Geelong's Gym

Do you spend every waking moment on Facebook catching up with what your friends are up to around the globe or would you rather chew your arm off than put your life on display for the whole world to see? Probably, you’re somewhere in the middle.

Facebook... such an easy way to reconnect with people.

Recently, there was a post on Facebook about a radio announcer and business guru who had been calling Facebook a farce and a tool which only causes people to become more insulated due to the amount of time they spend on their computers.  I have a good freind, a fellow health club owner, who shares a similar opinion and isn’t adverse to sharing it…loudly.

Naturally, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I encourage that, but why do people have to be so much more vocal when they have something negative to share?

So, whether you’re a fan or not, I thought I’d share this recent experience where the benefits of Facebook are really highlighted.

Happy New Year one and all.  I hope you all had a good one and are now anticipating all the wonderful things that 2011 is sure to bring.  I know I am.

That being said, I feel I really need to share a few thoughts on the New Year.  I have been slightly surprised by the number of people I’ve spoken with in the last few days who seem to have negative attitudes towards New Year Resolutions and, as such, setting goals.

Wow!  Why is it something that people view with such wariness and cynicism?  It doesn’t have to be something to fear!

I think the main reason people don’t set goals is because in the past they’ve made a New Year Resolution in the heat of the moment, when they’re excited about the year ahead, but then when they settle down into the normality of life and their usual routine, that resolution suddenly seems out of reach, too hard or just plain ridiculous.  So they don’t even bother attempting to achieve it and now they figure there’s no point setting goals you’re never going to follow through on.

So maybe resolutions and goals don’t need to be set at the stroke of midnight on the New Year, when you’re several champagnes down.  Maybe, they should be set when you’ve had time to think about some realistic things you’d like to achieve throughout the course of the year, when you’ve settled back into the usual rhythm of life.

If I were to set New Year Resolutions or any goal for 2011, even if I didn’t quite stick to it all year or didn’t manage to completely accomplish my goal, at least I would have given it a good crack.  You see, it doesn’t matter if you “fail” to carry through your resolution, it matters that you gave yourself a goal to work towards and made it some of the way… that’s an accomplishment, not a failure!  Napoleon Hill taught me in his book “Think and Grow Rich“, that what the mind of man can conceive and believe, the mind of man can achieve.  For me the key is believing you can achieve, thus you will set achievable goals.

Your resolutions don't have to cost much and, in fact, they may actually save you money!

January and the New Year is always a period of renewal, starting afresh and beginning again… the world over.  So why not take a positive attitude to 2011 now and look for ways to make this year OUTSTANDING!

I understand that the current economic climate can be challenging but you don’t necessarily have to make a goal/resolution which is business or economically focused.  Maybe you could focus on resolving or improving a situation with your partner, family or friends or this may be a year of personal growth and inward reflection for you or the year you make some healthy lifestyle changes… whatever you think is most relevant for you.

Carpe D’New Year,

Gerard.

P.S.  I often get asked what Carpe Diem (my communication sign off) means.  It means Seize The Day, so Carpe D’New Year means Seize The New Year… and I really hope you do and make the most of it!

When did we lose our ABILITY to be active?

We used to go to the gym just to get fitter and stronger for a sport.  Then we used the gym to help with rehabilitation of injuries.  We discovered body shape could be altered through exercise.  And of course, we are constantly told to exercise consistently for better health and well being.

Isn't it great to see kids running around and enjoying the outdoors?!

But now it seems that gyms are playing a very important role, which we didn’t foresee, starting with children as young as 7 years…  Gyms are teaching children the importance of simply being active, something that we all took for granted when we were growing up.

I’m sure you remember how we all played outside with our neighbours, hung from trees, played games of footy, soccer and chasey.  Now it’s no longer safe or we live in a housing complex with no trees or there’s no open space to even think about playing a ball sport.  Children today have much fewer opportunities to test their bodies and understand the potential of their muscles.

How then, as adults, are they going to know how to exercise for health and well being?  How are they expected to know how to combat lifestyle diseases, like cardio-vascular disease and Type II Diabetes?

As for the ever-growing obesity epidemic…

Sobering, isn’t it?

So, going to the gym is all about re-abilitating ourselves into the world of activity.  It’s giving us back childhood opportunities to learn about how our bodies move.

How then, can the gym not be part of your life?

We quite often think and talk about things but do we, or you, actually follow through and do those things?  Like NOW.

Why not challenge yourself today?

A friend of mine once told me that if you can do something different than what you would normally do, something in your life that will cause you to stretch and cause you to grow, something to increase your current circle of influence, then it will cause you to have a lot of things change and grow in your life.  And that’s what a group of us did this past weekend.

The Banter Boys

I suggested to some friends of mine, Rob Claridge from Claridge Naturopathics, Craig Goddard from Subway/Muzz Buzz and Ross Hultgren from Chapman Welsh Financial Services that we go for a weekend cycling, where we take off and head to a set destination (in this case we went to the Yarra Valley) and go cycling for three days.  It gave us a fantastic opportunity to talk about business (including our personal business crusades), our personal lives, and the decisions we made that brought us to where we are today and formed our journeys, and what a magnificent weekend it was.  Three days felt like two weeks holiday.  We’re fitter and stronger, our legs, admittedly, a bit more sore.  And we’ve learned so much from each others stories and life journeys.  There’s just so much we all benefited from.

So why not step out from your usual routine and do something you’ve been thinking about for a while but haven’t actually done?

Below is a video which I thought you might like.  It’s called Time and is basically about the importance of every moment of every day becasue time really does not wait for any one, no matter how important they are.

A friend sent me this video and it fits right in with one of my life philisophies.  You may have read one of my earlier Geelong’s Gym posts where I talked about my top three life philisophies and if you did you would know that I always sign off my emails and correspondence with the words, Carpe Diem, which means Seize the Day!

I firmly believe in literally seizing the day and learning to live in the moment, because you will never get that moment back again.

So enjoy the video and I hope it will give you a new lease on life.

Have you ever put into words what defines your life?  Why you do the things you do?

Today, I’d like to share with you the three questions that give my life meaning and purpose.  Maybe they’ll help you to have an exceptional 2010…

1.  How well have you learned to let go?  Forget?  Forgive?…

-          People who’ve done you wrong

-          Accidents or incidents in your life that were beyond your control

-          Relationships in your life that didn’t turn out how you thought they would

-          Wrong decisions you’ve made etc.

 “To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return, you will receive untold peace and happiness.” Robert Muller

 Only once you’ve put behind you all these things will you be truly happy.

2.  How well have you learned to live in the moment?

I sign off all my emails with the words “Carpe Diem”, meaning Seize The Day.

Many people are bound by their past; either they can’t let go of the things that went wrong or they lament the loss of the good life they think they used to have.  And because they’re always looking behind them, they miss the good things that are right in front of them or with them right now.

Others are constantly looking towards the future, perceiving the future to be when things will finally become good in their life: when I get my next job… after I renovate the house… when I get my new car… once I find the right person…  They’re so busy trying to get a peek around the corner that time whizzes past them and their life disappears before they’ve really lived it.

Live in the Moment!

But if you learn to live in the moment, you’ll be happy with each phase of life you go through.  Because only you, today, can seize the day and change your life.

3.  How well have you learned to love?

Not someone else, but YOU.  Take a good hard look at the man/woman in the mirror and learn to accept yourself for who you are, learn to love your looks, your abilities, the things that are unique about you.  Because we are all wonderfully and uniquely made.

Once you’ve learned to love yourself, you will be in the ideal position to love someone else far better than you and they could possibly imagine.