We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Saara Haapanen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Saara, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about the best advice you’ve ever given to a client? (Please note this response is for education/entertainment purposes only and shouldn’t be construed as advice for the reader)

The best advice I’ve ever given to a client is this, “you have the ability to change”.

We as human beings are hardwired to repeat the things we have done in the past.

Our brain’s main function is to keep us safe and to keep us from dying. Because of this, it automates processes that we do every day as well as our thinking patterns. 90% of our processes are automated in our subconscious.

So when we want to do something different than we’ve ever done before (ie. get healthy, start a new business, change careers) our brain hasn’t learned those behaviors yet and tends to self-sabotage. It’s like we have one foot on the gas pedal and one foot on the break.

I love to teach my clients that we can do anything we put our minds to, we just have to break it down into small sustainable chunks so we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot.

I am happiest when I can give a client the skills they need to tackle their goals and make their dreams come true through coaching. Then they can live their happiest healthiest life 💪.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I help humans live happier and healthier lives. In college, I knew I wanted to help people but I wasn’t sure what that would look like. I studied kinesiology and health promotion and minored in psychology. My senior year I took a sports psychology class and was hooked. I was convinced this is what I would do and wanted to work with elite athletes.

At that time I was on my way to Finland to train for the Olympics, and everything I was studying was super relevant to my athletic career. I was applying what I was learning.

Then I moved to Finland to dive for the national team, train for the 2008 Olympics and was studying to get my Master’s degree in Sports and Exercise Psychology.

After finding out 12 days before the Olympics I wasn’t going I was crushed. I was ranked 30th in the world and they were supposed to take 34 women in my event. They took 29 and I was the first one not to go.

I continued on to get my PhD in Sports and Exercise Psychology and will be defending at the end of May. Once complete I’ll be launching my “Happier Healthier Human” program to help women live their best lives.

I launched my business “Performance is Haapanen” in 2013 and I have had a blast. I truly believe I was put on this planet to do exactly this. Helping others live their best lives makes me so happy. Working with athletes is great, but you are part of their team and you help them be a bit faster, stronger or jump higher. Once you change someone’s life and get them healthier and give them lifelong skills- there’s nothing like that feeling!

Currently I work with clients in four main ways:
One on one personal training, a 10am Sunday group workout class (in Ash Grove Park in Denver), an online membership program with 3 new workouts a week and a monthly check in call, and my corporate www.moveatworkchallenge.com program which helps humans feel better at work in 5-7 minutes a day using movement, mindset and motivation techniques.

The Happier Healthier Human 6 month coaching program for women will launch in Fall of 2022

I love to teach people that you can change your life with small sustainable daily action. It doesn’t have to be so black or white, by making tiny changes everyday you won’t recognize yourself in a year. Everyone has the potential to be amazing, but sometime they just need a coach to help them.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

All I ever wanted was to go to the Olympics. I was so close, yet it was out of my hands. As I mentioned earlier, I found out 12 days before the opening ceremonies I would not be going. I did my absolute very best, and it didn’t matter- I wasn’t going. Not only was it my life’s dream, but I wanted it for my resume. I thought I was going to be working with elite athletes and being an Olympian would help me do that.

Moving on from that experiencing and retiring from sport was a challenge. I then threw myself into my PhD research and experienced depresssion. To snap me out of my depression my husband recommended I started training people again so I took a job as a personal trainer at a gym and never looked back. I realized helping others is what truly makes me happy and I started my company in 2013.

Things happen to us, and in the moment they don’t make sense. In the end, it will all workout.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

How to talk to humans is the number one most important skill.

Most humans do not have someone in their life that is consistently encouraging them with kind motivational words. Especially moms. Moms get blamed, yelled at, and talked at all day long. No one ever tells them they are doing a good job.

I believe kind encouraging words go such a long long way. You can turn someone’s day around by speaking nicely to them. It’s often overlooked but is so important.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.performanceishaapanen.com and www.moveatworkchallenge.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saara_haapanen/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Saarashumans
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saarahaapanen/