what am I gaining rather than losing?

Wednesday April 3, 2024

I'm traveling today as I write you. It has been a lovely week in Basel, Switzerland, and I'm heading to Nice, France. Tomorrow morning, I'll take the train over to Sanremo, Italy, where I have been transitioning all of my medical care & will have my annual 3D mammogram & breast ultrasound. My mother was 40 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a double mastectomy & reconstructive surgery, i.e. breast implants. I don't miss a screening…and this time, for the second time…tomorrow's will be hilariously entirely in Italian. My Italian, not to mention my medical Italian, is not at the level it needs to be for a feat such as this one…so thank goodness for Google Translate, smiling, apologizing, trying to speak actual words & for the written-in-Italian radiology report from last year, that I'll bring to the imaging lab so they may have a comparison.

(If you're American, you may be intrigued to know this will cost me $110 total as I don't have nor need “insurance” & I'll leave the appointment tomorrow with my final results…)

Stay with me: this isn't really about a medical check but an overall mindset shift I am trying to adopt personally & professionally and hope you may find value in, too.

My Mom focused on “seeing herself well” through the entirety of her dance with breast cancer back when. She had a 7-year-old child (me) she was told previously she'd never be able to have (…and there I was, born healthy; how wildly fortunate) & she was determined that she would handle whatever came her way. Cancer?! I got this.

Mom also loved sharing that “Now I get to choose my own size!” 😂😂 during her reconstructive surgery & focused on what she was gaining rather than what she was losing. 

What if every new person who came into our spaces for a class experience…was not there to find fault? Was not planning to leave a nasty ClassPass review? Was not wanting to compare what we offer to what someone else does?

What if they were coming into our spaces to gain confidence rather than lose weight? 

What if what we are facilitating in our spaces, focused upon what clients were gaining…rather than what they were losing?

I spoke recently with 2 longtime boutique studio founders who shared they no longer wanted to focus on aesthetics with their clients. That it served a purpose at one point in their business, but they want to continue to lead the industry in their market & they believe the industry is ready for another level. 

And so I ask you…what are you gaining in keeping the faith that what you offer is special & the right people will find you? And is that bigger than what you are losing? And can you “see yourself well” through the next phase of your growth?

All I want is a clear test tomorrow. The rest is icing.

Til next Wednesday,

xx Noël