If today was the last Monday of your life...

Now I ask you…

If today was the last Monday of your life, what would you do with it?

Would you continue to blame “the man” for your condition?

Would you make excuses time and time again about why you are not where you want to be?

Will you continue to complain about why you are not happy?

Will you continue to work your ass off to make someone else’s dreams come true?

Would you die with a lifetime of regret?

OR …

Will you fight with everything you have to have the life you deserve, even to your dying breath?

Will you use your gifts to help and serve people?

Will you use moments where people don’t seem to “get it” and use that as teachable moments to spread wisdom?

Would you put your head down and work hard day and night to have the life you know you deserve?

Will you build a thick skin to rise above tough times and endure adversity until you overcome it and learn from it and become a testimony and be a better person from it and teach others how to do what you did?

What would you do if today was the last Monday of your life?

A lesson in discipline and focus

I feel really good that after having the flu for a week that I feel strong enough to start exercising again and pick up where I left off. A lot of people started the new year sick and unfortunately, many are still suffering and taking a while to recover. In fact, one of my directors at work recently said that she was sick for like 6 weeks with the flu. I was only sick for about a week. What was the difference between her experience and mine?

I’m not sure but I do know this. Even though I was sick, I didn’t take my eyes off the plan that I created for myself at the beginning of the year. The goal that I set for myself included a health and fitness plan that included but was not limited to calculating my numbers-BMR and calorie needs - accordingly. It also included drinking a super foods shake daily and a workout program to help me become flexible, strong and develop more stamina.

Being a Coach for a while, I knew, intellectually, that this health and wellness plan meant that I couldn’t give into the temptation to start eating ice cream or chips just because I got sick. However, putting this into practice was a challenge. I had to exercise discipline and stick to the plan and eat every 2 ½ to 3 hours even when I didn’t want to and at the same time not exceed my daily caloric intake. More importantly, I needed to make sure I ate what my body needed and not load my meals with crap that would only prolong my recovery. Being sick actually developed an area of discipline for me and proved that while I did get sick, I wouldn’t stay there long. I was focused and committed to getting well and staying on the path to achieving my goals. I didn’t let the flu create an obstacle to my goals, I used it to it make me stronger in other ways that will help me exceed my goals. So even though I had to listen to my body and rest while I got well enough to begin exercising again, I focused on my nutrition so that I could still get closer to be goal and not have it derailed entirely.

I think it is about mind set really. I think the most valuable thing about goal setting that I have learned over the years is when you write them down on paper and you set deadlines that you open up and look at every day, you are more likely to achieve those goals. For me, there is something about putting pen to paper that sets things in motion. Over the past couple of weeks, I have proven to myself that when I make a plan and write it down and look at it every day, I create a discipline that make things happen and I get closer to my goals every day.