If there was no Kryptonite, you’d think Superman was a prick.
I was listening to a Jamie Alderton podcast (The FitPro Show - go check it out) and never has a quote resonated with me more.
He was talking about social media and how we get paralysed by the fear of posting about our own struggles….. and actually those struggles are one of the best ways of connecting with our clients.
Once they know that WE understand what THEY are going through, they have a bigger connection with us. They understand our why…. And more importantly they know we’ve got their back every step of the way.
I only used to post photos or videos of myself where my back looks 80% like someone else’s. Where I’m sat up super straight or really focused on making sure my rib hump doesn’t show. One day, a couple of years ago, I decided not to do that anymore. Because it wasn’t a true representation of what I look like most of the time.
Most of the time I high five myself for being dedicated to lifting weights and improving how my body moves and feels, I’m quite chuffed at being nearly 40 and still being able to do all this stuff. But I still get a bit of a shock when I go in those stupid changing rooms that have a mirror behind you as well. There has been many a top left in the shop because someone decided 360 degree viewing was required. I still get back pain. Somedays I can’t train how I want to. Some days I can’t even live how I want to.
And that’s how my clients feel. With their niggly knees, post shoulder surgery blues and piriformis syndrome. If I don’t share how my back has affected my life, how will they know that I understand their fears and their pain. How would they know that we can still do cool stuff even when we can’t quite do what ‘other people’ can do.
Our experiences are what have led us to this point. The good and the bad… and these are the things that have shaped us in to the fitness professionals that we are. Your vibe really does attract your tribe and there is no-one better positioned to help your crew than you.
We don’t have to put everything out there to show that we understand. We don’t have to bare our souls and be completely vulnerable with our entire social media network BUT if we let folk know some of our experiences and how we moved past them, we open up a whole new world of connection that really will help to create change in and for more people.
Superman needs his Kryptonite to be the man that he is. Just like we need our experiences to be who we are and to be great at our jobs, in our very own way.
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