Happy Monday!
I hope you enjoyed Women’s Day yesterday which is a nice celebration for all the amazing ladies in the world!
Today’s message is focused on building a tough mindset to handle criticism and the naysayers, which is unavoidable for your (or anyone) wanting to achieve success in any aspect of life.
I was reminded of this as I was coaching a new FBBC owner this past week. He is new to the business and really sad and frustrated in that he was receiving some criticism on social media.
He had to let go a coach, who was an absolutely fantastic coach & who built strong relationships with many clients but had many issues behind the scenes (routinely late, combative, not a team player, deliberately missed meetings & trainings, etc.). Ultimately, this was causing major issues with the team over a period of many weeks, turning into months.
After coaching conversations, write-ups and warnings without any improvement; he made the decisions to uphold his team standards & culture, and part ways with the coach. Based off the laundry list of issues, it was clearly the right decision (albeit unpopular to some of his clients without visibility) which created some backlash and public criticism for the decision.
He was seeking guidance, in which I reminded him that doing the right thing, isn’t necessarily the easy or popular thing, but it’s needed for integrity and long-term success. Some of your clients might be upset or leave (and understandably so since they cannot see the full picture), but keep your head up, continue to treat your team and clients well and hold them to high standards. By doing this, it will create a strong team and the best long-term client experience, and you will get through this even stronger. And even though it doesn’t seem like it right now, the cream always rises to the top in the long run.
With that, I was reminded of you, as it’s a great analogy for fitness and for life. You see, whenever you dare to do something great (like getting into shape), there will be many people that either don’t understand or doubt you.
Some genuinely don’t have your best interest at heart, although many do and just don’t want to see you get hurt. And even sometimes, your success is threatening to them as it shines the proverbial spotlight on them (and their lack of fitness focus), which creates discomfort and eventually criticism.
You have seen it and probably experienced it already when you were out with some friends, and you were sticking to your nutrition plan (even though you caught some slack for it). “Oh come on, have that dessert, live a little.” Or “You don’t have to be that strict, you’re no fun.”
Some of your work colleagues or even family might send a little skepticism your way “take it easy on the workouts, you might hurt yourself” or “you seem obsessed with that boot camp, always checking on FB.”
The reality is, that while most peoples are intentions are good, your effort or success can be threatening. And therefore, criticism and the naysayers, rooted in human nature, is 100% going to happen to you, and anyone who dares to achieve anything great.
In fact, right at this moment in time and I hate to break it to you, but there is probably someone gossiping and criticizing you and me both!
But if you want to be successful, you cannot let that get you down. The reality is that you know you are on the right path. You know you are doing the right thing. You know you are making the right choices. You don’t have to prove anything to anyone, except yourself!
So keep your head up and continue to march on loud and proud, no matter what criticism comes your way. As one thing is for sure, it definitely will.
Head up, onward and make it an AWESOME WEEK!
-Coach Bryce
