Stardate: 2nd January 2015
Humans are creatures of extremes. When the new year rolls in, we polarize: One group makes insane resolutions, while the other group rolls its eyes at the resolutions made by others.
And, while the latter is understandable (as one simply does not suddenly grow wiser or dedicated between the 31st of December and the 1st of January), January 1st is truly a powerful catalyst for change. Small, quantifiable changes though… this is important. For example:
- – Start the year with the people who matter. Don’t beg for friends. Reach out to those who have been there for you, and those who have taken the time to reach out to you. Don’t meander through pointless relationships. *You* matter.
- – Fitness is a marathon, not a sprint. Write up a schedule for your week, and dedicate two 30 minute slots of it to exercise… and stick to those slots. If you’re able to fit other random 15-20 minute slots in at any time, do so. But, those two 30-minute slots are the most important. Never deviate from them. They add up.
- – If you feel as if you don’t fit somewhere, you don’t. Anyone who tells you this feeling is in your imagination, is someone who values your company over your feelings. Think about it.
- – Dieting isn’t complicated. Humans are. Put equal amounts of protein, vegetables, and fruit on your plate. The end. Nothing complicated about that, at all. No, you won’t have low blood sugar. No, you don’t need to ‘reward’ yourself with cheesecake. No, you’re not going to get sickly-looking. No, to whatever your next made-up question is.
- – Stop making excuses for yourselves. When you mess up, accept it. Failing is fine. Blaming the universe, your mother, your sister, and global warming isn’t however.
- – Where possible, walk and climb stairs. If you have to be seated for extended periods of time, stretch at regular intervals. The work (or whatever it is that requires that you sit for hours at a time) isn’t going anywhere. Your back, and productivity thank you in advance.
- – Worry less about what people think and say about you.
- – “Worry less about what people think and say about you.” – I had to type that twice. Personally, I know that a lot of people believe that I’m an asshole. And, again personally, I acknowledge my streaks of asshole-ishness. Personally, I also acknowledge that people immediately discard the myriad of good that I have done, and continue to do from day to day. Those whom I’ve helped aren’t immune to that either. And, were I to concentrate on the negative that people have to say… I’d probably kill myself. And, I swear, I’ve thought about it more than a few times over the years… but then I get a message from a random stranger that reads something like: “Thank you for your posts. Thank you for sharing your struggles. Thank you for the free fitness challenges and feedback that you’ve hosted monthly. Thank you for always helping people who reach out to you… and some who don’t directly. You’ve changed my life”. And that post pulls me back up. I’ve digressed a bit, but that brings me to another point:
- – Surround yourself with positive, smart(er), creative, similarly-minded people. Stagnation is the worst feeling in the world.
- – Eat less sugar and processed shit. If you can quit both altogether, do so.
- – Communicate with your family at least once per week. Put that in your daily calender. It’s important. Trust me. Also:
- – Use your calender. Time is your most valuable resource. If you don’t control it to some degree, you’re wasting it. Lots of you claim to want to achieve things. But I’d fathom that 90% of you don’t have a real quantifiable plan. And, I don’t say this to be patronising. I say this, because it’s the truth. If you have a schedule, you can free up more time for new experiences, for family, for fitness and for yourself… The things that matter.
- – Travel if you can. It’s a big world. Plenty to experience… and experiences tends to stretch our mind and perspective.
- – Learn to cook at least one new thing.
- – Read at least one book.
- – Learn a new skill. Burpees are a great one to have. But pottery isn’t bad either.
- – Say ‘thank you’, more.
- – Laugh more. Cry when you feel the need to.
If you add only one of these for 2015… I think it’ll be a more productive year.
Yours in fitness,
– Corey Springer
Apollo Fitness Barbados
Apollo Fitness Barbados 