I found my passion for movement at a young age on the field, on the ice, and on the back of a horse. Growing up as an athlete, I embraced the benefits of training early on.  To immerse oneself in athletics is to work an ongoing process that creates consistency, pushes physical limits, and builds mental strength.  Training is where I got my first taste of confidence, when you experience a well-earned success after a struggle, not simply because of natural skill but from the direct result of the work put in.  This belief became my equation for life, that I could create resilience through a repeatable process.

 

There was no one who drove this point home more than my first coach in life, my father, who modeled dedication and drive in all his life’s pursuits.  My Dad did not ever let circumstance slow him down, from building his career and family, to continuing to compete with men on the ice half his age.  Not one to shy away from a challenge, his mindset did not waver, not even when he was diagnosed with a rare illness at age 48 that would take his life just a few short months later.  

 

As a 17 year old in a new school, this loss broke the very core of me.  The passion I had once experienced on the field was overshadowed by a griping dread I felt every time I instinctively looked towards the sidelines.  My identity as an athlete felt inauthentic without the person that had coached me to embody that confidence.  Movement, which had once felt empowering now only reminded me of how far I’d fallen.  Though I stuck it out with athletics as a college athlete, it was not until I immersed myself in the fitness industry that I was able to reawaken the courage to work towards my own goals. 

 

I have experienced on a deep level, as so many well meaning people do the physical, mental and emotional abandonment of personal health during challenging life moments.  I know the feeling that your own ambitions seem trivial in the grand scheme of life, which can at times feel brutal. I know what it is like to lose that confidence, the hope that you’ll find your stride again.  While loss shook my own foundation, it is that same foundation that built me back up to the person I aspire to be.  It was not an external circumstance drove me to reprioritize my health, re-identify as an athlete and pursue my dream of coaching others to reach their own potential; it was in the heart of the process of pulling myself back up. Without a doubt, the most unwavering solution to my pain has always been the resilience held within me.  

 

In the years I have worked as a coach, I have not met one person who has gone through life without setbacks.  I understand intimately, the frustration, pain and fear in pushing through these challenges to the other side of success.  It is watching my clients bravely work their own process despite those setbacks, patiently creating success one bit at a time that resolidifies my core beliefs.  You see, facing personal obstacles takes a different kind of strength.  It is not created in the moment you squat your highest weight, pass that stress test with flying colors, run your fastest mile, vastly improve your bloodwork results or win that game.  Each time you choose to go train instead of scroll on your phone, each night you prioritize your sleep, each time you carve out a moment for meditation, all the ways you fuel yourself with nutrition that supports a strong body…all those little actions and behaviors and choices you align with your greater goals…each one is a stepping stone, a repetition in resilience.  It is here that we practice strength from within and build Momentum towards our potential.