As The Treadmill Turns: How To Avoid Drama At The Gym Pt.1

 "Sometimes I can't figure out if I'm in preschool or high school. Oh, wait...I'm at work." 

Unknown

When it gets this bad on the job, it's time to reassess. I am not talking about walking out. I am talking about what you are allowing yourself to get involved in. I have had many jobs. Some I really liked and others I stayed because I had mouths to feed. When I became a Personal Trainer, I knew it was what I was meant to do. Personal Training brings me joy and satisfaction at the end of my day. I loved working in different gyms with all of these various personalities...so I dropped my "Beware of gossip and mess" radar! You would think that people would be too busy sweating. But what I have learned about Human Beings is that we seem to always have time to gossip. Go figure? Here is where I made my mistake: I listened. 

"Believe nothing of what you hear and only half of what you see."

Unknown

My first big gig as a Personal Trainer was working for a Woman who had no hair on her tongue(if you don't know what this term means, that's your homework!:). She owned her own Studios and did not tolerate gossip. If she caught you or got wind of her Trainers spreading gossip, you were fired. No joke. Every three months she would have a mandatory employee/employer meeting. She would stand in front of us all and say "Now is your time to speak your mind, say what you want. Get it out. We will work through it and be done." In other words, you had your chance. I was new to this way of thinking and doing. Are you really asking people to be professional and talk? Like real grownups?! Back then I didn't get it. I didn't understand that what she was doing was keeping the environment of her studios clean from the taint of drama. People will then want to be there. It is a safe space. 

"Get all the facts. Then after you get the facts, shut up."

Me

Now back to me listening. I haven't let myself off the hook! The gossip was "good." It was deliciously horrible and, well... true. I knew it to be the truth. What should I have done? Shut. It. Down and kindly veered the conversation to something else. Let me tell you a little about people that gossip; they gossip about everyone. What they don't think they know, they make up. And when you entertain their gossip, all of a sudden you have become part of their narrative. And that is what happened to me. Long story short, I was reprimanded for not stopping the gossip. I was embarrassed, as I should have been. The gym is no different than any other place of employment, words, true or untrue, fly. To keep the "bubble of joy" that I had/have, doing what I love, I have learned to say, kindly, I don't gossip. Nor do I listen to gossip. And I have asked, "Did you tell (insert name) how you feel?" That usually shuts down the conversation. Great! I am going to leave you with this wonderful quote from Steve Maraboli. Take it to heart. "How would your life be different if...You walked away from gossip and verbal defamation? Let today be the day...You speak only the good you know of other people  and encourage others to the same."

Wishing you all peace and love...but mostly Peace!