Ten years ago Jeffrey McEachern found himself at a point in his life where he knew things had to change. He found happiness and purpose through running, became a Peloton instructor, just earned his Six Star Medal at the Tokyo Marathon, and motivates others through his “Good Vibes Crew” community.
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Jeffrey was born and raised in a small town in Germany. At 18, when he finished school, he entered McDonald’s training program to become a store manager. He liked the structure of the job but, he says, “Not to dis fast food, but I saw myself and people that were working there, and also people that were coming there, constantly making decisions that may or may not have not been that beneficial to them. And that’s where I was like, ‘Okay, but I want to make decisions that are beneficial to me and that make me feel good.’ Because at the time, I ate there every day. I was smoking at the time. I wasn’t running, moving, doing any kind of workout. So it was a whole different energy that I had within my body. And I kind of was waiting for somebody to come and save me and make me feel great about myself. And I realized nobody’s going to do that.”
He quit his job, but that and other financial decisions led to him being broke and living on a friend’s couch. “As much as I love this friend, we were basically on each other’s backs for 24 hours. And that’s when I said, ‘I have to get out of here.’ I had no money to go to the gym, so I literally just took the shoes that I had and went outside for a walk and kind of started running and did what we now call walk plus runs, where you walk and run a little bit and those kinds of things.
“That was the 2nd of December, 2015, the first time that I laced up and did that. I honestly remember crying at the end of it because there was just such a feeling of freedom that I was able to do that. I don’t need anything else. Who I am, what I have right now, for once is enough. That’s kind of what it felt like. I can just get up and do this.
“I think in the beginning, the reason I kept going back to it is because it was literally the only time I had to myself. And I noticed that the life before, and I literally call it another lifetime, I needed to please people. I needed to be around people. I needed to be liked and be loved by others. And there was a moment that broke there, that I didn’t need that anymore. I needed to figure out who am I without these people, who am I without being liked and loved and trying to please people. I used to think, ‘That’s so nice. You’re taking care of others and you care about others.’ Yes, it is. But it was also a void that I was filling to try to be enough. And that’s why I kept going back to running.”
Running made Jeffrey realize that he wanted to help others. “You know, there is that saying, be the person that you needed when you were going through things. When I ran my first race in 2016, a half marathon in Berlin, I ran through the finish line crying like a baby because I felt a sense of healing. I took my fear and I turned it into healing. And I literally had this thought, ‘I would love for other people to experience that.’ I can’t heal the world, neither is it my responsibility. But what can I take from this and give it to the people that I connect with, so maybe they can feel that as well? That’s why I’ll always share as vulnerable and honest as I can, because I know that there might be somebody out there feeling the same, going through the same.”
He believes strongly that “the only way out is through. I don’t wake up every day with the sun shining out of every pore that I have, but whenever I feel myself not feeling in the right space that I want to be in – I wouldn’t even say happy or good, but feeling on level and in vibration with who I am and how I want to feel – I question myself and I question the situation. We have to go through those things and then pick out, What can I learn from it? What can I control? We all think we can control different things and situations and people and we can’t, and neither should we.
“If we are lucky enough, we evolve, we change, we grow every morning that we get to wake up. And that is one thing that I will say. I choose gratitude and my default mode is joy. Because if I can wake up and can make a choice, that will be the choice that I make. It doesn’t mean I don’t hurt or I don’t go through situations. I actually lean into them to feel them and to explore them. But then I also choose what I can take from them and how I can carry on.
“I think what really helped me also is seeing people that live their authentic self. For a long time, I really disliked the word ‘authentic’ because everybody was overusing it; you know, ‘I’m so authentic, I’m so this and that.’ One thing that changed that for me is that I heard a quote talking about the root word of authentic as ‘author,’ and that makes you the author of who you are and who you want to be. And that just gave me so much power.”
Becoming a Peloton instructor has given Jeffrey the opportunity to bring his message to more people and brought him opportunities that he would never have dreamed of earlier in his life. He just earned his Six Star Medal in Tokyo. “I didn’t start running marathons until a year and a half ago. So for this journey to happen as quick as it did and being given the opportunities that I’ve been given and doing most of it for charity, as well, I honestly can’t believe this is happening. Like, little Jeffrey is mind blown as we speak.
“Now that I travel and I get to run these races, it’s not just about me. Of course, I’m running and I’m doing the thing, but there’s people that DM me and that are excited for me or that are like, ‘My God, you just sparked this idea in me’. So it’s so much bigger than me getting a medal, because I don’t believe in medals and all those kinds of things. But being able to show it to the people that are maybe aspiring to do this or just are getting inspired to do that, that’s what it’s about at this point. I’m so honored and grateful that I get to do this. It’s absolutely mind-boggling.”
Resources
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