We recently connected with Kendra and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kendra, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
As odd as it may sound, a big part of my optimism stems from some of the toughest parts of my life. I’m naturally a quite bubbly and positive person, but facing, walking (sometimes crawling) through, and overcoming challenges is a major part of my daily optimism.
Starting at about 10 years old, I began to battle weight and poor body image issues. At 13 years old, I was diagnosed with POTS, Naurocardiogenic Syncope, and Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia (basically, Dysautonomia) which led to quite a bit of depression as my teenage and young adult life looked much different than that of my peers. I ended up in a very abusive relationship for years. After a bad medical episode, I ended up with a major concussion which resulted in Post Concussion Syndrome, tinnitus, and some hearing loss. These things caused some deeper depressive feelings as I went from being an honor student to struggling to understand board game directions, as well as just feeling useless and worthless as a mom and wife.
I mention these few struggles not for pity, but to give some examples of where my optimism comes from. When we go through the hard times that we go through, we’re able to look back on them and think, “wow, I got through that…that is now a part of my past that helped mold the me I am today.” While we’re in the middle of a challenge, it doesn’t usually feel super awesome, but I believe each and every hard time is worth going through in the end. We are strengthened through our struggles. Each one is an opportunity to grow, improve, learn, become more equipped for what lies ahead, and a great exercise in faith. This is why much of my optimism stems from some of the toughest parts of my life. The weight and body image struggles helped mold me into a genuine, relatable Lifestyle & Weight Management Coach. My medical issues helped mold my strength and resilience, allowing me to set an example for my kids that even when the odds are stacked against you, keep trying (which is why I dare to create unique, inclusive at-home workouts on my YouTube channel, for example). Out of an abusive relationship came the blessing of my beautiful baby girl. Feeling worthless as a mom and wife led to deep, healing conversations with my husband that strengthened our relationship more than ever.
When so much greatness comes from so much pain, it’s hard not to be optimistic.
Some Bible verses come to mind that, in my opinion, really drive this all home: James 1:2-4, Romans 5:3-5, Philippians 4:11-13.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
As a homeschool mom of four (one graduated), a wife, and YouTuber, I wear many hats and all of them are pretty exciting, in my opinion! I absolutely love every bit of everything I do. Something that I have started that is fairly new are split screen, at home workout videos on YouTube. As far as I have found, there aren’t any other workouts out there quite like these. These “1 Workout, 3 Ways” videos were created with one major idea in mind: more options for more medical and fitness levels. There are a few “2 ways” videos, but the walking workouts are mostly done in place, seated, and on an exercise bike or walking pad. They also include an encouraging message before getting started, and upbeat motivating music to carry that message throughout the workout. They’re energetic, inclusive, variety walking workouts (variety meaning dance, strength, etc). My hope is that people of all ages and medical/fitness levels can enjoy some fun movement to add to a healthy lifestyle!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Three qualities that I have found to be most impactful on this journey are humility, understanding, and patience.
Knowing that we WILL fall and learning to be okay with that, because we know that with each fall comes experience and a chance to get back up and try again for success.
Understanding that we are all on our own individual journeys and different things work/don’t work for different people. Just being more understanding in general along with honesty and boldness has proved to be very helpful in many areas, not only as a Lifestyle & Weight Management Coach.
Patience is something that doesn’t quite come too naturally, but exercising it helps so much when it comes to improved stress levels, health/weight progress, reaching goals, and trusting God’s timing among other beneficial things.
My best advice on how someone can work on these qualities is to first do some self examination. Ask yourself, “am I lacking in humility, understanding, and patience? If so, what areas can I start to make improvements?” Challenge yourself. Exercise these areas in every day life (while driving in horrible traffic, receiving constructive criticism, for example). Even if it takes some time, each step towards self improvement is still a step closer to achieving that personal goal.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
I would have to say the number one obstacle I face is myself. While I have been (mostly) successful at consistent productivity, I would love to do more! That push to do more is what tends to set me back. I end up putting too much on myself, almost trying to ignore the fact that I do have some medical limitations. When I push too hard, I end up burning out or increasing medical episodes and all that does is ultimately slow me down when you look at the big picture. To resolve this, I have been really working towards lifestyle changes in terms of how much I will allow myself to do, and learning to be okay with it all. Even if I “feel fine,” I’m still giving myself an earlier stopping point/lighter schedule to prevent from pushing myself over the edge. I am very blessed to have the wonderful and amazing family and friends that I have to help me stay on track with these improvements!
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