This week I witnessed first hand the power of attitude. When the mask mandate came out, my inbox was flooded with “I can’t possibly do pole/aerial/fitness with a mask on” emails. And here’s what I learned.
First, a side note: This blog post is NOT about if the mask mandate is good or not. It has nothing to do with the mandate so focus on the topic, which is how attitude affects outcomes.
When receiving the “I can’t” emails, I listen, genuinely cared, shared many of their concerns and then encouraged the student to try a class, preferably two classes, to see how it goes. And here’s what happened:
Student 1: didn’t come to class. Reaffirmed that she can’t.
Student 2: came to class. Surprised herself at what she could do.
It was that way the whole week. Every single woman who wrote about the concern embodied one of these two student types in the end. Students that had exemptions, like asthma, decided to be a “student 2” and showed up. knowing, if needed, she could take her mask off, and instead wore it all of class. After class she was surprised at how well she did and how good she felt. She was glad she showed up.
What I thought was particularly cool was the “Student 2″s who came to class and had one of her best classes ever. She got a trick she hadn’t gotten before. I suspect this was because the discomfort of the mask made her try harder or distracted part of her brain or something. But the number of WINS this week at the studio was huge. HUGE. Even as we were dealing with something new and less than ideal, there were so many wins this week by the women who chose to try.
The women who chose to show up and do, did.
The women who chose to not come to class, didn’t.
Attitude is everything. You are your biggest limiting factor. Next time a challenge or discomfort presents itself instead of saying “I can’t” instead give yourself room to grow by saying “I’ll try”. You are capable of so much more than you believe.