In January 2017, we started out in business with the goal to build a passionate community of individuals who want to make #MakeLifeRicher. On January 21st 2018, we celebrated one year of business and a year's progression towards our goal.
One Year From Now, What Will You Have Done?
To mark the occasion we invited our community to join us in scaling the Sugarloaf Mountain. On the top of the mountain, each person that joined us wrote down their goal for the year and posted it into our G+C goal box.
We finished our journey by challenging our community with a message - "One year from now, what will you have done?"
As you may know, each month we get tagged in dozens of photos by people wearing G+C Hoodies in the Wild. Recently, we have started to delve deeper and find out the stories behind the photos. We spoke with Suzanne and found out the inspiring story behind her trip to Bali. There are many more great stories coming soon.
As we are halfway into the year we began to reflect on our 1st birthday and that day on the Sugarloaf Mountain. We wondered how our community were progressing with their respective goals. We've since been contacted by one amazing member of our community, Sue Kane (@peggysuez). She set a goal as part of our first birthday and has inspired us no end with her progress.
We caught up with Sue to hear her story.
Sue was one of many that joined us on our hike up the Sugarloaf Mountain. For those of you that weren't there, suffice to say the wild Irish weather was present. It added a certain cinematic struggle and triumph to the day.
"My friends and I saw the posts for the Gym+Coffee 1st birthday hike on Instagram and thought it was such a cool idea. What better way to blow off the post Christmas cobwebs than going on a hike. Not to mention the added excitement of finding the postbox at the top of the mountain for posting our goals"
"There was a certain nervous anticipation which was only heightened by the mad weather. The hike was brilliant and the views were awesome. No better place to set some goals. Everyone we met was so friendly and in great spirits. All of us were just laughing at how crazy it was to be climbing a mountain in the wet and windy conditions."
Sue's goal was one we loved.
"My goal was to be more body positive. Accept the body I have and embrace it all I can while training for my first marathon".
I've always felt like I wasn't sporty enough to be setting fitness goals. I made attempts to get fitter but struggled with the follow-through. After watching my brother training for a marathon I realized it wasn't about being the fittest or the fastest. It was about getting out there and enjoying every step of the journey."
We are incredibly impressed, inspired and slightly in awe to report that Sue followed through wholeheartedly. She went from 'Couch to 5K' all the way to marathon runner. Having set a massive goal on Sugarloaf mountain in January. She has already achieved it by June, that is the epitome of #stretchyourself.
Sue talked us through the day of the marathon and the mixture of emotions she felt.
"I couldn't help but think of the G+C Sugarloaf Mountain crew. Knowing I'd committed to my goal and made it public, gave me the motivation I needed to keep going. I thought to myself that "I'd gone up a mountain to set my goal. I'm not about to quit now"."
"Every single part of me hurt. I'd never pushed myself like that before and I was loving it. It was such a mix of emotions. I was on the verge of tears at some points and yet never happier. Crossing the finish line after my first marathon will stay with me for the rest of my life. I can't even begin to explain the feeling, pure magic."
We are so delighted to have played a small part in Sue's journey. Having stretched herself and achieved such an incredible goal she has really inspired us. Her triumph has made our crazy winter's hike up the Sugarloaf Mountain that bit more worthwhile.
Before we went, we asked Sue if she had any advice for others who are trying to achieve seemingly "unrealistic" goals.
"Be brave - decide on what you want to achieve and write it down where you can see it. Tell people - support from others is great for motivation, it keeps you focused. Be kind to yourself - you are going to have off days, it's only natural. Enjoy the experience - enjoy every second of your journey, from setting the goal to sharing it with new people. Celebrate - be proud of how far you've come, feel the emotions, tell the world and celebrate in style."
Sue definitely deserves to celebrate. A massive congratulations to her and a huge thanks for sharing her story. Once again, we were left incredibly inspired by another awesome member of our community.
We hope everyone else is getting on well with their goals. If you were at our first birthday, we'd love to hear from you. Even if you weren't and are just undertaking a big goal, we would love it if you could share your story.
Leave a comment below or contact us directly on hello@gympluscoffee.com
