Lead by Example

Lead by example. It sounds so simple, yet we often fall short. Let’s talk about our kids, and the future generations to come. As a personal trainer, a coach, and a dad, I am often pushing my son to be great. I am sure people now a days think I am crazy at times, but I will always push my son to be great.

Just for reference, my son is 6 years old and is in 1st grade. He just finished up his 2nd season of wrestling, and he is one of the hardest working kids I have ever been around. If you’re around the gym, you will often see him in there working out along side of me. If you’re around enough, you’ve seen a few tears, and you’ve seen me push him through it. (I know, I am a mean dad). I am very much an old school dad.

Throughout this last wrestling season, I took a lot of mental notes. I have seen coach after coach, dad after dad, and mom after mom, push their kids to wrestle harder. I got to witness one kid respond to his dad, “How would you know, you never wrestled!”. I see the coaches push these kids to run lap after lap, knowing damn well that they could never. I witnessed another coach scream and yell, as he sat on the side of the gym with his arms folded and rested on his gut. It is easy to coach. We all give advice to anyone that will listen. It is a lot harder to work your butt off and pave the way for those coming down the same path. Stop with the “I’ve paid my dues mentality”. Lead by example!

It is a common talking point, of this future generation being lazy and having a poor work ethic. Why are we not pointing to ourselves as the issue? We stopped pushing our kids to be great. I would not be able to push my son, if I wasn’t working my butt off in the gym. I have told my son on occasion, that it is his job to go to school every single day that he can. I can’t tell him that, if I am calling off work every other day. It is a kid’s job to go to school and learn as much as possible. Get up early, show up on time, and put in the effort to get good grades. Learn as much as possible. Do/ learn those traits young, and there is a good chance that they can carry those traits into adulthood.

Our kids are still tough, our kids are still strong, and our kids are still smart. They can handle a lot more than we generally give them credit for. It starts with a look in the mirror. Are you ready to start putting the effort into yourself? Get back to the gym and start pushing yourself to be better. Now you can start pushing others and have a little credibility behind it. Put down the soda, the candy bar, and whatever deep-fried concoction you saw on social media this week. Cook something healthy for your family and teach your kids about nutrition labels, and the importance of a balanced diet.

Lead by example, and let’s start pushing each other to be great again!

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