We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sarah Patterson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sarah below.
Sarah, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
Growing up I knew we didn’t have a lot of money. My mom worked, my dad worked. There were times my dad would work all night, clean furnaces during the day and coach basketball. My mom would work overnights and come home and have all us kids to deal with. But they were always there for us. Every game, every birthday, church every Sunday, every life event, without fail my parents were there. I understood at a young age that you had to work hard for what you had, even if what you had was the bare minimum to survive. At 20 I lost my dad to a heart attack. My parents were married for 25 years that year with a total of 5 kids, 3 still at home. My mom was a warrior and raised 3 kids on her own while finishing college and going on to pursue even higher education. I’d say I had the best example of work ethic!
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a 41 year old wife and mother of 2, plus 2 bonus kids. My journey to where I am today is the epitome of ups and downs. I became a mom at 18 and life quickly became very “real”! In school I started in Physical Education because that’s what my dad took (complete “daddy’s girl” over here!) but I loved it. Unfortunately my father passed away while attending college and I just couldn’t move forward in that career. Fast forward to late 2020. A friend decided to compete in a body building competition so I decided to tag along. Having no idea what I was in for. I absolutely fell in love! I continued with my coach, who I am still with today, and have since competed in 4 shows. I also found my passion! I wanted to help other women find there strength, both physically and mentally, just like I did. I have a great mentor, Cyra Morrill of The Studio, who encouraged me to pursue my Certified Personal Training and come on board with her. I’m now the proud owner of my own studio and fitness based business called Carpe Diem Fitness. Now I train one on one with my clients as well as online. My main goal isn’t a number on a scale with my clients, any of them will tell you I’m not a “scale” coach, but helping them feel the absolute best they can in their skin. I always say “weight loss is just a side effect of healthy living”. I held a nutrition class this last winter to help with understanding the basics of nutrition. I’m looking forward to hosting more classes in the future to further educate our community on how to live their healthiest lives!
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?
Being coachable and open to learning. Focusing on my own journey without comparison. Embracing the difficult moments.
Being humble enough to accept direction from those who have more knowledge is a game changer! You can’t grow if you stay in the same place. The further you get into your journey, no matter what it might be, you start the comparison game. Sometimes jealousy of others success creeps in. I’ve learned to celebrate other’s success and instead of being jealous, evaluate where I am and how I can get to where they are. I’ve had a lot of challenges throughout my almost 42 years. What separates success from failure is not living in those challenging times, but picking yourself back up and working hard. I tell my clients all the time when frustrations set in from setbacks or lack of progress, it takes time. You can sit in the woe is me, or you can decide to do better and work harder.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
I grew up in a faith based home. We lived our lives, the best we could, by that. My parents instilled a set of basic morals to follow according to our faith. We were taught respect, hard work, perseverance, and tough love. When I became pregnant at 17, my parents took me back in, but I was expected to figure it out. They didn’t hand me anything. They gave me support and love, but after that, I was expected to figure it out. I look back now and appreciate them allowing me to be uncomfortable! I wouldn’t be who I am today, doing the hard things, if they had just handed me everything. They had high expectations for me and that created those expectation’s in myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://carpediemfitnessandnutrition.com
- Instagram: @_carpe_diem_fitness
- Facebook: Carpe Diem Fitness
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