How has your week been so far?

These past couple of weekends have been filled with concerts, road trips and, construction, lots of work and a leeeetle bit of R&R.
I definitely needed that little bit of relaxation with my family.
One of my coaches, Todd Durkin, always reviews his week and sends it to us. It has inspired me to do the same. It helps PRIORITIZE goals and get done what is going to be MOST important. I like to focus on my 3 "Biggest Rocks" that I've set out for the next 90 days. Jim Rohn always said, "If you have more than 6 priorities, you don't have any." That has helped me over the last 2 years to become more focused on what is important to me during the next 90 days. It has also helped me get out of the "Perfectionist" mindset. I was listening to a great podcast the other day and the lady called herself a "Recovering Perfectionist." I thought that was brilliant! Being a perfectionist has prevented so many things from happening and taking action because I wanted to "get it perfect first."
 
Todd calls these WLAG's.
Here are my WLAG's for the last few weeks.
                                           
WINS:
4th of July camping trip at Spring Creek Ranch
Family time road trip with Joey and Sophie
Family time BBQ
Construction began for our remodel in Sophie's new room
Pit tickets (thank you David!) for Rascal Flats. Great to see them up close and with my "sister" LaRee.
Darius Rucker (thank you Phil!). Great to enjoy a jam session on a cool evening with LaRee.
Rode Trip to Denver for Steven Tyler. Aerosmilth has been one of my all -time favorites and Joey got us tickets for our 11 year wedding anniversary. Had lunch with my childhood friend and her kids at The Coffee Cup. Our moms were best friends for over 40 years! My parents used to own The Coffee Cup when I was little and it was my first job at 6 years old making donuts. I'm sure some child labor laws were broken back then! Reminisced where I grew up and where my mom later worked at The Clothesline.
LOSSES:
Food. Didn't take anything with us on the road trip and we ate whatever. Needless to say, we felt gross. But that's ok, I'm back on track eating for "healthy bodies" as I tell Sophie.
AHAS:
I love road trips! I always have but it's been so long since we just got up and went. It's been great getting out camping and headed out for a day or two to disconnect and relax.
GOALS:
Many goals for Finally Fit but priority is hire part-time trainer and admin (I'm officially at capacity and we cannot grow anymore unless we hire! If you know anyone they can check out this link here)
Personal: continue to workout 3-4 days per week, stay consistent with ProCoach, no gluten or dairy.
 
What are you WLAGS for the week?

Great Advice from Precision Nutrition: Celebrate small wins this week.
The little voice in your head might tell you that small wins are stupid or inconsequential. Ignore that negative little voice.
Notice and celebrate your successes, no matter how tiny.
Remember that anything more than 0% is a win.

Keep it up!

We are one month into the New Year so far, how are you doing?

This is usually the time when we our New Year’s resolutions tend to drift away or we begin to fall back into our old habits. Our negative self-talk might be creeping back in or as we work on ourselves, we’re noticing the other people who seem to be falling into negative thinking habits. Or perhaps those negative thinking habits were always there, but now you're starting recognize it and wanting to pull away from it. As much as we may want to be positive all the time, negative is normal. As Jim Rohn says, “You must learn to handle the negative. Don’t ignore it, don’t live in it or dwell on it, but you must handle it.”

Jim Rohn talks about the Attitude Diseases that hold us back and that “one week of neglect could cost you a year of repair.” So, what are these attitude diseases we need to be on the lookout for and what's one step to handle it?

Indifference- the shrug of the shoulder, drifting, or the mild approach to life. Jim says “you cannot drift to the top of the mountain. We get going for two reasons: inspiration and desperation. Which one or perhaps both, will lead you to your success?"

Indecision- this is mental paralysis. A life full of adventure is a life full of many decisions.

Doubt- is like a plague, especially self-doubt. Become a believer in yourself. The understanding of self-worth is the beginning of progress.

Worry – is devastating that can cause family problems, health problems, and financial problems. Give it up. Who needs it? It’s not easy to give it up, but it’s worth it.

Over caution- timid approach to life. “What if…” is language of the poor. Everything you do and even don't do is a risk. Jim says, "It’s all risky, so give it a go. Don’t ask for security, ask for adventure. It’s not important how long you live, what’s important is how you live."

Pessimism- trying to figure out what’s wrong, looks for faults and is delighted when they are found. Looks out the window and doesn’t notice the beautiful sunrise, instead notices the specs on the window! Jim says, “Poor thinking habits keeps most people poor. Every day stand guard at the door of your mind."

