“Am I good enough?”
Please note, there is some profanity is in this episode.
The devious subtleness of that question is that it creeps into the shades of the mind. It’s not an abrupt question but rather a build-up of small thoughts.
For Vance Vlasek, it’s a question that he’s wrestled with a lot in his youth. Growing up in the mid-west with not much to high-achieving parents and siblings, it’s no wonder that this question would arise to a young Vance. Yet, a revelation came when he had this thought:
If I can give that generous attitude to others, why can’t I give that to myself?
But it didn’t come very quickly.
Although Vance is now most well known for his yoga teachings and as a Nike Master Trainer, which you can find for free on the Nike Training Club App. But before that, he spent his earlier years as a performing artist and as an actor. (He’s got an IMDb, so you know you’re legit!) Steeped in that world is full of, “am I good enough.” Imagine that world where you’re competing and comparing yourself to others who are gunning for the same gig.
But now the beauty of being in the yoga community is that it’s full of jargon that talks about being enough. If you’re practicing yoga, teaching yoga, and that’s the people you run with, just imagine all that positive energy is freely given out. That’s a beautiful thing.
I don’t put myself above anybody or below. The only truth I know is mine. Like how I’m sensing the energy of the people I’m interacting with at the moment. I can redirect myself toward love. The only truth I know that no one can know is what it’s like to be me.
And when life throws us hardships, he’s also adapted.
I’ve learned not to resist it. I sit with the feeling. I’ll journal or some form of outlet. I’ve learned to sit in the shit.
A few keywords we should emphasize are community, sensing, interacting, and directing toward love.
The people we surround ourselves with, aka community, is something we can control. If you find yourself around negative people then you have the power tot change that. For Vance, that’s been his secret weapon.
“I have a bomb community.” - Vance Vlasek
His base and foundation is his family and friends. Coming from a rather large family, he’s always grown up in that safe environment and is what he now purposefully duplicates in his current lifestyle. Living with his partner, they now have this beautiful tradition of doing meditation together in the morning right after waking up.
It’s been a game-changer. It just sets the day off right and open-hearted, and cleans the slate.
Although Vance is only in his 30’s (not old like me in my 40’s), he acknowledges making new friends is harder as you get older, but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, he’s been using all that positive, magnetic energy to open up to new people. And he’s been having a ball with it, not feeling tired about life but rather feeling all that potential that exists if you can open up to others.
“Life is just a beautiful trip if you can allow yourself to see it that way.” - Vance Vlasek
CLOSING STATEMENTS
I found Vance through the Nike Training Club App and it’s been truly amazing to get to connect with him in real-life, and know that he’s indeed full of that positive, contagious energy that I want some more of in myself. Def check him out on the app, on his YouTube channel, and on his website.
Interview with Nike Master Trainer, Vance Vlasek