There have been so many things I’ve wanted to write about recently, but nothing has come out – and instead I’ve found myself staring at a blank screen for what seems like HOURS, always finding some other “work” to do.
Two extraordinary things happened last week: one good, one bad. I wasn’t sure which one to write about first, so I’ve chosen to mention them both as I feel they both have relevance to where I am at today.
The StrongFirst cert I have blogged about previously took place last weekend – YES, it finally happened! This was THE weekend I had been training for since last October, the certification that I NEVER thought I would pass.
But then on the Monday, after the three-day course had finished, I found out that a friend of mine called Polly Noble had passed away from her cancer – on the Sunday night whilst I had been celebrating after I passed my course. (yes, I passed!)
I had met Polly some years earlier through a mutual friend. She was a raw foodie, a life coach, and a very pretty lady who had “kicked cancer’s butt” by completely changing her life to incorporate raw foods, green juices and smoothies, and meditation.
I had just started to learn about the power nutrition can have on one’s mental health and found Polly to be an inspirational, kind and knowledgeable lady. She put on a number of raw food workshops for my clients (Cambridge Bootcamps) and we all eagerly made her Raw Blueberry “cheesecake” – I believe it was the first time many of us drank green juices without throwing up…
As you can imagine, I was very sad to hear of her passing, and thought that boasting about my personal achievement just wouldn’t sit well at this time. But one of the things I learnt from Polly was that she lived every moment to the full. She took responsibility for her own health and life, and made every moment count. Every time I saw her, or read her posts on FB or Instagram, she was always positive, upbeat and smiley.
So, with this in mind – I am going to celebrate my experience taking the SFG1 cert.
I was PETRIFIED. Literally, every single morning that I arrived at the center I felt sick to my stomach, and I thought I was going to throw up! I had a whirlwind of negative thoughts going through my mind at 100 mph.
At these times, I wondered if this was how my ladies felt when they first turned up to the bootcamp sessions – sick, fearful and insecure. I am acutely aware of how scared my new ladies are when they first turn up to a session, Obviously once the girls make them feel welcome and they settle in they’re always fine and leave every session with a smile. However, in my own case the nerves lasted three days – right until the end of the course!
When I found out I had actually passed, I cried! Months and months of effort and training had gone into this – I thought my injured leg would stop me from certifying, or that I just wouldn’t be mentally strong enough to get through the three days of training and testing. As some of you will know from previous blogs, one of the reasons I have reached this place is due to tragedy, death and trauma in my family – and my desire to make sure that I don’t waste my life, or the gift of being able to walk without aid.
Getting through those three days was honestly one of the hardest things I have ever done, both physically and emotionally. It meant SO MUCH to me.
So this blog post is to say thank you. Thank you to Polly for showing me a different way to live, for helping so many of my clients new and old, and also for being an inspiration to me, to help me get through that damn hard course and teaching me about not giving up – which would have been so easy to do – because I, for one, do not want to waste this precious gift of life that I’ve been given.
Charlie x
http://www.cambridgebootcamps.co.uk
