A few times a week I have the pleasure of spending time with Atha. Atha is our dynamite fitness trainer. She puts us through our paces several times per week, pushing us to achieve our best, not anyone else’s. She works with our fitness levels and abilities and makes getting up when there is a 5 still on the clock easier!
So Monday, when the alarm went off, I was up and ready to go. Even though we have cooler mornings now, I know I’ll get a burst of energy within 5 mins of entering our training space. Atha greets us with a smile, and genuine warmth. She sets us up to work with a fantastic, energetic and challenging class. She will often tell us a story about her weekend training, mainly runs. Atha is an avid runner, having completed a number of marathons. Her casual Sunday run of 10-15kms, always make me feel like I should start running consistently again. She makes it sound effortless and joyful.
On this morning, after we had finished our class, Atha started talking to us about her previous day. She told us that she drove to her usual running track as she does on a Sunday. But rather than jumping out of the car to commence her run. She sat there. And she sat there. She stared at the track. She watched other runners start and complete their runs. She scrolled on her phone. She didn’t leave the car. She chose not to leave the car. She decided to stay in her car and watch and think and stare and scroll. And when the time felt right, she turned on her ignition, put on her seatbelt, and drove home.
She had lunch with her family, pottered around at home and the time went by. Until it got to 5pm. At 5pm, Atha felt it was time to go. And off she went and proceeded on her run. She recounted how challenging the first 30 minutes were. At that point, I was thinking I would have stopped and walked home. However, at the 30-minute mark, she described how something lifted. She felt an incredible energy shift, and this was followed by the completion of a 15-kilometre run.
Why do I love this story?
Atha respected where she was at, paused, listened to what her body was telling her and then ran when she was ready to. She didn’t force herself into a run when it didn’t feel right, she didn’t shame herself into running because of guilt. She completed her run when it felt right. In that moment Atha elevated her impact by listening to what she needed.
We can all feel compelled to act, to do, to go harder, to not listen to our inner voice, to push without thought. But this doesn’t always elevate our impact. To elevate our impact, we need to think about the impact we want to have for ourselves and others. What’s the outcome we are looking for? Why? What purpose does it serve? In these simple but big questions, it is often where our most profound answers lie.
If you are looking to elevate your impact, don’t be afraid to not do. Sometimes in the not doing, we are actually doing more.
We can help you to Elevate Your Impact. Find out more here.
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