Complaining – crying, whining, and griping. Jim says, "It’s a waste of time. Every time you spend 5 minutes complaining and you’ve just wasted 5 minutes of your life."

Bottom line of what Jim Rohn says is “Learn to put everything you’ve got into everything you do.”

“The strangest secret is that we become what we think about most of the time.” – Earl Nightingale

This week’s fit tip reflects on our Core Value #4, “Get your mind right, take action.”

Napoleon Hill said this: “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” This is absolutely true and you must also work at it, you must take action. How do you get your mind right? Where do you start?

Jim Rohn asked these three questions:
What makes life valuable?
What makes life worthwhile?
What makes life work well?

....and then of course What would you fix?

We get so caught up in everything that we have to learn, do, accomplish, what isn't done yet, who did what...but when we come down to it, does all of that stuff even matter? Will it make a difference? How do you filter and prioritize it all?

JIm Rohn explains, "there is usually about a half-dozen things that make 80% of the difference." These make up your own personal core values and helps you take action on what is really important. This will help prioritize your "to-do" list and actually shorten the list down significantly because you're gradually weeding out what wasn't that important to begin with.

So in this week’s fit tip, use these questions above to help shape what’s important to you in all aspects of your life. What are the half-dozen things that are important in your life? Write them down so you have a clear picture to get your mind right. Think about the information you already have, that you have already learned to improve your health, fitness, nutrition and lifestyle and take action on it! One step at a time, take action!

This week I had planned on writing about something compelling like philosophy and secrets to life change. Sounds exciting, I know! But then last night I learned that one of my favorite musicians passed away, Mr. Glenn Frey from the Eagles.

There is so much that we could learn from music. Good quality music. Unfortunately that just isn’t what this new generation seems to be producing. My opinion of course, but nothing really gets me fired up like good ol’ rock and roll. I was fortunate enough to see the Eagles play in ’02 at the Pitt and then again at the Pavilion in ’04 and I must tell you it was AMAZING!!

This morning Joey and I dropped Sophie off at school and headed to Starbucks. We’re out of our NM Pinon coffee and thought we’d utilize our Christmas gift cards! Anyway, I plug in my Eagles Greatest Hits album and crank it loud. Joey comes from a different genre of music and has yet to fully appreciate the sheer awesomeness that “classic rock” has to give. I crank up “Already Gone” and “Take it Easy.” I realize then that what those lyrics Glenn Frey is belting out must be shared for you to ponder, dream, and take action on…

This excerpt from “Already Gone,” is my most favorite Eagles song, ever.

Well I know it wasn't you who held me down
Heaven knows it wasn't you who set me free
So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains
And we never even know we have the key

That little excerpt alone pulled me through some rough patches in my life. I would play that over and over. How compelling is that? “..and we never even know we have the key.”
You have the key to break through, unlock, and release yourself from whatever it is that holds you back. It’s not the other person for you to blame your circumstances on. People are going to do what they’re going to do.  It’s up to you how you’re going to respond to the situation.
 
And then of course we have “Take it Easy.”

Take it easy
Don't let the sound of your own wheels
drive you crazy
Lighten up while you still can
don't even try to understand
Just find a place to make your stand
and take it easy
We may lose and we may win though
we will never be here again
so open up, I'm climbin' in,
so take it easy

I think that speaks for itself don’t you?

Do what you love, love what you do. Love the haters and be forever grateful for those who’ve continued to be by your side and believe in you. “Just find a place to make your stand and take it easy. We may lose and we may win though we will never be here again...”
 
What drives you? Is it music? Motivational speakers and podcasts? Spiritual? Perhaps a combination of it all? What are the quotes or lyrics that keep you going on your path of success?

This weeks fit tip: take your favorite quotes and put them somewhere you can see them everyday. Maybe some post-its on your mirror or the refrigerator. Perhaps create a vision board of what you'd like to achieve, places you'd like to travel, or even for your career path. Keep that somewhere you can see it each day to remind you what you're working so hard for.
 
Take it easy

We're a couple of weeks into the New Year, how are things going for you? Have you made any resolutions or intentions yet?  Are you sticking to the intentions you made for yourself? Are you having trouble planning something out? Perhaps you haven’t given it much thought and you’re content with your life as it is. If that’s you, this blog post may not be for you, and that is OK.

