Who Inspires & Motivates Me
It may be cliché, but the person who inspires me the most is my mother. She was a practicing physical therapist for over 30 years and in my opinion, is the most professional athlete I know (she hates when I say that).
She’s a runner, a biker, a gym goer, and a horseback rider. She has competed in many marathons and triathlons, including a few half-Iron Man’s.
I grew up seeing the example of what it was like to have a balanced, active, and healthy lifestyle. I dedicate a lot of that to her, not being from this country, and just growing up in a different generation, where we were not attached to our screens, but it is also an intrinsic value that she has. I was always placed in activities as a kid and was never allowed to stay in bed past 9 AM on the weekends. It was challenging during my teenage years, but I’m grateful for that habit as an adult.
She never put pressure on working out in terms of a specific goal, other than that it was just good for your mind, body, and soul. Movement became a way to spend quality time with the family as well. There was doing the turkey trot on Thanksgiving or just going out for evening walks during the summer and family bike rides on the weekends.
I never understood as a kid what she did for a living. All I saw was that she worked with elderly people, and as a kid, it seemed like the last thing I wanted to do as a career. Once I became injured at 16 I saw the value in her work. She was able to give me exercises to rehab and able to find all the right doctors. I had a superpower, I had a mother who was able to understand what I was going through and have the knowledge to get me the best care possible. That component elevated itself post-surgery when I developed fibromyalgia. Something neither one of us knew much about, but she took on the task of learning as much as she could. She dedicated herself to researching ways to improve my quality of life and finding me any specialist that could help. She was tough though, she knew how important physical therapy was, and pushed me to continue post-surgery no matter what. She reminded me that there were only two options, to do nothing, and be miserable about my limitations or fight to improve my quality of life, especially because I was so young. She educated me as much as she could, and then put the onus on me. Ultimately it was my decision to take her advice or not, she couldn’t force me. Instead, she inspired me through the way she lived her life and planned amazing family vacations where we did activities like a mountain, biking, hiking, white water, and rafting, all things I wanted to be a part of and do without pain.
Years later, when I decided to become a personal trainer, she was incredibly excited and always wished I had gone into physical therapy. But even as an adult, I realized that I still was not meant for physical therapy, but personal training was a small component of that back, allowing me to help people overcome their injuries the way I have worked so hard to overcome mine. Now we get to connect in a whole new way and that’s a component I love.
I realize as I get older and work with different people and learn about their childhood. How fortunate I am to have grown up with Family he was so active and put an emphasis on health. We were never restricted with foods or diet, but an emphasis on healthy living was always there. Most Americans do not grow up in that environment, which makes creating a healthy lifestyle as an adult so much more difficult. They don’t have that intrinsic value to love moving their body or choosing healthy foods. Having that intrinsic need to move and feel good in my body and to be healthy, it’s truly the greatest gift. I still have my hurdles and difficulties and things to work on but it will never seem like a complete chore to me. Even when I’m doing intense protocols I still enjoy it. I enjoy the learning, the tracking, and the effort.
This year my mom turned 60 and is going to be completing her last marathon, according to her at least. All I can hope is to continue on this path and still be as active as she is at her age. I say this to my clients all the time, but she is an example of why it is so important to move your body and be healthy. I want to live a long life, but I want to live a great one. I want to be able to do all the things as long as I can.
So get out there and move!
