Y’all, I have a lot of plans. Big plans. I have so many things I want to do, I hardly know where to start. And, of course, all of my plans cost time, money, and energy. I have some of each of those things, but not enough of any of them.
I bring this up because I’ve been getting notifications about my Red Cross certification. It’s been almost two years since I earned my it, which I got because it was a requirement of my certification as a personal trainer. And that will also be up soon, in July. To keep that, I need to have taken (and paid for) a certain number of continuing education credits. It’s not too bad, the number of credits they require, spread out over two years. Want to guess how many I’ve earned? That’s right: none! It’s not that I’m not interested in the topics covered by the continuing ed (well, except the ones that focus on weight loss as a way to increase health, and things of that ilk). It’s not that the idea of being a personal trainer is no longer appealing to me. It’s just, you guys, I don’t have the time.
My motivation to get my personal trainer certification was two-fold. First, I wanted to prove that I could do it. And even though it’s just a written test, thus challenging my brain and not my body, it was more about myself as a fat person getting certified than me just as a person who was smart and studious enough to get a passing grade. My other motivation? That was to eventually work with a specific population: people who fall outside the traditional fitness spectrum. People who don’t want to and/or aren’t comfortable setting foot in a gym. People who have no idea where to start to claim their fitness, but who don’t feel that more traditional trainers (in terms of body size) will understand them. I imagined being a traveling trainer, visiting people at their homes and helping them to embrace fitness in the way that makes the most sense for them. That’s kinda awesome, right? Except that was going to take a lot of time, money, and energy, and I have to work at full-time job to pay my bills.
I’m not renewing my personal trainer certification this summer not just because starting my own practice will take too much time, money, and energy, but because the focus of my interest has shifted. My plans have changed. Having spent the last three years writing Big Fit Deal has taught me that my passion lies in the mental and emotional aspects of fat and body acceptance and positivity. That’s where I want to spend my time. That’s how I can make a difference (I hope!).
I know this could look like I’m giving up, but I think of it as moving on. We all have limited amounts of time, money, and energy (although if you happen to be one of those folks with unlimited funds, call me!). It can be challenging to figure out how to balance work, loved ones, responsibilities, and the other passions that drive us. I know now that when I’m not at work, enjoying my own methods of fitness, or with my family and friends, I want to spend my hours here, with you.
Also, I want to spend time working on those awesome big plans I mentioned up above. Can someone loan me some time, money, and energy? Thanks!