Last week I mentioned my list of things that I am NOT going to do so that I can do what I want and need to do for myself and my family. Certainly a different way of goal setting but I’m not afraid to try something different as long as it fits within my core values.

It is with great pleasure to report that last week went extremely well. This isn’t to say that everything went perfectly. There is no such thing and you have to be willing to think on your feet and adjust accordingly. More importantly, not to let the “perfectly planned” schedule upset you or even control you when something doesn’t fall into place. As Darren Hardy says “you control the day, don’t let the day control you.”

As productive as I was last week, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself relaxed and even dare I say, FREE! Not stressed, not anxious, not worried, not overwhelmed or even exhausted like I usually am. RELAXED AND FREE!! I followed my schedule, my list of “to-do’s” that I created for each day.  Not only did I complete said list each day, I completed my own workouts and was able to have the weekend at home taking care of things without having that hankering feeling of having to work. For the longest time, when I was at work, I wanted to be with my family. When I was with my family, I had a hard time not thinking about work and what needed to be done.

Now, I’m not sure if you have that same problem but for me, it was a constant battle with myself internally. I am a workaholic. I love to work. I work about 50-60 hours each week.  I love to be “busy.” Somewhere along the way though, being “busy” took the place of being productive. I really had to take a look and track my day and see where I was losing the most time. Most of the time lost was spent on things or even people that didn’t align with my core values. For me, everything goes back to my core values and I had to make that choice, that conscious effort on what and who I am going to spend my time on.

So, how can this help YOU?

Simply, CHANGE BEGINS WITH A CHOICE.

What is it that you are wanting or perhaps even needing to change? How long have you been wanting this change? How much longer are you going to wait?

As Darren Hardy says, “your choices become your behaviors. Behaviors repeated become habits. Habits compounded over time become your life.”

The bottom line is, nothing will change for you until you change; until you make the CHOICE and daily steps to create that change. I’ve been working on this change of mine for quite a few months now. It’s not perfect and it didn’t happen overnight, nor will it continue to be “fixed” in one day. But I am seeing and more importantly feeling the difference in my life each day I practice it. No matter what it is you are seeking to change, success happens in baby steps. One step at a time.

Create a vision, listen to your inner voice, your spirit. Exercise your mind and your body. What do you want to practice more, learn more, and BECOME more?

As my mentor Todd Durkin says, “Dream big and be the best version of yourself this year!”
 

Happy New Year!! This is an exciting time for many of us who like a "fresh start" or to "get back on track." Do you make New Years Resolutions, have some type of goal setting routine you do yearly or perhaps you're not really into making any type of resolutions but perhaps being more conscious about the choices you make?

I have one fitness goal for this year but it's nothing I'm going to scream to the world about or make it my declaration. It's been several years since my last showing and I intend to compete again in July. I'm looking forward to the challenge again and more importantly, who I'll be sharing the stage with. The end goal of being on stage is exciting, but as I mentioned, it's not my declaration, my New Years Resolution.

What is exciting for me is the STEPS I have in place for this coming year.

I sat down over the holiday break and planned out my first 90 days of the year. I always have a packed schedule and have good intentions to stay on track but, as most of you may know, if I don't write it down, I will forget.

Jim Rohn says "don't trust your memory, you've got to keep a journal for ideas, dreams, better thinking habits, your experiences..."

Usually I brain storm all the things I want to do, places I want to go, people I want to see...This year was quite the opposite. I planned out what I don't want. Darren Hardy describes making a list of non-negotiables. What are the things that you will NOT do or let interrupt your goals.

I made a list of my non-negotiable boundaries that are truly important to me:
1. My time with my family is sacred and I will not allow any distractions, interruptions or negative energy.
2. My workouts are my relaxation time and will not be interrupted.
3. My weekends are off limits after 12:00

It really comes down to time. As Jim Rohn says, "time is more valuable than money. You can always get more money, but you cannot get more time. "

One of my mentors, Todd Durkin, describes and lays out his "mellow yellow" time. He's talked of this for years and I used his method to plan out my 90 days. It is so simple and when I applied that method, everything else fell right into place to complete my 90 day calendar and to achieve what I DO want.

So in this week's fit tip, ask yourself, what are your non-negotiables? What are the things that you aren't going to sacrifice to achieve your goal? Or perhaps, what are the things you've been sacrificing already to achieve your goal and you're going to rectify that? Or, what are you NOT going to do to start heading in the direction you desire?

Cheers to very happy and healthy New Year!

