Kati’s Fit Kit
“I’ve got it all figured out…”
“I know what I need to do… I just need to do it.” As a fitness coach and gym owner, I hear this line a lot, and recently it had me thinking about what might really be going on underneath that statement. It seems to me that quite often what’s really being said is, “I feel like I should know what to do, and I’m worried about being judged for not getting it right.”
Now, I’m not pointing fingers at other people without a few pointing at me. As a recovering perfectionist, I know I have the tendency to feel like I need to have it all figured out. And the feeling that I “should” know what to do with regards to fitness and exercise was once a big stumbling block for me.
Many years ago before I became a coach, I hit a major plateau in my fitness. I felt tired, sluggish, and for the first time in my life I was gaining weight. I went along for the better part of a year doing the same old exercise routine I’d always done, and got absolutely nowhere.
As I got more and more frustrated with my lack of progress, I had to admit to myself that one of the things holding me back was that I was embarrassed to ask for help on this topic. I was embarrassed by not having it all figured out on my own. I was afraid of what people might think. I was afraid of being wrong. Having been pretty physically fit my whole life, how could I have let myself get to this point? After all, it’s my body, shouldn’t I know how to keep myself in good shape? Better just keep trying to figure it out “in secret” by myself…
I was holding on to what I thought I was “supposed” to know, and those fears were holding me back from asking for guidance, and ultimately making the progress I wanted to make. Fortunately, my determination to feel my best won out over my fear and embarrassment. I found a coach to guide me, and began seeking out education and training to become a fitness and nutrition coach myself. Turns out there is more to all this than just “working out” 🙂 Knowing what I know now (and how much more there is to keep learning) it’s crazy to think I ever beat myself up for feeling like I should have known it all already!
Sadly, the world we live in doesn’t always make it easy for us to ask for help, or admit that we don’t have it all together. Especially in a crazy city like Los Angeles, there are far too many ways to feel like you aren’t good enough, rich enough, attractive enough, cool enough. It’s easy to feel like if you don’t have it all figured out, that you don’t measure up, and you’d better just keep your mouth shut before someone finds out.
The fitness world is no exception. We are constantly being sent messages about how we “should” look and what we “should” be able to do… not to mention that you “should” be able to figure out how to get there from magazines, blogs, Instagram and Pinterest. And unfortunately even a lot of gyms have a culture that makes people feel unwelcome if they aren’t already fit – you should never feel like you need to get in shape before you can join a gym!
Not having it all figured out doesn’t make you a bad person. Needing help doesn’t make you a failure. Admitting you don’t know something doesn’t make you stupid or ignorant. Letting go of things that are “supposed” to be working for you but actually aren’t allows you to grow. It’s ok to be wherever you are at right now, and it’s ok to ask for help to get to where you want to go!
Strength & Love,
Kati