A Story About…The Chair
❓Do you have an object which is an essential part of your business?
The Chair has had some more repairs recently … the piping was coming away and it led me to think about how valued it is by visitors to The Shed …
A story about The Chair
Not just any chair.
It sits in The Shed – my place of work, my gym.
This chair is super special
It’s an arm chair. Small and perfectly proportioned. It’s tartan. Its arms are the perfect height. It’s like getting a supportive hug.
It used to sit in my grandmother’s house and was where I’d sit when I visited and listen to her stories.
When she died, the chair came to me.
And now it lives in my shed.
I’ve read books in it, cuddled my children in it. The Chair was even the puppy sitter when lockdown hit and nobody could come to The Shed.
It’s an odd addition to a gym setting.
But then, I’m a little different to a conventional fitness professional. So it works.
Every person that comes to visit my shed, sits in The Chair.
It’s where people share their life stories with me: the passion, goals, happiness, sadness, worries and achievements.
There is something very magical about this chair.
To look at it, you’d not know it’s role in helping support people to live their best life. But when you sit in The Chair, great things can happen.
A while ago, one of its legs broke and I took the chair out of The Shed.
I though “Perhaps I don’t put it back in when it’s fixed”. After all, it is a tad incongruous with the setting.
My clients let me know otherwise.
“Where’s the chair Sara?”
“Oh no it’s broken!”
“When is it coming back?”
“I miss the chair”
Even those who hadn’t consciously realised the specialness of the chair asked after it.
Definitive evidence that The Chair is as much a part of The Southey Way experience as all the gym equipment!
So a week later (after it was properly fixed) ????the chair was back and normal service (for us Southey Way Superstars) was resumed!
????You see, The Chair holds space and time for each individual who sits in it. Space for them to step out of their life commitments and concentrate on themselves and what is happening in their lives. Space and time to process, evaluate, make choices and decide on what action to take.
There are times when The Chair is used solely to rest between exercises or to store the extra layers that come off when the sweat kicks in. ????
There are other times when no exercise is done at all and The Chair provided it’s support for an hour’s in depth discussion on life.
????And everything in between! Spaniel therapy is often available for those that need it ???? whilst they take their time to explore their health and well-being.
As a recognised essential team member, The Chair gets its own TLC from running repairs, regular environmentally friendly cleaning and sanitising to the regular appreciation from all who sit in The Chair!
What inanimate object do you have that is an essential part of your team?
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