From the time I was 11 until I was about 21 I dealt with a whirlwind of knee injuries that eventually required a major surgery. Seeing as I'm currently only 26 years old, this entire ordeal was a pretty significant chunk of my life so far.

I've reflected back on all of this many times and learned many lessons from it. I didn't necessarily realize them at the time, but in hindsight I surely did.

It began by understand what makes a good practitioner. Letters beside one's name don't necessarily mean they are good at what they do, and I learned this the hard way.

Secondly, I learned how to navigate the Canadian healthcare system and more importantly, that YOU must be in control of your own health. Nobody feels what you feel and you must take ownership of your health. This doesn't just mean playing games with doctors, but it mostly means that you have to take care of yourself on a daily basis.

The biggest lesson I learned is as humans, we have to move simply because we can. There might be a day where you can't get dressed by yourself. It happened to me as I explain in the episode and I would do anything for that to never happen again. Not now, and not when I'm 90. So MOVE, because you can.

Lastly, and most importantly, tell your mom you love them. Mothers are special and will do anything for you no matter what.

I hope you're able to take some lessons from this story of mine. It was quite the experience overall that shaped me into who I am today as both a coach and a person. I wouldn't want to go through it again, but I'm grateful for the lessons learned.

If you’re looking for more guidance or coaching for yourself and you’re not sure where to begin, I’d love to work with you and be your coach to help you achieve whatever fitness goals you have set for yourself. Contact me on Instagram or Twitter to get started.

I would greatly appreciate any comments, questions or feedback. If you could share this with a friend, that would mean the world to me. If you enjoy this podcast, I would be extremely grateful if you subscribed and left a short review on iTunes. It really helps to spread the message and ultimately help more people.

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Podcast Cover Art by @octopuslegss