June 6, 2022 “Be LOYAL to Yourself!”
Recently a Facebook friend sent me a long inbox, so I will paraphrase it. She stated, when you first started this fitness journey, I was impressed however, I said, how long will Tadda keep this up? Then year after year, now going on 14 years, I saw that you were still at it with no end in sight. I saw you getting stronger and faster, than all our peers and aging in reverse. To be honest, I started to feel some type of way, I started to get envious because as you continued your fitness journey I gained weight, lost weight then gained double the weight and became unmotivated to try again. When I saw how hard it is to stay dedicated my envy turned to admiration for you, you see I must give props where props are due. “I really admire how loyal you are to yourself”.
Loyalty is many things, being loyal is a way of showing truthfulness, faithfulness, honesty, discipline, humility, kindness and more. Loyalty defines who a person really is, by their words and actions. Loyalty contributes to the success of relationships, be it your relationship with your partner, your job, your bootcamp, personal trainer, meal plan or yourself. It is a powerful thing that can stir people to fervent heights of emotion and when you stay the course, amazing things can happen.
Loyalty is staying true and committed despite disappointment, hardship, pain, etc. Once you make the commitment no matter the difficulties that are inevitable in any commitment and you continue the journey, this is loyalty.
This bootcamp was very challenging for several reasons, Mother’s Day, Graduations, Memorial Day, and the extreme warm weather making the outdoor days tougher. So, I am super proud of each bootcamp member for finishing what you started, for being faithful to the process and loyal to yourselves despite all the temptations.
I want to shout out all Tadda’s Fitness members school graduates, we had a kindergartener that represents optimism for the beginning of the school journey and hope for a great future, two 8th graders, Kenyetta who is the first in her family to graduate from college and two Doctorate degrees. Each of these degrees took dedication, sacrifice and overall being loyal to oneself. Each graduated despite all the obstacles that were thrown at them, financial affordability, academic difficulties, and emotional and mental health challenges.
Our new trainer Christy, runs a foundation, has four children to raise, all are very active in sports. Christy also had to apprentice with the other trainers and myself in addition to the courses that are required to become a certified trainer at TFC. She was determined to become a trainer and her loyalty paid off. These are examples of remaining loyal to one’s commitment despite the obstacles.
At TFC we try to make it easy for you to stay loyal to your fitness goals. We offer bootcamp three times a day, we have evening and Saturday classes outside of the bootcamp, open gym with flexible times and personal training. We have a wellness center where you can get a Fit3d body scan to find out more of what’s happening with your body, IV therapy, vitamin B12 and Glutathione shots that will help you feel better and healthier along this journey. We have a café that can quench your thirst with alkaline water and herbal teas and whey protein shakes that will help to nourish you immediately before and after your workouts. Lastly, you have amazing trainers, fitness peers and Fit/Nurse Tadda to support you and coach you along the way.
As we end a bootcamp and get ready to start a new one, I ask you to be loyal to yourself, the relationship you have with yourself is the most important and determines how your relationships fare with others. In this day and age, temptation is everywhere, and quite frankly, it’s easy for people to be disloyal if they so choose. If you become discouraged after your first disappointment and forgo your commitment to a person or task you can hardly call yourself loyal. There is a fair amount of self-sacrifice in loyalty that often goes unremarked, as it should. True loyalty is a tacit agreement of respect and is done out of love for oneself.
So, ask yourself, was I loyal to myself this bootcamp or any fitness journey you are on? Did I love myself enough to remain loyal to the commitments I made for myself? Did I attend as many of the 30 1-hour sessions as possible? Did I come on run day, did I eat healthy, did I listen to the trainers? Next camp starts June 20, it is never too late to test your loyalty and for those that did, congrats, I am so proud of you. The journey never ends we just become more loyal. No Mess!
