Work for Your Best Results
It always seems impossible until it's done.
I have this habit of getting a little bit too into it when I'm teaching Pure Barre. If I feel like the people in my classes are getting exhausted and on the verge of giving up, I will rack my brain to try to say something that will make them endure. I think about what I need to hear in that section of class where my legs actually feel disconnected from my body, and I often end up saying, "work for your best results"!
To be honest, I have no idea where I got this phrase. I'm sure I heard it from another teacher over the years, but I love it. I save it for the really tough moments in a class and try to say it at just the right time to get that last final push out of my clients. You see, Pure Barre, like anything in life, is about staying in it. It's about not giving up when you want to, when it really hurts, and when you feel like anything would be better than the work you're doing right now.
Owning a business is an every hour of the day, seven-days-a-week, job. There is no "working for the weekend" or "taking a break". Yes, you can stop working, but the business is still running and has the power to dictate your highs and lows with every day of good sales or poor attendance. But, being an entrepreneur isn't the only scenario where this is true. I'm sure being a parent feels the same, and I know that being in any relationship is a constant commitment. Let's face it - we all have commitments in our lives where the pressure sometimes feels like too much. My go-to? Work for your best results.
I love this phrase because it has multiple meanings. First, it puts the emphasis on you and the fact that your results are probably different than someone else's. Everyone has a different definition of success, so you probably aren't chasing after the same thing as your neighbor. But, we should still be able to encourage one another in the pursuit of our own dreams.
Second, I love putting the emphasis on results versus rewards. If you come to Pure Barre 3-4 days a week, put in your greatest effort, and stay in the movements to the best of your ability, you will see results. In the same way, if you make the commitment to your job, your family, your marriage, etc., and put in the work, you will always see results. Rewards are different. They imply a quick fix and a pat on the back for completing a task. I don't want a life full of rewards, but you can bet that I want to be challenged to work for my best results.
It begs the question - what motivates you to get through the tough stuff? The idea that it will be over, or the idea that you will have accomplished something. A results-focused mentality reminds us all to stick out the hard stuff for the promise of growth. No matter the discomfort that precedes them, positive results are always worth working for.