Choices

Approximately 20 years ago when I chose to turn my lifelong hobby into a career, I listed two mission statements as my guides: To help as many people as I could to live healthier lives and to help as many people as I could to make this work their career. Because this is the best career possible!

Every day we work with “can-do” people of all ages. Our clients all chose to come to us willing to do what’s necessary to feel better and have more day-to-day energy. These are not people with a “fix-me” attitude. They’re all willing to put forth the effort and self-discipline to improve themselves. There’s no better mindset to look forward to helping everyday. We’re just qualified to guide them so their valuable invested time is safe, efficient and productive.

All our trainers take pride in that responsibility. And we have a great staff of qualified trainers. I’m not bragging; I’m just very, very proud. I’ve chosen our trainers one at a time over the years because we’ve grown steadily by following demand. And, although they were all college degreed and/or nationally certified, I have certain directions I want followed. So their qualifications and knowledge still had to be shaped to my guidelines. In some cases that required a good bit of re-teaching; in others not so much. And even after my input, when I walked through our studios, I almost always saw something that could be tweaked, improved or taught with better cues.

That has changed. That has evolved. I’m admittedly not very good at humility but I’m going to try: not only have our trainers made my oversight unnecessary, they’ve each chosen to take their foundations in some new directions. Directions that are not better or worse but are their choices. Solid, proven paths to the same end: healthier, happier clients with better posture & balance, with more strength & energy and with more comfortable range-of-motion. Being able to make that statement confidently confirms, for me, why this has proven to be such a rewarding career choice. I’m a very thankfulman.

A few months ago a client still struggling with fat loss asked me: “So, how many times have you had to lose weight?” Implying, out of his frustration, that perhaps my personal experience doesn’t qualify me to offer meaningful advice on the subject. While I admit it took me until his next workout to come up with a reply, I reminded him that for many years I’ve made good choicesin my activity levels and in exercising self-discipline nutritionally. Which is exactly what he needs to do.

We all want to make better choices and they start with the little daily ones. For example, you can choose to add a daily walk to your life. And, with no additional research or knowledge, you can choose to stop eating and drinking everything you already know you should cut out. (I’ll even help you with hints: candy, ice cream, doughnuts, pizza, hot dogs, salty or sweet snacks, pastries, chips, crackers, nachos, sodas, burgers, French fries, beer…). See, you already knew that. It’s your choice.
Very soon I’m going to choose another new trainer. We’re still growing consistently and we have to. When I look at our current staff I’m very aware of my responsibility to choose wisely and carefully.

We all can make better choices regarding our health and wellness. You may have some unique obstacles and they may inhibit your progress, but they don’t keep you from making better choices. Then add the self-discipline to follow them.

As a result, you will feel better and you will have more energy. It’s your choice—be thankful you have it.