Courage is Contagious

I won some cash last week. And it started with an avocado.

On Wednesday of Halloween Week, the trainers at The FASTer Way to Fat Loss dressed up in costumes as they led the full body workout. 

Brandon was a ham; Haven was a banana; Amanda was an avocado. As they led the workout, they bantered back and forth as their specific macro nutrient (carb/protein/fat). It was cute.

Amanda couldn’t move well in the blown-up avocado costume. Her arms didn’t have their normal range of motion and her face was buried deep within her costume, so she had to feel around the floor to find her dumbbells. I found myself laughing out loud as I watched. 

As I worked out, something within me woke up. 

See, Amanda is not just another trainer; Amanda Tress is the founder and CEO of The FASTer Way to Fat Loss. I know she has put much blood, sweat and tears into the company. Her ability to be silly and have fun felt like an invitation of sorts. 

I knew the company had a Costume Contest going on. Hmm…why not? After my workout, I had my son dig out his blow up dinosaur costume. Oh my. My husband Russ had to help me get it on (we put it on backwards at first, which made my son roll his 17-year old eyes at his old parents). 

I felt a little giddy as we drove to Genesis, our health club in Goddard, Kansas. I popped into the GM’s office and asked him if I could work out in a costume.

He was all for it. 

So thus began my second workout of the day. It was quite memorable. I did every move.

One gym member told me I needed to work my little dinosaur arms out a  bit more…they were too small. Ha. 

I couldn’t see very well, so that made it even more interesting. 

I saw a friend, Richard. He asked me if I had lost a bet. Ha.

When I was doing calf raises, a couple of women came up to me and asked if they could take their picture with me.  

My husband recorded it all. 

The next day I went to my daughter Rachel’s house, where she edited the video. (Thank you, Rachel.)

If you have Instagram, here is the link.

Here’s Facebook.

Looks remarkably easy, doesn’t it?

We uploaded it. And I won the Grand Prize for Halloween Costume 2025. 

Now, that’s great. Wonderful. Fantastic. But what I would like to focus on:

When I started my workout at home, I had zero intention of entering any contest.

But Amanda’s sparkling spirit invited me into something. Her husband Brandon, as his ham costume kept flailing along with his weights, made me chuckle and be happy to be alive. Half way through the workout Haven peeled her banana, making me laugh. 

Their example made me want to live life on a different level. 

And that’s what I want to hone in on. Your life, and your choices, matter. Not always just for yourself, but for others. Your willingness to do hard, uncomfortable things, heroic things and even fun, silly things, matters. There are people that need your witness.

And that, my friend, is gorgeous. 

Lest you stay centered on costumes, let me give you a real life example. Many moons ago I was at St Elizabeth Church in west Wichita, holding my fidgety baby while trying to keep a toddler occupied and quiet.  

One woman sitting to the side of me was making these guttural noises, indicating I should take my baby the heck out of that pew and away from her. 

Just then Darla Voegeli, a fellow mom of many, turned around, looked at the tsk-tsking woman, and raising her eyebrows, whispered fiercely, “Give me that baby.” She held and loved on my baby for the rest of Mass. 

People. She didn’t just soothe my baby — she soothed my mama’s soul. 

Here’s the deal. Darla’s kindness, given to me in the quiet of church, where no one ever talks or even really looks at others during the service, was a gift that gave ME permission to help mothers in need during Mass. 

If I see a woman struggling alone with two or three kids during a church service, I will go to her, whisper that I have eight children, and that she is doing a great job and request her baby, keeping close to her so she knows I am not going to run out the back door with her precious infant. 

Why don’t I go for the toddler? The same reason Darla didn’t take my toddler. Toddlers are possessive and slightly angry little things, prone to tantrums when removed from their mama’s side. So Darla took the baby. And that’s how I help moms. I tend to their baby. 

What I’m trying to say is that your actions matter. 

You matter. 

What you do in your life allows others, especially your children and grandchildren, to watch, witness and follow. 

This was brought home this week in our family text thread—yes, all eight kids and their spouses weighing in—they were discussing the fact that my adult children wash their apples with soap. Why? Because that’s what I’ve always done.

Such a little thing, but it brought home this fact: your people are watching. They notice when you go back and pay for something you were not charged for; when you are kind to someone who can’t repay you; when you live your values quietly every day. They see. They emulate.

What I’m trying to say is that your actions matter.

You matter. 

Not only that, but what you do in your life allows others—especially your children, grandchildren, friends, and even strangers—to watch, witness, and follow. Sometimes your courage shows up in bold, hilarious, or heroic ways. Sometimes it shows up quietly, consistently, in the choices you make every day.

And sometimes it is not always exactly as you envisioned it might be: My daughter Malaysia was mortified that I’d gone to the gym in a dinosaur costume. She didn’t see the humor. But later, after I won the grand prize, I think she could see how stepping out of our comfort zone does have its rewards. 

She wasn’t fully convinced—but maybe that’s how courage begins. We see it in someone else before we’re ready to live it ourselves.

So, the next time you feel hesitation, doubt, or fear—remember the avocado, the dinosaur, Darla, and the apples. Step forward anyway. Your life, your choices, and your courage are more powerful than you realize. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll give someone else permission to step forward too.

If you’d like to learn more about what I do as a coach with The FASTer Way to Fat Loss, jump into this video series.