“I've been an athlete my whole life and sweat is just the language that speaks the loudest to me.”
With this one sentence, Amber Dodzweit describes what it is to have a passion.
And while most of us have to keep our passions as extracurriculars on the weekend or after work, Amber is one of the lucky few who has been able to turn her passion into her day job as a Women's Circuit Training and Health Coach.
“I ease into my day with coffee, music and connecting with the women I coach” Amber describes a typical day. “Around noon, I go and workout in the gym. This is like a daily appointment with a therapist. My best ideas, most cathartic experiences, and satisfaction come from training. It's that moment where you're doing something and you think to yourself ‘I was actually MADE to do this.’"
The road to get to this place wasn’t easy. Her thoughts are her biggest struggle, “above any heartache, abuse, disappointment.”
“I'm a super internal person and when that's not directed in the right way, I can completely self-destruct. I love the mantra ‘You're only as sick as your secrets’- reminds me that it's in the darkness of your own thoughts that you hold yourself hostage sometimes. The answer is to always bring your fears to light;
so I'm constantly working on being more verbal and talking through some of the crazy even when it goes against my nature.”
Amber credits her sister with getting her to talk when that’s the last thing she wants to do.
“Sometimes when I'm having a tough day the tendency can be to withdraw from the world until I sort it out. It seems that every time I do that my sister can feel it. She calls (I rarely answer) then she calls again until I finally pick up. Sometimes, she doesn't even know I'm having a rough day but hearing her voice and all her crazy kids in the background reminds me that I am loved.”
Her husband helps too. “I married my best friend so we are in a constant state of celebrating life.
He and I can barely stop having fun and live with the belief that this life is everything that you make it, so we just make everyday a party pretty much.”
And when Amber needs to rely on herself, she keeps on track with a verse from the Bible, James 1:4 “Perseverance must finish its work.”
“My sister made me memorize that verse when I was 12, I had no idea how many times I would need the reminder throughout my life!! The beginning says ‘consider it joy when you face trials because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance...’ That is something I think that everyone needs to remember when they're facing hard times.”
To become the woman she is today, Amber seems to have modeled herself after those she admires.
“I find Charismatic and unapologetic people so captivating: the women who stand up in church and shout hallelujah; the old people who are the first on the dance floor in front of everyone else; the people who do their thing despite what everyone else is doing.”
“I find Charismatic and unapologetic people so captivating: the women who stand up in church and shout hallelujah; the old people who are the first on the dance floor in front of everyone else; the people who do their thing despite what everyone else is doing.”
And she credits her parents for her compassion, which translates today into her love of her dogs (which can be seen all over Instagram @amberdodzweit and people of all walks of life.
Her advice to her past self, struggling with the day-to-day? “I would say, don't waste time, worry, or money on expensive furniture because you'll always want dogs allowed on the couch.”
Visit her website for more www.amberdodzweit.com
