My ‘Why’

Today somebody questioned why I do what I do – why I post pictures of myself on social media. A few hours later I was also asked to fill out a questionnaire, one of the questions was ‘Why did you decide to get into the fitness industry?’

The simple answer to both of those questions is: I am so passionate about helping others gain self confidence and motivation to enable them take control of their own happiness and health. 

Being self aware, having self confidence and self belief, showing yourself kindness, learning to love and accept yourself, are all traits that don’t come easily. They require practice and they require patience, especially in the world that we live in today. These things do not equal arrogance, they equal anything but that. There is nothing selfish about taking care of yourself. As the saying goes – you cannot pour from an empty cup. 

Just like there is nothing wrong with being body confident. Embracing your insecurities and accepting your flaws is a huge step towards an easier, happier life. What is good about being ashamed of ourselves? What is good about being so hard on ourselves? 

When I was about 14/15 I hated the way I looked, I thought I was fat (I wasn’t). I used to starve myself, I used to compare myself to others and I over exercised. My periods stopped and I was very underweight. I remember walking up the stairs felt like walking up a mountain. Clothes hung off of me and a was constantly cold. Magazines and perfect pictures of celebrities were definitely partly to blame for my warped perception of myself. 

I was lucky enough to have plenty of people around me that cared for me and helped me to realise that this wasn’t ‘normal’. I had counselling and spent a lot of time reading self development books and blogs. This did me the world of good. However, I still didn’t have a healthy relationship with myself. I binge ate huge amounts of food, because deep down I still hated myself. I had huge anxiety for years and struggled with some relationships. All of these things have taken a huge amount of time and effort to overcome. I still have wobbles every now and then but they don’t bother me anymore; I simply forgive myself and show myself kindness. Looking back at the old version of me makes me feel sad and sorry for that girl. But equally I feel incredibly proud of who I am now and what I have overcome. 

My decision to become a personal trainer was simply to help others. I never ever wanted anyone to feel the way that I had – to walk around each day loathing yourself and spend hours picking yourself apart. That is not how life should be lived, so I made it my mission to help others better themselves. 

We are all up against so much in today’s society. Men and woman have tonnes of pressure on their shoulders to perform in a certain way, to look perfect, to make ‘sensible’ choices, to squash their beliefs – the list could go on and on. The message I will always try to send out, is to be kind to yourself. Follow YOUR own path. Do what is right for YOU. And take care and respect YOUR body. As I have said before, this isn’t selfish, as long as you always show others kindness and respect their journeys too. We all deserve to feel empowered and confident within ourselves. 

Our bodies and minds are the only things that will be staying with us right until the end, so it is time we invested in them.