE in grade 11 and won. I told them that if they wanted me to take Probability & Statistics 12, Geometry 12 and Advanced Algebra then I got to pick my electives! I got a B that year. In grade 12 I had to fight even harder because I also wanted a study block. My parents gave in. I am so glad they did because it forever changed my life’s path. I got an A.

I got in to every university I applied to (despite my parents’ fears) and went on to get first a BSc and then an MSc in Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology. I have been a fitness instructor for over 20 years and I love my body. I work to help my children, my students and my participants achieve their fitness and academic goals because it makes them feel good. And when you feel good about one part of your life it is bound to carry over into other things you do.

So, what are your goals? Do you have a story of how you’ve managed to achieve a goal? Or perhaps how achieving a goal has changed your life? Feel free to share!