I had a student this week get her first role in the fitness industry. It was great to see her excitement and enthusiasm and it made me think. As fitness professionals we are too hard on the fitness industry. Those of us that have been in the industry a while often start complaining. We complain about poor hours, rubbish pay, clients that don’t try and cowboys that don’t know what they are doing.

It’s easy to see the negatives but where does that get us? In my experience, most people enter the industry with the right motives. They want to help people. They want to keep learning and they want to work in a role where they love what they do. When I see some extremely talented, committed and positive people entering the industry I realise it’s not all bad news.

Try and remember what it was like when you first entered the industry. Did you get lots of help and support or were you left to fend for yourself? Were the other staff positive about their roles or did they laugh at your enthusiasm and tell you that you’d soon learn to stop trying so hard?

I know I have been guilty of seeing only the negatives. I think everyone has. When it’s your fifth 5:30am start in a row and your client hasn’t shown up it can be hard to remain positive. My challenge: have a look next week. Count; how many positive comments did you make? How many were negative? This is a task I have given myself recently and it has changed my thinking. When you look for them the positives are there.

My belief is this. If you want to be in the fitness industry, then be in the fitness industry. What does this mean? It means being positive about your role. It means actively trying to improve yourself and your workplace. It means helping and supporting new staff. It means genuinely trying to make a positive change in a client’s life. It means enjoying what you do.

If you are only seeing the negatives have a think. Am I really having fun, is this really where I want to be? Maybe I need to change something. Maybe I need a new role? Maybe this isn’t the industry for me.

Genuinely trying to make a positive change to your client’s life is easy to do when you bring a positive approach. If this feels too hard, maybe it’s time to stop. My motto has always been: If you don’t like what you are currently doing, find something you do like instead.