Building Community through Connection
Strong in Mind. Strong in Body. Strong in Community.
This framed picture sits on my shelf behind my desk. When I enter my office, I can see it. When I am on a meeting via zoom, I can see it. When I stand up to grab coffee, I can see it.
It’s my “WHY”
It reminds me of my purpose in starting 4TFM way back in the late 90's. (No kidding, it was long ago that I started thinking about these things).
Women ARE strong humans. Honestly, stronger than their male counterparts, in my opinion (but don't tell them I said this!!) We are like the fighter that gets knocked down and just keeps getting back up.
Again and Again.
Physically - our bodies are pretty amazing:
Think of the intricate hormonal changes that occur every month... That is an art and a science at the same time.
Our bodies can grow a human, birth a human vaginally or via belly birth, feed a tiny human and recover and return to a non-pregnant state. It simply blows my mind. It's an honor for us, at 4TFM, to help other women be the strongest physically they can be.
Emotionally - Women are very resilient. But also very fragile. I guess this is true for all humans, right? As a company, our goal is to uplift each other, build up each other in mind and spirit. We fail at times, I certainly fail many times as its leader-- but I hope we learn from those setbacks, forgive each other and ourselves. I believe forgiveness and the willingness to see and own our mistakes are key to personal growth and relational growth with others.
Connections - When I was a new bride in a medical marriage, and a husband who was off on military deployment with little- to-no contact for months on end, I had no idea how lonely that journey would be. (I know that many other brides experience this, too - I am just speaking of my experience.) What kept me sane during that time was my work as a nurse and midwife. Then, when I was a young mother and wife of a now medical resident, it was the other medical wives who could relate to me: the going to church week-after-week on my own with the children, the showing up to school and social gatherings on my own, and feeling like I needed a Tee- shirt that said, “ He’s a medical resident. We are broke. You will see him in 7 years…If he doesn't do another fellowship…” They were critical to my support system, for without a connection to others in our support system, we struggle. Those ladies were my community.
Something that connected me to others - who "got it" without explanation - was crucial to my survival and it is to yours, as well.
Because we know that within that community, there will be others going through your journey who "get it" and can walk along side of you. You won't feel as alone - you are connected. A a young mother or a peri-menopausal woman, you will still have lonely times, but you know there is someone who is also up at 3 am with a fussy newborn or someone that also struggling with body image or changing hormones or painful sex or leaking or...the list goes on. Those same someones are the ones that will be the first to say, "You've got this, friend" and "You are not alone" and "Let's do this together". They are your community.
At 4TFM, "building community through fun, fitness and fellowship" is one of our missions.
It’s one of the reasons we have been so committed to in-person classes and providing free community building events such as WalkWorkoutCoffee. It’s also one of the reasons we have been excited to see how well our virtual classes and online instructor training are working! We are STILL building communities. Sure, it’s been such a challenge during this COVID period to shift in our way of doing things. But, honestly, the inability to do things as we did, has helped us grow in ways that we never thought possible! While it IS a challenge, we have found that we are reaching women in parts of the country and world that we would never have been able to in our previous model of business. We have connected with amazing people who are excited to find out what we do and want to be a part of it. We are Building Community in a whole new way with new people and it’s wonderful.
Silver Linings!
COVID has brought forth a whole new understanding of the importance of community and we really want to continue to build communities. Your community of wellness, fitness, womanhood! If there are ways to better support you, I hope that you will let us know. I you are interested in becoming a part of what we do here at 4TFM, give us a shout or check out our instructor zone.
Comment below!!