A school nurse once told me that she received letters from former students. The authors of these letters thanked her for believing in them when no one else did. This school nurse was a cheerleader — someone who believed in others and encouraged them to be their best selves. 

There are many types of cheerleaders  — from school nurses and teachers to immediate and extended family members to coaches and instructors to the friendly server at your favorite restaurant or barista at your local coffee shop. You may be fortunate enough to have one or many cheerleaders in your life.   

Getting healthy, especially when you have allowed your health to take a back seat, is a challenging task. This task becomes easier with a cheerleader’s encouragement. 

I have spent many seasons hiding my big dreams from my cheerleaders because I feared that I would fail and somehow let them down too. By not including them on my journey, I only made things harder for myself. Of course, my cheerleaders would have cheered me on regardless of how things ended up. They would have enjoyed helping me — even if the big dream wasn’t accomplished.

If you are embarking on a fitness journey and are fortunate enough to have a cheerleader in your life, I encourage you to share your journey. If you aren’t as lucky, that’s okay — but you may want to recruit a cheerleader. 

Thanks for reading. I hope you have a safe and healthy week.