This week’s fit tip comes from the inspiration of Jim Rohn who said this

“Each person’s philosophy is the major factor in how their life works out. Your philosophy is formed by personal experience. You have to pay attention and learn from that personal experience.”

This is perfect for our Core Value #3 “Constantly learn, always improve.”

I will always be a student. I love learning and trying improve ways to help our clients achieve their best through our custom fitness and nutrition programming. Every experience is something I learn from to either improve the lives of our clients, our culture at Finally Fit or improve my own life. It could be as simple as adding a different technique or approach to someone’s fitness or nutrition program or letting something or even someone go that doesn’t fit into our overall vision and Core Values.

In the early stages of Jim Rohn’s life, his mentor asked him “how are you doing?” Jim responded “not very well” and his mentor simply replied back “well I suggest you not do that anymore!”

So in this week’s fit tip, think about this: are you willing to be coach-able? Are you willing to honor progressions, principles and technique? Or do you always have to be right, argue and need to have the last word, afraid to take risks, comfortable in the situation you’re in, need approval from others, or have difficulty receiving feedback?

If you are willing to be coach-able, honor progressions, principles and technique, you already have the success mindset of our favorite Core Value.

I have made many mistakes in my life from business, how I respond to something or someone, my own fitness journey, time management, etc... I can never regret any of these things or wish I had done things differently. I firmly believe everything happens for a reason. I have to learn from those things to improve my life and the lives of those in my trust and inner circle. What can I learn from this experience, this person, this mentor, to keep moving forward? 

As Jim Rohn says, “If your philosophy is right, your results will be right.”

This week’s fit tip comes from the inspiration of Jim Rohn who said this:

“Success is something you attract by the person you become.”

This ties in nicely with our Core Value #2: Have only good days and great days.

I firmly believe any day on this earth is a good day. What you do with it after that determines if it becomes a great day.

Are you able to have fun and a sense of humor? Do you have an attitude of gratitude? Are you willing to be coach-able to learn and improve?

When we stick to only good days and great days, it makes for anything that gets thrown at us a mere shift in the sail that we have set. We have the power to change the direction of our sail and we have the power to not let negative people into our minds or determine how our day is going to go.

Jim Rohn says this “if you will change, everything will change for you. If you don’t change, nothing will change for you.”

So this week’s fit tip, think about what steps you can take to leave that bad day at the door and become the successful person you want to be. What is one thing you can work on or even change to set your sail in the direction you want to be successful at?

It's time to achieve your best and Recommit to YOU!

This next series of fit tips come from the inspiration of Jim Rohn and from our very own core values that we not only live by, but every business decision is based off of our core values.

Until very recently, I had 12 core values on my list. Then I started studying and learning from the great Jim Rohn and he says this: “there is usually about a half-dozen things that make 80% of the difference. It’s not exact, but you’ve got to keep looking for the FEW things that make a difference and spend your time on THOSE things. You may know 1000 things, but you’ve got to sort through all of that information and boil it down to what’s important to you.”

As I was going through my 12 core values, it was easy to chunk it down to the 5 that really matter most in my life.

This week’s fit tip is from our Core Value #1:

If you’ve ever seen the movie Wedding Crashers this is Rule #76: No excuses, play like a champion!

How does this relate to fitness and nutrition?

I am in charge of what I eat. Period. I have no one to blame but myself if I am eating an entire bag of chips. I have no one to blame but myself if I didn’t make the time to work out.

How much time do you spend on social media each day?
How much TV do you watch each day?
Do you seem to be helping everyone else every day except yourself?

I’m giving you permission to say no to the things that are hindering your health and fitness. Stay true to yourself, your integrity, and the responsibility you have for your health. Don’t neglect it.

Jim Rohn stated “neglect starts as an infection and becomes a disease. One neglect usually leads to another.”  We all have the same 24 hours in each day. We all have a million things that need to get done. It’s what we really put as a priority that makes the difference.

So in today’s fit tip, look at how honest you are being with yourself. Evaluate your time and take responsibility for your time. Look at where certain things can be removed from your daily habits. Your outcome is from the collection of your responses to everything that has occurred in your life. Once you clean up all of your neglect and avoid making excuses, you will find your results!

If you are ready to achieve your best and take your fitness and nutrition to the next level with our Custom Exercise Coaching and Precision Nutrition program, be sure to email me at [email protected] and we will schedule your complimentary fitness and nutrition consultation!