On Thursday, as I made my way towards the gym to teach my spin class, I could feel a nervousness creeping up on me. My last spin class had been super successful, and I had received excellent reviews from the class’s participants, but could I match it? I started to feel nervous that I might not be able to live up to what I had done in the past. This feeling of doubt stayed with me right up until I reached the door of the club, and I said to myself: “no, I will not allow this type of thinking. You did it once, and you can do it again. Just take it one song at a time, and have fun.” I locked my stuff in my locker, got myself set up on the bike, and then allowed myself to transform into Christine: spin instructor and motivator extraordinaire.

All joking aside, I honestly do feel like a different person when I’m teaching. I feel confident, in control, and very self-aware: when teaching group fitness I am very aware that I am making a difference in the life of another. I realize that you make a difference in a person’s life with every conversation and encounter, but pushing someone through an intense workout feels like a more immediate difference.  I gain immediate gratification from watching someone push harder than they thought they could. I also love the post workout energy, where everyone is both exhausted and elated at having completed their workout for the day.

So I jumped on my bike, and ended up doing a spin class that was even better than my last one. After the class I was approached by two of the participants. They thanked me for a great class, and said that they were just trying out the gym for 2 weeks to see if they liked it, but after doing my class they think they will definitely join. They wanted to know when I taught, and were disappointed to find out that I only taught one class a week. These women were retired body builders, so hearing that my class was hard from them meant a lot. I’ll take the win!

I have a point in telling this little story. Sometimes fear of not meeting our last best will stop us from reaching for a new best. This can apply to so many things. In acting you may perform an audition perfectly in rehearsal, and then become overwhelmed with fear that you’ll never be able to do it that well again. Well banish that thinking. I challenge you to not only believe that you can repeat the performance, but that you can do it even better than what you previously thought was your best. Push yourself! You’re the only person stopping you from reaching beyond your potential.

Just something to think about.