Utah Retreat: Vulnerability, Resilience, and Superpower Sisterhood
A week after getting home from Salt Lake City, I'm still somehow feeling emotionally drained and energized at the same time. My heart is overflowing from what I experienced at the Team Fitaddicted Success Club retreat. I feel so unbelievably inspired... like there is a fire in my heart that is going to propel my work in this business from now on.
Over the course of the weekend, we visited Beachbody's Utah corporate office and met the members of the team that puts together the rewards and recognition gifts the company offers coaches. We each shared our stories, and we had some training on how to better use our stories to help other people in an online coaching setting. We went hiking, soaked in a hot tub with a mountain view, and ate some delicious food.
As I read back over these words, it sounds pleasant enough, but not all that special or magical. How, then, to put into words why this experience meant so much to me?
Part of it was the fact that this was a reward. I earned this expense-paid trip by working my butt off these last six months. I absolutely love the programs I run, supporting people in a healthy lifestyle—this is what gets me excited to get out of bed and start my day—but it does mean I work really hard, because I work full-time. In the mornings before work and the evenings after work, I can be found checking in on the participants in my programs. Like I said, I love it—but there aren't a lot of days when I just rest. Having two full days to be mostly offline and immersed in what was going on in the house was blissful.
It certainly didn't hurt that I was among friends with a similar lifestyle. We had group workouts in the mornings (although I missed one when I slept in...WHO is this person I'm becoming?!?!). The house wasn't stocked full of candy or anything like that, so I knew I wasn't going to go TOO far off the rails if I let loose a bit. Truly, it was awesome to be around people who just "get it"... Who understand why when I get home from work, I work a little bit more. Who understand why I set my alarm for 6 a.m. so I can get a workout in before work, and why I've gotta get to bed by 10 to allow for that. It's a great feeling to be understood... no explanation needed.
But it wasn't just about the camaraderie. It was about the connections. When I say we told our stories, it went DEEP. Believe me when I tell you that there isn't one single person in this world who hasn't faced significant challenges and overcome adversity. Everyone's story is different, but no one's life is smooth and trouble-free. I might have imagined I've had it harder than most, but time after time, I was brought to tears as I heard about the painful experiences my fellow coaches had gone through, and how they'd come out the other side of it stronger, more sensitive, and more confident, with lessons learned that they can use to help others dealing with similar challenges.
Instead of letting these experiences keep us down, we came back more determined than ever. We grieved, we healed, we moved on. We did the inner work that was required, intense as it may have been. And our challenges are not over. That isn't how life works. But I know one thing for sure—we are bound by sisterhood. After opening up to one another last weekend, I can say with certainty that we have each other's backs, FOR REAL. These women have been through the fire in every way imaginable, and I consider it an honor to count myself in their company.
Coaching is about so much more than food pics and sweaty selfies. It's about claiming our own power and empowering one another. And that is why after last weekend, I am committed, more than ever, to continuing in this business and bringing more people into it to experience the benefits.
