5 Years Empowered (Kristin’s Version): Jump before you feel ready, growth begins where certainty ends

Next week will mark my 5th year with Empowered. In some ways, it feels like it’s been longer than that, and in many ways, I can still feel the excitement I felt after my very first meeting with Alli in what was then the bones of the Empowered space. To be frank, I didn’t plan on taking the job. I had a cushy, safe hospital job with great benefits, an awesome schedule, and the ability to leave work and completely turn it off when I wasn’t there. I decided to meet with Alli because a few of my gym friends I had sent to her over the previous years (at the time, it was just Alli) strongly encouraged me to “give it a chance”. I left that first meeting with Alli with a knot in my stomach. I knew I had to quit my job.

What bothered me about that meeting was that I didn’t really understand why I felt that way so suddenly. But as the years have gone on, and the more people I’ve connected with within this space, it has become more and more obvious to me.

Safety comes at a cost. Safety is not equivalent to fulfillment.

My gut feeling after my first meeting with Alli was a combination of excitement, nervousness, and curiosity. Luckily, I listened to the curiosity. My gut was urging me to leap, even though my brain was screaming that none of it made sense on paper. My more black-and-white, logistical friends looked at the contract and immediately said no. I would be the first employee, there would be no benefits (yet), we would have to grow my schedule from nothing, and I didn’t know if I was good enough to do any of it. There were no guarantees it would work. Growth is hard because it requires you to set your ego down and become comfortable with uncertainty, questions, and a lack of confidence. It’s uncharted territory. The courage to jump into the unknown comes before you feel confident, and I think that’s where a lot of people get it wrong. If you wait until you feel confident, you might miss it. Courage comes before confidence.

Connection and impact drive fulfillment.

Deep down, I knew this place and what Alli was building was incredibly special and that it fit almost exactly what I believed in wholeheartedly. Building lasting relationships with individuals, helping them stay active or find joy in movement for the first time, and empowering people to believe in their bodies as capable, strong, and resilient – this is why I went into this profession. This is ultimately why I leapt before I felt “ready”. My heart won the battle against my brain. What I had no idea I was getting (or to the extent at least) was how connected I would feel to each and every client and the community as a whole. I am by nature a pretty introverted person and can struggle to let people in. This job has challenged me in many ways, and this was one of them. What I didn’t understand before this job is that connection is a two-way street. To connect with someone, you must be able to see them. This part comes naturally to me. I am a feeler (some would say too much).  Because of this, I’m good at reading people, reading a room, listening, and empathizing.

What I was terrible at… was being seen.

In a place this small, there’s nowhere to hide. Your failures and shortcomings are put on display. If you know me, you know I hate getting it wrong (oldest daughter over here 👋🏻) But man, how do we grow if we don’t get it wrong? Humans get it wrong sometimes. Letting someone see you fail is vulnerable – and having them respond with grace makes the whole ecosystem thrive. You become better for each other – this goes for both coworkers and patients.  This place is so different from everywhere else because it allows for it. Allowing yourself to be seen makes you human and it allows who you’re connecting with to feel human too. It deepens connection, trust, and allows for imperfection. People probably won’t remember the first 3 exercises we did together, but they will remember how they felt in those sessions. This connection I keep speaking of allows for a collaborative approach to healthcare. I am in collaboration with every single one of my clients to make sure we are getting them where they want to go. We aren’t following a protocol. We aren’t making decisions based on what insurance wants to see. We get there together, and that is meaningful and fulfilling for both of us.

There are moments now when I look around Empowered and have to remind myself what this place looked like when I first walked into it five years ago. Not just physically, but who we were. Who I was. I’ve had the privilege of watching Empowered grow, evolve, change, and become something so much bigger than the space I first walked into. Somewhere along the way, I realized it was growing me too.

Movement can be physical, but it can be more than that too.

Listen, I love movement. It keeps me sane, and it is my coping mechanism in many ways. CrossFit, lifting, jumping, playing, and even learning to love running too (which is something I never thought I’d say). We help people find some sort of movement they might love every day. Movement is medicine. We refer to this in a physical sense most often, but movement can refer to the nonphysical too. We’re made to keep growing, learning, adapting, and evolving over time. We can be so many different versions of ourselves throughout this life. We can change our minds.  I think movement is better than standing still or staying stagnant, not just in our bodies, but in every different season of life. True longevity isn’t living longer, it’s creating a life rich with purpose, meaningful connection, and the ability to do what matters most… and what matters most can change with time. This life is full of opportunity. Five years ago, I jumped before I felt ready. I am incredibly grateful I did. Empowered has changed enormously since then… and without a doubt, so have I.