Today’s Thought of the Day is on:
Self-Expression. CONFIDENT self-expression.
One of my favorite shows “growing up” (when I had cable at home) was Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry. I absolutely loved watching the “Spoken Word” segments, watching how people got on stage, grabbed a microphone and just talked. About what THEY believed in. About what was IMPORTANT to them. Man, that is such a powerful medium to express yourself!
There is one video, from Taylor Mali, I remember explicitly from my time watching the show:
I remember it so clearly because I got yelled at a lot growing up for, “Using the word LIKE incorrectly!” Soooo funny.
But hearing Taylor talking about the fear our culture has seemed to impose on people for speaking their mind and MEANING it made me stop and think. Why? Why don’t we use the incredible individuality we’ve all been given to express ourselves. Not the things we think OTHER people want to hear us say, but the things we truly feel.
That entire concept translates over into MY “job” (I feel weird calling it that because I absolutely love what I do) as a “personal trainer.” I hate that term to describe a CrossFit Coach. I think it’s because I put so much more responsibility on myself to try to help people change their lives for the better. By default, in my mind, I think the stereotype of a “Personal Trainer” is the overweight, out of shape person who sits there reading a magazine while his athlete walks slowly on a treadmill. My point = The stereotype makes me think of Non-Effective Change Agents in the lives of their athletes.
The Self-Expression that I’m talking about is being able to say that I consider myself (and try VERY HARD to be) a TEACHER, a COACH, a POSITIVE impact on the lives of people who I come in contact with.
But you know what? It’s not always “sexy” to say you’re a personal trainer.
What do you do? I’m a Doctor.
What do you do? I’m a Lawyer.
What do you do? I’m an Architect.
Those professions, to me, lend more to our American Culture’s “expectation of impact” that we all “should” have.
What do you do? I’m a personal trainer.
I feel like that warrants a response more similar to, “I got a puppy this weekend” ~ “Awwww, how cute!” than “I perform complex surgeries” ~ “Wooow!”
But you know what? I’m ok with that. I don’t do what I do because of what other people will think about me. I coach because it makes me feel GOOD. It makes me proud to help people identify and THRIVE on the potential they (many times) never even THOUGHT they had! I’m smiling like a goon here thinking about those moments as I type this post!
So, when I saw this video below, also by Taylor Mali, I smiled, I got goosebumps and I HAD to write this.
I am a personal trainer, a CrossFit coach and it FILLS me with PRIDE to say that.
Self-Expression at it’s finest.
BOOM.
Anything like that in YOUR life?
Smashby's Training Blog 