I get the opportunity to regularly sit down with people looking to make changes to their health. It’s encouraging to know there are many people who are not satisfied with the status quo and have decided to take the initiative to make a change. They’re tired of feeling tired and unmotivated, or, they’re tired of putting work into a program or gym that hasn’t given them results. Something has to change, so that’s why they’re talking with me, or another member of our team.

But, one surprising fact most don’t want to admit: We can’t help everyone.

We aren’t always the best fit for each person. Many times, we simply aren’t the experts they need to make the specific changes they’re looking for. Other times, they won’t enjoy how we do things or connect with our coaches and community. It might even just come down to a budget thing, or they might not like our smaller, more personal classes. They might prefer a different level of energy, or competition, or any number of things we don’t do or aren’t the best at. And, surprisingly enough, we’re perfectly okay with that.

As much as I wish we could help every person who walks through our door, after so many years of working with people, I’ve become comfortable, even happy, with guiding people somewhere else, once I realize I know someone, or some program that can help them more than we can.

A few good examples come to mind:

We aren’t chiropractors, and while we can strengthen the musculature supporting the spine, we regularly refer potential clients to great chiropractors we know to get an expert’s look at helping them before we do.

We aren’t doctors, and while we can help drastically improve nutrition, we can’t diagnose or treat conditions, nor should we. We refer people to physicians we trust in order to get multiple opinions.

We also aren’t catering to everyone. Our community and classes are small. We like to know our clients more personally than some are comfortable with. We spend more time warming up and less time maxing weights than some. We require every client, be it a veritable Rich Froning or an out-of-shape 70-year-old, to go through our Personal Training assessment and introduction to make sure we can build a personal relationship with them from day one and see how they move with complete focus, outside of a class environment.

Our team’s personalities are all different and all add value, experience and perspective to what we provide. But, those personalities, while caring deeply, don’t always align with every client.

Again, all of this is just fine. We help each person walking into our lives for the first time find something that can help them. It might not be us, but we give them our honest thoughts and thoughtful insights on what or who we believe will help them.

In life, there are many times we’re looking for something new, or a quick fix. We’re ready to jump on the bandwagon of the newest thing and see if it’ll help motivate us to reach our goals, be they related to career, health, relationships, you name it. But, so many times I believe we forgot to sit down, with ourselves or those we’re about to work with, and really think or talk about what we or they really need.

The time spent to weigh out our motivations and desired outcomes versus the effort and cost (in time, money , etc.) can be invaluable. A small amount of time can help you understand what you really need, and then you can use the subsequent conversations and decisions to direct yourself down the path where your hard work won’t go to waste.

“Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.” Proverbs 19:20