For the month of April, Gia will be sharing how she stays driven in amongst being a DJ, Coach, Qualified PT, NLP in training and more. Always on the go, we delved into what drives her, and how her journey has shaped her into the person she is today. Read to the end to find out which Innermost product keeps her on track!
Hey Gia, could you tell our readers a little more about yourself?
Hey! I’m Gia, I’m from Essex, currently living in North London. I am a fitness and mindset coach, qualified PT and recently completed my NLP training. I am also a DJ and recently graduated from a music production degree. I used to work in the city for corporate banks as an event coordinator, but had a big mental health breakdown 5 years ago. This was the catalyst for changing my life and retraining. My purpose in life is to show other people that you can achieve anything you want with the right mindset, and I do that by transforming my life first. I’m big on energy of all kinds, I love fitness, festivals, music, fancy dress, traveling and fast cars/bikes. I’m here to show you that you can have fun and be fit and healthy with the right balance and self-expectations.
How did you become an Innermost Insider and what’s your goal as an ambassador for the brand?
I worked for F45 Stratford (check it out, its a WHOLE VIBE) and the Innermost range is stocked there, so it naturally became my go to protein; it bangs and it's vegan so it ticked all my boxes. My goal as an ambassador is to always to keep it realistic, promote balanced living and help people manage the expectations of themselves with the lifestyle they want to live. I’m passionate about helping people LOVE their bodies exactly as they are, no matter what stage of the journey they are at and encouraging sustainable habit changes which elongate happiness and life, without it completely taking over your life (unless you want it to of course!).
Our topic this month is drive, how would you define drive?
To me drive encapsulates a few different words. I believe it is the combination of vision, willpower and discipline that actually creates the forward motion/action that gets things done, AKA drive. The first step is to have the vision, to see your goal in your mind's eye and to envision the future you, so you have something to work towards. This doesn't have to be anything massive, it could just be to feel better about yourself, to feel stronger, to get fit for a holiday or for your mental health. Then it's a question of will power. I believe that each day we all have a certain amount of willpower (break that word down: the will to do something right?) and that once we have decided what our priorities are, then we can decide how that willpower will be used. Discipline is the feeding the voice in your head that says I want this, and I’m going to ignore the other voices and focus on how I feel when I have completed this ‘thing’. We all have 2 options but over time I believe that when you continually feed the 'I am going to get this done' voice, it becomes subconscious and you just do it automatically.
DRIVE = VISION + WILL POWER + DISCIPLINE
How has drive been important in your health and fitness journey?
Drive is imperative in your health and fitness journey, you really have to want it and if you have no drive, you are kind of just floating around in a feminine energy flow (not attached to gender). Whereas drive is a masculine energy (not attached to gender); it's an action based word, so without it the ‘journey’ doesn't really start.
Is there a time you struggled with drive and what’s your advice for someone struggling themselves?
I had a huge mental health break down / break through almost 5 years ago and I questioned whether I wanted to continue with my life (there's a full video on my instagram @giageorge if you want to hear this; I've been told by many people that it really helped them understand ways to navigate and rebuild their life). When you are in that state of mind, drive is the HARDEST thing in the world, because your mind basically steals your desire to do anything at all.
I, at least, was completely consumed by overthinking. I then discovered the golden ratio (google it) and realised that everything in life is just a pattern, thoughts included. I needed to change my thought patterns so I began SMALL and that's the best advice I can give. Do your BEST to not think about the big picture, think about the next hour, and if that's too much, the next 5 mins. Slowly, you’ll notice your thought patterns change for the better.
One of the hardest parts of this is making new habits, so it's important to help yourself by making sure you’ve got things in place when you're first building 'habit loops’ (hit me up on insta for more info on this). For example, if your goal is to start exercising, and you're having a tough time getting going, break it down into small steps, start with 5 mins for 5 days, then 10 mins and so on. Get a programme to follow or join a class, make sure your not just going to the gym aimlessly, as that is not going to help you.
Even if you're struggling to get dressed, think one sock at a time, literally break down item by item and eventually you’ll be dressed. Don't think about the gym/class/run until you’ve thought about getting out the house. Just keep breaking it down into smaller steps until it's manageable for you that day. Some days I’m fast, some I’m slow, but I keep driving forwards, one step at a time.
What are three things that drive you?
- My determination to lead by example and show people you can achieve anything in this world with the right mindset.
- I choose to ‘spend’ my will power every day on my health before anything else, and everything else flows from this.
- The vision of future me, I will achieve my dreams, there's no other option, I am committed to her.
Finally, what's your favourite Innermost product for staying on track?
The Health Protein. Order it, have it in the house, in the kitchen, your muscles need it, get that into your daily habit loops.
To keep up with Gia, check out her Instagram and coaching Instagram!
