The Power Of One

I was about 15 years old the first time I felt overweight. It seemed to sort have snuck up on me, all of a sudden my body had changed and I was horrified. I remember trying on a pair of pants and feeling frantic because I was supposed to go to a church event and I couldn’t get them over my legs.  I felt so embarrassed that I had to go tell my mom I needed new pants. That feeling is something I will never forget. It is like a scar that is burned deep inside me. It challenges me to never feel like that again. That moment in my life is something I draw from like a touchstone for those times in my life when I need motivation and when I need to remember that other side of myself.

It took courage for me to ask my parents for help. I had to accept that I was overweight, that I was unhealthy, and that I needed to change my life. I had to stand in that fire and feel the flames surround me. I had to look at myself and take that first step alone.  I remember the feelings of vulnerability and fear as I walked into the sporting goods store to purchase a stair stepper.  I just wanted to hide and evaporate into the floor. I thought “these people are all looking at me and thinking-what is she doing in here”?  It is a dark place in my memory, but a very important and powerful part of who I am.

Those moments make up the foundation of my drive for health and wellness.  Even though those times were “horrible” emotionally, there was also a feeling of excitement that was surprising.  There was electricity in the air, a feeling of empowerment, and the possibility that made me feel this amazing, feeling of hope that I was changing my life. I was not only changing my weight but taking control over something that I wanted. That first step was this wonderful rebirth of myself that made my life change directions. If I had not been willing to take that first step, I would have never gotten to where I am now.

There is that moment of the first time we do anything, when we can choose to fight it or let it lift us up.  The first time we walk into a gym, the first exercise we do, the first set we finish.  How awesome is that moment? That is the nucleolusof you changing your life forever!  At that moment you might think you are still “not where you want to be” but that’s what is so amazing about it. This is the you that will walk through fire to get what you want. When I think back to that moment for me even though my body was not what I wanted, my soul was so driven and determined, that it is the part of me that I love so much!

If we can learn to sit in that fire and take that first step forward it can be a force to propel us to a better place. Some of us are on that journey alone. We have to do this without support, maybe even resistance from people in our lives. We have to overcome the feelings of doubt and negativity and find the beauty in ourselves even when we are in that dark place. We are still the same person inside, before our journey began, as we are when we reach our goals. That first step is our moment, our time to let that volcano blow! The power of one is your chance to experience the most powerful part of who you are!  Go after it with everything you have!

Janet Bertrand, a personal fitness trainer, started her love of fitness while still in high school.  Since 2004, Janet has worked with a diverse array of clients at FQ10 and feels truly blessed to be a part of such an amazing team of fitness professionals. Janet understands the demands of today’s busy schedules but thrives on encouraging people to reach their fitness goals in ways that work with their own individual schedules and goals.