I'm writing this as I watch the water fall down my window, listening to the soothing sound of rainfall from the comfort of my bed. Fresh sheets. Candle burning. The type of weather that whispers, “Stay right here.” And honestly? I wanted to listen.

It had already been a full day. Teaching the twins, cuddling baby Levi, spending time with my mom, tackling the never-ending list of things that come with life … and mentally calculating when I was going to fit in the things that still needed to get done.

Meanwhile, the clock was getting closer and closer to class time.

I still had a playlist to create. My mind wandered back to my to-do list. I found myself scrolling through pictures, came across one of my daddy, and just like that … the eyes got blurry.

Grief has a funny way of showing up uninvited. And for a moment I thought — any normal person would cancel class. Sink deeper into these fresh sheets. Let the rain become the background music. Give myself permission to just be.

And honestly, nobody would blame me. But that's not how the story ends. I sit back up.

And almost perfectly timed, I remember one of our favourite XPerience songs — Rise Up by Andra Day — and that powerful reminder to rise up, in spite of it all.

In spite of the heaviness, in spite of the grief, in spite of the exhaustion and in spite of every reason your mind gives you to stay exactly where you are.

Sometimes the same words I pour into my clients are the exact words I need to pour back into myself.

So I get back to creating my playlist.

I smile at the bangers I have lined up because I already know the energy that's coming.

I smile knowing that at some point during class, something I say, some piece of encouragement, some reminder, some random Dre moment — might be exactly what someone else needs today.

I smile even bigger knowing I would remind them of the same thing I always do: that fitness and wellness goes beyond the gym.

Yes, we lift weights. Yes, we sweat. Yes, we push our bodies, but the real transformation? That happens when the mindset we build inside these walls starts showing up outside of them.

When discipline replaces excuses. When commitment shows up even when motivation does not. When we start realising we're capable of so much more than we thought. And then class finishes.

I go home. Settle the children. Check about five things off that big list I was stressing about earlier.

After my shower (it's still raining by the way), I finally settle myself down and let out one big breath.

The day was over and then I showed up ― even when I had every reason not to.

The rain. The grief. The busyness. The exhaustion. All valid reasons.

Have you ever thought, valid reasons can still become the excuses that keep us standing still? It's true!

That's what being a business owner, and instructor — honestly, just a human being trying to grow — is about.

Moving. Showing up. Rising up. Not because every day feels good. Not because life is always perfectly balanced. Not because motivation magically appears.

It's because the person you are becoming requires you to keep the promises you made to yourself.

So apply that same mindset to your own life. The workout. The goal. The dream. The healing.

The thing you keep putting off: waiting for the “perfect time”. Show up, in spite of all the reasons not to ... “Rise up.”

• Dre Hinds is a personal trainer, aerobic and yoga instructor and fitness “addict” with more than 20 years’ experience. She specialises in nutrition, weight and sprint training, operating out of HindsSight Fitness and Wellness at the Berkeley Cultural Centre. Contact her at absbydre@gmail.com or on 599-6683. Find her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram under @Absbydre