You’re in people business.
If you can’t deal with people, don’t like people or lack social skills; you are in the wrong field. You can be the smartest trainer on the planet with a plethora of kinesiology degrees and certificates on your wall, but if you don’t know how to deal with people you’ll fail miserably.
Personal trainers get hired, initially, to help their clients reach their fitness goals. But as the relationship grows, the clients rely on you for other things. They rely on you to help them stay motivated. They want to vent their frustration to you and seek advice. They count on your knowledge and your guidance. Like it or not, you’ll have to play a shrink once in a while.
In order to succeed, you have to be extremely patient, non-judgemental, supportive, and you must be personable. Personal training is not about you, the size of your muscles, your bench press or number of triathlons you did last year. It’s about your clients and helping them reach their goals.