Fostering Fitness Now: The Why

By Lara Foster

Have you ever gotten that feeling? Looking at your days with wonder, thinking, can there be more? Can I be more? At one time or another everyone goes through a shift like this. We all wonder Why. Why do we do this? Why are we here?

I needed to find the meaning behind the moving, behind the Why. What does that mean? I needed to create something that I believed in, that encompassed all of my abilities, and pushed me further to expand my talents. I felt a need to give more of myself, to create more authentically. From that space arose Fostering Fitness Now.

Skill Sets WITH Natural Abilities, blend to create your Becoming, who you are now. I have dedicated the last 7.5 years to becoming the best personal trainer and coach that I could be. In that time of acquiring skills and knowledge in a corporate setting I pretty much left my natural ability of writing on the side. I didn’t have time to write. I didn’t have energy to write. I didn’t have anything to write about…

While my creativity flourished in being of service to others, I forgot about the other avenues available to me to do so. My focus became so narrow that I lost the sparks of inspiration, the places where I could generate energy, and give more of myself. Without realizing it I started giving from a half empty glass. Onset, the perpetual trainer burnout.

Granted, Life happened in between, love, loss, death, grief, all amongst this place that I was so great at giving value from. Hope, Encouragement, Inspiration, Optimism, Belief, Healing. I was fulfilled on the daily watching, facilitating, others growth and success. Then I lost it. I lost a lot.

I pushed myself too far. I’d exceeded my goals and failed to create new ones. I thought I’d found the sweet spot in comfort, predictability, stability. The narrow focus eliminated my processing and awareness of signs from life that it was time to move on, time to create something new. I didn’t want to hear it. So I ignored it all. The signs got bigger, louder, until I was forced to acknowledge what was happening.

I’d found such a comfortable place that I wasn’t growing anymore. I was capped out. I was scared to acknowledge that I needed a change. I was afraid to admit that maybe it was time to move on. I had no idea what I was moving on to. But I had to do it, I had to move beyond the corporate structure that had so beautifully crafted my success, but was now limiting my creativity and the way I wanted to live my life.

So I took a Leap of Faith. I left the corporate stability and security. The feelings that occurred after were not relief and exuberance. They were shock, disbelief, and utter chaos. What had I done? I just left the only surefire occupation I’d ever known. Did I just not appreciate it enough? Is life going to punish me for not being grateful for what I had? All of these thoughts passed through my mind daily. Even perpetual chatter, Maybe I should go back, I can still go back, I can re-create it all. I’d go on to think, Maybe it’s the Only thing I’m good at, Maybe it’s the Only way I’ll be successful. I heard it, I felt it, but I also knew all of that questioning wasn’t coming from my Heart.

In the depths of my soul, my Heart knew that I had made a progressive move. It was the absolute scariest thing. I felt bare. Vulnerable. Lost. No idea what to do next. What happened in the year between releasing corporate stability and creating Fostering Fitness Now is a whole other story full of adventure and wonder. But in the last year, two things became a constant, I started writing again, and I began to express more Love in my personal relationships.

I feel like this happened because I released the veil of too busy, too focused, too tired, too much to do, so much to recover from. I sat in the emptiness of that Leap, no direction, no plan, no agenda. I sat in the Openness of Faith. I had to find a current state of hope, optimism, and belief in myself in order to refill the half empty glass. I had to redefine Who I AM. Who am I now? Why am I doing this? What am I doing?

What I found is that the filling happens instantaneously in the moment you choose to appreciate your life, what you have, and what you can give. When you uncover those things, and realize they’ve been there all along, the glass magically starts overflowing with creative ideas and inspiration. You hear this all the time. It’s all over the place, messages of abundance, gratitude, appreciation. But you have to Experience it to really feel it. You need to move through that opportunity and embrace all that you have to give in order to realize that your Giving IS the place of fulfillment.

So, I ask…

How Can I Be of Service?

Right now, I believe this is How.

FOSTERING. Encouraging. Empowerment. Consistency.

FITNESS. Vibrant. Optimization. Balanced. Center.

NOW. Clarity. Authenticity. Honor. Gratitude.

I am Fostering Fitness Now, and This Is Why.