Just Do the Damn Thing

Almost two years ago now, I made a pretty spontaneous decision to audition for an instructor role at a nearby spin studio — CycleBar North Wales.

I can still remember sitting in the parking lot before tryouts started, convincing myself that all I had to do was open the car door and get myself into the building. The rest was pretty much out of my control. Whether or not I stood out among the other girls trying out, or was going to be deemed "good" enough to advance onto the next round...those things weren't up for me to decide.

The only thing I had left to do for myself in that moment was to show up. Maybe I couldn't give the best performance of all time, but I could at least give the best I had on that particular morning — anxiety and jitters and all.

Through my instructor journey, I've learned that there are times in life where you need to tell your mind to just shut the hell up.

Once I arrived on my bike that day of the first audition, my body knew what to do — how to find the rhythm of the music being played and how to hold it strong. Months and months of practice had prepared me for all the choreography and extra elements at play. But that didn't stop my mind from second guessing if I deserved to be there in the first place.

When it came time, weeks later, to finally put a mic set on my head and try to actually coach (in front of just two or three people), my mind still wouldn't stop wandering. I had now progressed onto a more official instructor-in-training stage, and yet I couldn't quite shake the feeling that maybe I wasn't so worthy of the opportunity.

As someone who had been shy and largely quiet their entire life prior (and still in some regard to this day), I figured that it wouldn't be hard to find others whose personalities were far bigger than mine.

I might not have had the confidence to start, but I sure as hell had the passion. When my mind took me to some of the most anxiety/fear-ridden places throughout that initial training period, I reminded myself that I just had to show up. If I could only get my body on a bike, I was hopeful that the rest would fall into place.

If you've taken a rhythmic spin class before, you might know — there is something truly magical that happens when physical movement meets music. So magical that it somehow touches your mental, too (or maybe that's just the endorphins IDK). Like you're able to shut any bad thoughts out and welcome in a whole new mindset — even if it's just for 45 minutes out of your entire day — because of the workout and the experience that defines CycleBar.

Over enough time, with enough patience, those 45 minutes add up to a much bigger picture.

That's precisely the reason why I was so fiercely determined, against all odds and personal fears, to join the instructing community at CycleBar North Wales. To make even the smallest impact on someone's day or to help shape the way they see themselves.

And sure, all of the positivity can get corny or sound cliche, but throughout the last year-and-a-half of my instructing tenure, my own journey has become an example of how putting these kinds of thoughts into practice over and over again can up and change your life.

I wasn't certain that I'd be able to actually bring myself to audition back in April 2023, but I did. I wasn't sure that I could survive my first time speaking on a mic, or teaching to a room of real people, but I did. I wasn't entirely confident that I was ready to take on a new leadership role in the face of major studio and team transitions a few months ago, but...I did that shit, too. All with the support of amazing people beside me.

I'm well aware that life is a lot bigger than CycleBar, but some of the words I often speak in class can hold weight outside the studio walls, too: all you have to do is give yourself permission to try. Sometimes the best doors in life are opened as a direct result of doing the damn thing & putting yourself out there.

Without all of the challenging moments above, I wouldn't have had the chance to form so many authentic connections with others in the CBNW community who, in turn, inspire me with their hard work and perseverance (and that's TRULY the icing on top of the instructing cake!).

All this, I guess, is to say that the next time you're feeling hesitant or doubtful of working toward a goal — if you can shut your mind up and let the passion work over time, I promise that you can get to where you want to go. You'll probably learn a lot about yourself and meet some pretty great people along the way, too.