We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tia Gist Thomas a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Tia, so great to have you sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our readers and so let’s jump right into one of our favorite topics – empathy. We think a lack of empathy is at the heart of so many issues the world is struggling with and so our hope is to contribute to an environment that fosters the development of empathy. Along those lines, we’d love to hear your thoughts around where your empathy comes from?
Becoming a single mother to a special needs child – being a mom creates a environment when you learn to take your eyes off yourself and focus on someone else, since my daughter was mostly nonverbal I learned to look at the world through from her perspective, to recognize the challenges and make ways to manage those challenges.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Since the pandemic I have started a boutique gym and an online 6 month Wellness Coaching program teaching women 40+ who are struggling to regain that feeling of looking good/ feeling good and getting back their energy. I am really passionate about assisting women learn to do what comes organically for me, working out eating well and having that work/life balance. My favorite quote is “life is a journey…enjoy the ride!”
Currently I am in partnership with several organizations within the city of Newark Nj to implement fitness walk programs as a way to increase a sense of community and a effective way to encourage office staff to get out and get active.
My long term goal is to open a community center to teach local residents and families how to have a healthy lifestyle breaking generational curses
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Looking back there were several things that helped me on my journey … 1 my dad, he always told me I can do anything I put my mind to
2 I have always been curious about why and how a thing works –
3- getting certified learning how the body works and the ways to improve
4 being a good listener and asking questions for clarification
5 not being afraid to admit I don’t know everything yet willing to find a answer
My advice for folks is remember Rome wasn’t built in a day
A step at a time and be willing to change
Last but not least – show yourself some compassion you didn’t get this way overnight so it will take some time to correct it 💕
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
My biggest area for growth has been having faith in myself, putting myself out there. Starting and launching my Coaching program is by far the scariest thing I have done to date !!
I know it can be challenging getting out of your head, this is when having a great circle of family, friends and mentors is key, sometimes we have to borrow someone else faith and belief in us until we can catch up and now we see what they saw all along!
No man/woman is a island “WE” can do soo much more than “I”
Bottom line my desire is to help my community break generational conditions food, mindset etc
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Mamtshealthandwellness
- Facebook: Mama T’s Health and Wellness
- Linkedin: Tia Gist
