We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Michael Espinosa. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Michael below.

Michael, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Who is your hero and why? What lessons have you learned from them and how have they influenced your journey?

My hero is Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. He introduced the concept of the shadow in his psychological framework, and this idea has had a profound impact on my life. Let me explain…

According to Jung, the shadow represents the unconscious, repressed, and often undesirable aspects of our personality that we prefer not to acknowledge or express consciously. It consists of all the parts of ourselves that we deem unacceptable or incompatible with our self-image.

Jung believed that the shadow plays a significant role in shaping our behavior and experiences. It can manifest in various ways in our daily lives. One of the ways it surfaces is through emotional triggers.

So, when I am emotionally triggered by employees, clients, family, etcetera, I’ve learned to ask these questions:

“How does this relate to my shadow? Who does this remind me of? How do I show up like this in my life?”

Rather than blaming others for my own emotional responses, Jung has taught me to take ownership of my emotions, and get curious about my own repressed behaviors and desires.

Jung believed that engaging with the shadow and integrating its contents is a crucial step towards personal growth, healing, and achieving a more balanced and authentic way of living. I couldn’t agree more.

Michael, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started The Ark School of Fitness in 2012, after 4 years working as an organic farmer, where my wife and I sold fruits, vegetables, and cut flowers directly to consumers at local farmer’s markets. During my stint on the farm, I developed a love for CrossFit, because it allowed me to build my body at home, even with a grueling work schedule.

When plans to buy our own farm didn’t pan out (we were farming someone else’s land), I decided to open a gym. At the time, I remember thinking that it was a wild move, but I did it anyways because I could live with failure, but not regret. And, it was a time in my life when I could take chances (I was in my mid twenties).

10 years later, we are still going strong. The Ark is currently the home of the University of Florida’s weightlifting team, where I coach young athletes to increase their strength, confidence, and self-worth. And, we serve the general population with strength classes and open gym memberships.

What sets us apart from others is our client-centered philosophy. At The Ark, the athlete is always the expert on themselves, and the coach is the movement expert. Rather than dictate what a person should do, we walk along side our athletes so that they can build their internal loci, and guide them as they take control over their “fitness journey.”

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Make feedback (positive, critical, and neutral), a normal and expected part of the culture. This means making it expected, and creating a ritual of giving and receiving feedback. We like to use the template, “What was good? What was tricky? And, what might you do differently?”

You and your team should be constantly “hunting for feedback,” from yourselves and from clients, and integrating valuable feedback whenever possible to iterate and improve products and offerings.

And, all feedback, no matter how poorly delivered, is a valuable gift. Get used to receiving sh*tty feedback with a sincere grin. This doesn’t mean you need to take action on all feedback — it means you need to be open to the possibility that Ken or Karen has a point — even if they are yelling at you.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn that my emotional responses are caused by someone else. I had to learn that I am 100% responsible for my own emotions — the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Employees and clients will trigger you. And you have to take ownership of it. This way, you will get to the core of the issue (which is always within yourself), and not let it become something that keeps happening with different people.    

Contact Info:

• Website: thearkfitness.com
• Instagram: @theark352