This Year We Celebrate YOU!
By Coach Keller
Hello Evergreen Community! To all of our members, returning and new, we are so glad you are here. Welcome to a new year, to an opportunity to realign with your true self. And of course, welcome to our first blog of 2025. If you haven’t checked them out, our blogs offer insights and perspectives into training, setting goals, and all things fitness and wellness. This year we are going to add a special new component to them– we hope you will come along for the read!
As many of you know, the Evergreen community is an exceptional group of humans. Our members are far from your average gym rat– you can find them out summiting 18,000’ peaks, racing sailboats, backflipping downhill bikes, snowboarding steep lines, and running alpine ultra marathons. They are also excellent at maximizing their downtime– tending to gardens, raising chickens, nurturing children, building saunas, painting and writing and playing music… the list goes on. The diversity of our interests is what makes our community so strong. Each person brings a unique flavor and perspective to the gym.
As this crazy world keeps spinning with polarizing politics, injustices, and so many other things that pull us apart, it is important now more than ever to reconnect with one another. Even if it is just for a few hours a week that you step into the gym, we hope it is a place for connection, support, and encouragement. Starting a new year can be exciting, but it can also feel overwhelming. Maybe you have a hefty list of self improvement projects. Or maybe you didn’t accomplish the things you’d hope to last year and feel a bit defeated.
I am here to tell you today, that you are always in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. We tend to forget we are cyclical creatures, that we are no different than the seasons and tides. We are allowed to have moments of growth and progress, and then we must also have times of rest and perhaps even regression. This is part of what it means to be human. We cannot constantly move upward. Please keep this in mind as you begin a new year, especially on your fitness journey. There are times we get sick, there are times we get derailed from our goals, and there are experiences that forever alter our how our bodies work and move.
So as you start this year, I encourage you to give yourself some compassion and permission to be human. Of course we love goals, we love aiming high and pursuing the best versions of ourselves. But don’t forget that building strength and resilience is rarely linear. You’re allowed to mess up. You’re allowed to miss a workout. And you’re most certainly allowed to rest when your body needs rest.
This year we want to focus on YOU. We want to share your stories, show the world all the incredible things you are doing, and continue to build the strength of our community. As our blogs unfold this year, you will find stories of inspiration, resilience, and rest. And who knows, it may even be your own.
So instead of worrying about getting that promotion, losing weight, or mastering that new hobby, just take a moment today to appreciate how far you have come. Celebrate the challenges that have shaped who and where you are now. Most importantly, give yourself kudos every time you get into the gym and show up for yourself. Because when you show up for yourself, you’re also showing up for your community. You’re saying, “I’m here, you’re here, and together we’re doing something that matters.”
We can’t wait to share stories from our community, so keep an eye out each month for a healthy dose of hope, inspiration, and true stories of connection. Happy New Year to all of you! See you in class soon. 💛
