Does anyone else greet unbridled exuberance on a subject with a good degree of British scepticism? You know… the whooping and hollering at conventions where everyone seems as high as a kite on and determined to believe wholeheartedly every word uttered by the speaker,  down to the “(Insert your own number here) Simple Steps to Change Your Life for the Better” kind of thing. Something inside says, “Hold on. That sounds too good to be true.” I tend to prefer something far more nuanced, more subtle than the stand up and smack you in the face approach. Surely I am not alone in that?

There is nothing inherently wrong in either approach. It is completely down to the individual on how the message is received. However, in the world of health and fitness there is very rarely a one size fits all approach that will help everyone. 

And yes, there are exceptions to the rule, but they are generalised ones, such as move as often as you can. Walking is a great example of something that will help everyone be healthier. However, when you have individuals with their own needs, wants, goals, lives, livelihoods, family situations, likes and dislikes, and much more, the approach taken has to be individual.

One general rule that applies to everyone is to change your mindset. The quote at the top of this newsletter struck me as an excellent piece of advice, and a truism that is pertinent to anyone who wants to change where they are or how they approach the world.

Of course it can work in a negative, as well as positive, way, but let’s focus on how to use the changing of your thoughts to change your world for the better.

Hands up anyone who has made a resolution at some point in your life.

In doing so you said to yourself that you wanted to change. 

But what happened then? Did change happen or did it happen for a short period of time, and then there came a slipping back into the old ways of doing things?

For any meaningful change to happen the mindset has to change… You have to change your thoughts. 

When clients tell me that they used to fear/loathe/try to get out of exercise, but now look forward to it – for whatever reason be it giving them more energy, or that they are getting stronger/fitter/leaner/healthier, or that they have increased confidence, or that they can now keep up with the kids/grandchildren, or whatever it is – there is a little dance of happiness that happens with this coach. They have changed their mindset and so are changing themselves, which is awesome and awe inspiring. 

So yes, everyone is an individual and they all require individual approaches to their health and fitness, but it starts with them. The power of change comes from them. It is theirs and theirs alone. It is the Power of One. It is my job to help them see the possibilities and different ways and approaches that can be involved to help them get to where they want to get to, and then to accompany them on that journey, celebrating all the successes along the way.

If you’d like to change but aren’t sure how to go about it, please get in touch for a sensible chat. I would love to talk with you about where you are, your aspirations and how we could work together to get you moving in the right direction.