Motivation

dig·ni·ty   

Pronounced ˈdiɡnədē/

noun

• the state a sense of pride in oneself; self-respect.
• the quality of being worthy of honor or respect.

DISCLAIMER: Before reading this article, please be aware that you are reading MY blog. These are MY thoughts, MY feelings and you are continuing to read this because YOU want to know what I think. If you don’t want to know what goes on in my head or you disagree with me, you can leave at anytime. There is no PC or nice way to say what I have to say, so I will do it in MY way and just say it.

The other night my hubby Luke and I were on our way up north for a long weekend of quiet, relaxation and little cell service. We had a good hour to go and I was getting antsy so I decided we were going to play one of “Tera’s bored games”. So I asked him what he would do for a living if he wasn’t a mason. I wasn’t really surprised when he instantly said something about being an undercover sniper on a special opps team taking out large scale targets across the world (or in real people terms – a professional hunter).  When he returned the question, I had about 75 different occupations and 99.9% of then included puppies. He looked surprised and asked me if I was happy working in the fitness industry and of course I said was. Then he asked “Do you think you are successful?” and I think my answer shocked him. I said no.

NO? No. Let me explain….

I explained that in terms of having a fitness career like many people do currently, I basally suck at what I do. And by suck – I mean miserably failing at being a “modern day fitness professional”. I don’t post photos of myself wearing next to nothing on instagram to show the world how “fit” I am, I refuse to promote products that I don’t use or believe in,  I don’t  allow the number of likes or followers I get dictate my self-worth and I will never live my life fully on social media.  Yes, the people who chose to do this rake in the dough and have very successful businesses, but that’s not my style. And you know what – I AM OK WITH THAT.

I’m ok with not being (in today’s terms)”successful”? Yes!

I feel that I am successful in a totally different way. There are a lot of things I don’t have: millions of followers, hundreds of likes a day, countless clients, a large bank account. BUT I have my dignity and I am proud of that. I will never be the girl who post a photo that would make my dad ashamed of me. I respect myself, my body and God more than that. And if people don’t want to follow me because my post workout selfies are of me sweaty AND fully clothed. So be it. If people don’t want me to be their trainer because I don’t flaunt my booty gains in a thong or my 6 pack in a bra, cool. And if people don’t think I’m good at what I do because I don’t’ promote how to “get this incredible body in just 4 weeks with a magic product”, so be it.

I am successful in MY TERMS. I AM PROUD OF THE BUSINESS THAT I HAVE BUILT. I have clients that hire ME for who I AM – not what I look like. They HIRE me because of my KNOWLEDGE – not my number of “likes”. They TRUST me because I CARE about them and I don’t see them as another zero in my bank account. They are the reason that I am able to do what I do every day and I want them to be just as proud of me as I am of them. God put me on this earth to be a strong woman with dignity. And if keeping my dignity on social media and in “real life” means I have less (clients, money, followers), then I will leave this earth knowing that I did exactly what God intended me to do.

NOTE: I want to give a huge shout out to the women out there who have a large tribe because they have dignity. They are strong, smart, beautiful women who are in the industry because it is their calling and they do it to MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!! You know who you are and I thank you for inspiring me!