Surviving the Storm

Featured Mastermind Blog of the Month
by Heather Fahrenkrog, Chief Motivating Officer

A storm at sea tests a sailor’s fortitude and ability to stay on course. A storm that sweeps across the globe, wave after wave, year after year, tests far more – our mental, emotional, and physical limits, our breaking points. It has been a test of our very humanity. As we navigate the continuous onslaught of waves, we require mental and physical adaptability to endure, to see hope on the horizon. In the beginning, did you glimpse the distant lighthouse whose light so faintly illuminated the haven beyond it? What did you do to adapt and survive the treacherous water between your community and safety? 

Those who serve a community knew this was a moment of reckoning. We knew how to buckle down and do the job, but we did not know or understand the inner growth that was being forced upon us. We had no idea the resilience we would develop. Our mantras would lead the way. I chose to elevate, focus on my purpose, and create a new vision.

In 2020, I chose the word elevate as my mantra. I challenged my community to elevate their lives because elevators figure out where they need to invest their energy and where they need to pull back. Elevators know that inspiration is valuable, but it is not enough to survive. I challenged my community to elevate by committing to their health and adapting every time it was necessary. Elevate to survive.

We have endured a once in 100-years pandemic that has taken so many lives, shuttered too many businesses, and turned our everyday routines upside down. This has been a storm none of us could have imagined. Impossible to elevate through. Or was it? Instead of shrinking away from the unknown, instead of living in fear, how many instead leaned in, showed up, and lifted others UP? We did.

We believed it was behind us last year, but things did not turn out as we hoped. Again, I held tight to the helm and fought even harder than I had before to stay on course for the mental and physical health of my community – it required me to focus on my purpose. This became my mantra for 2021. I continued to steer into the unknown. I kept my gaze upward and held steady on the faint glow of that same lighthouse ahead. This was my commitment. I became resilient. I was not giving up.

As we enter year three of this relentless storm, the final surge of 2022 made so much worse by our exhaustion, my mantra is vision. I continue to keep my eyes on the horizon and look beyond the rough water and jagged rocks – the lighthouse still beckons. I look beyond the negativity. I ignore the black hole of those who gave up. I create a new vision. I look UP – beyond the chaos swirling around me – it’s there that I see it. The lighthouse remains perfectly steadfast and unaffected by the storm, waiting to welcome all who have adapted and endured. My mantras of elevate, purpose, and vision continue to serve me well. I will survive this storm. And the next one. I can clearly see what lies beyond the lighthouse. 

It is glorious.

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Heather Fahrenkrog is a lawyer-turned-fitness studio owner. Heather has been a fitness instructor most of her life, over 30 years teaching fitness in gym facilities. A former endurance athlete, she has competed in numerous triathlons, marathons, and shorter distance races. Fitness is her passion. Heather retired from her 19-year career as a prosecutor in Chicago to run her fitness business full-time.