Never Knocked Out: Kendall Toole on Reinvention, Resilience, and Life After Peloton
Jan 30, 2025
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Kendall Toole, a leading fitness and wellness expert and mental health advocate, shares her journey of resilience after overcoming anxiety and depression. She discusses her transition from Peloton and how embracing change is essential for personal growth. Kendall highlights the importance of community, daily wellness habits, and trusting your intuition. With her 'Never Knocked Out' mindset, she encourages listeners to transform pain into empowerment and authentically pursue their passions, all while emphasizing creativity and connection.
Kendall Toole's transformative journey emphasizes the power of resilience and community support in overcoming mental health challenges and personal struggles.
Her decision to leave Peloton illustrates the significance of self-awareness and pursuing passions that align with one's vision for empowerment and service.
Deep dives
Kendall Toole's Journey of Resilience
Kendall Toole shares her transformative journey from a dark period of depression and anxiety to a place of empowerment and purpose. At the age of 10, her perfectionism, later identified as OCD, became a crucial part of her life as she pursued gymnastics, dance, and cheerleading. A pivotal moment came when she felt overwhelmed during her college years, nearly leading to a tragedy, until a phone call from her mother prompted a change. This experience led her to embrace a mantra that became foundational in her life: 'They can knock you down, but they can never knock you out,' guiding her to motivate others facing similar struggles.
Emphasizing the Importance of Community
Toole highlights the critical role community plays in mental wellness and personal growth. Whether through her upbringing in a supportive family or the connections formed during her fitness career, she emphasizes that the struggle with mental health can often be alleviated by the love and support from others. By being open about her vulnerability, she created stronger ties within her community, which ultimately allowed her to foster an environment where people feel safe to discuss and address their mental health challenges. This realization underscores her belief that our purpose often emerges through our relationships and the impact we have on each other's lives.
The Power of Mindset and Gratitude
Toole's approach to managing intrusive thoughts and anxiety combines practical techniques with a positive mindset. She advocates for gratitude journaling as a powerful tool to shift focus from negative thoughts to appreciation for personal strengths and achievements. Additionally, she employs a unique technique involving a three-minute sand timer to confront and process her negative thoughts without letting them dominate her. By doing so, she exemplifies the principle that we have the power to reframe our narratives and reclaim control over how we respond to life's challenges.
Navigating Career Transitions with Courage
Toole's decision to step away from her successful role at Peloton reflects her commitment to personal growth and passion for service. After feeling confined by the demands of her job, she recognized it was time to create a platform that aligns more closely with her vision of empowering others. The process involved careful reflection and deliberate choices, as she had to confront her fears of letting people down and leaving behind a beloved community. This transition not only illustrates the importance of self-awareness in career choices but also highlights the necessity of pursuing passions that ignite enthusiasm and connection.
Life will knock you down—but it doesn’t have to knock you out. In this episode, I sit down with Kendall Toole. A top fitness and wellness expert, mental health advocate, and content creator, Kendall has inspired millions with her energy and authenticity. But behind her success is a powerful story of resilience. Kendall gets real about her battle with anxiety and depression, the breaking point that changed everything, and how she turned her pain into a movement that’s helping others heal. We also talk about her decision to leave Peloton and step into a new chapter, the daily habits that keep her grounded, and trusting your intuition.