A Successful Life – To teach and get a thank you

I’ve been teaching fitness classes for longer than I like to admit. Admitting the length of time will surely give away my age. I’ve done it over the years because it is something I love to do. My students tell me that it shows.


I’ve gotten many thanks over the years. I am constantly told from someone new to my class that they have taken plenty of classes and mine is the best. They make a point to tell me that they loved the class.

Now I am not so naïve and full of myself to believe that other instructors do not get the same comments. Teaching styles and music are very subjective. Anyone who has taught for any length of time has gotten the same comment from someone. But still it makes me feel good.

My regular students thank me on a regular basis. They continue to come to class because they like my style and my dedication. Over the years we’ve become friends even though we only see each other for short burst of time.

New people constantly come into a class. Some stay and some are never to be seen again. I’ve been teaching so long that there are hundreds of people that once were my students only to have moved onto other towns, other gyms and other lives. I can see some of their faces but probably don’t know their names.

The class structure changes and along with it the personality of the class changes. I adjust to the structure and welcome the change. I’ve matured along with my class.

The thank you(s) and the comments are what keep us motivated. I suppose this is true for most all of life. It is the little things that give us such a lift and make it all worthwhile. A smile, a laugh and a hug feel so much better than a pay check and yet the paycheck is what we need to keep our lives on track. We do forget sometimes in the scramble for money how little satisfaction it gives us. Money gives us more options and more options do give us a bit more freedom and it does make life easier but it doesn’t give us the same satisfaction as a thank you and an acknowledgment of our work.

Some days I wonder if I’ll ever stop teaching. Then I think of an instructor I know who is 80 and still teaching. She may be only doing a stretch class from which she mostly directs without participation but she is still teaching and has a following.

As I age I feel the difference in the movement of my body and I must admit I have my aches and pains but the love of teaching keeps me constantly seeking new poses, new music and new ways to express and motivate in a way that has always brought health and fitness to my students.

I can’t think of anything more rewarding than spending an hour making people feel better, look better and get healthier in body, mind and soul. And the thank you(s) are the added benefit that make it all worthwhile and make for a successful life.

Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctorlynn.com/