About a month ago I wrote about the new year and how many of us are excited to start off the new year with all of these new "resolutions" that we want to start to improve our lives. In reality, you just don't change your life. I believe you evolve with the choices you make. The time it takes to make your "change" a consistent and permanent habit is a lot longer than most will follow. Something will come up to side track you or challenge what you are doing. This is the first big test of the universe. You must push through the test and realize that what you are doing is so you can be the best you.
So why do you want to change to make your life better? Your "WHY" must be right with what you want to accomplish. If your WHY is not big enough, then you will most likely not stick it out.
Let's look at exercise for example. A lot of folks use better health, better fitness, more exercise, diet, etc. as one of their "resolutions". The reason WHY you want to accomplish that has to be much bigger than you think. There are too many temptations and excuses that will get in the way if your WHY is not big enough.
I want to maintain a fit, healthy lifestyle. I want to do that so that I can live everyday with more energy and enthusiasm for life. I want to stay fit and healthy so that as I age, I will not be as impacted like others and I will be able to continue to do the things that take high levels of energy and stamina. Things that I enjoy doing, like: Travel, hiking, biking, skiing, hockey, playing with the kids, someday playing with grand kids, running races all over the world, volunteer work, fund raising, and ultimately inspiring others to do the same.
I have my challenges to face as well, we all do. One thing I will not allow is excuses. Excuses like: I don't have enough time or I will make up that work out tomorrow. All that means is that it is not a priority in your life. After about 3-4 months you will have lost your enthusiasm to exercise & eat healthier, then you will be back where you were. Which may be where you are happy anyway. You will exercise when you feel like it, be sore and then exercise when you feel like it. You will eat unhealthy and make the excuse that you will eat better tomorrow. It's a viscious cycle.
We are a product of our environment. The habits you practice everyday today will impact your life in the future. You will not know when it will impact you, but it will. Every decision you make will have an impact in the future whether positive or negative. So when you exercise you have to know that you may not know the significant impact for 30-40 years. However someday you will look back and say one of two things:
1. I am sure glad I stayed in shape.
2. I sure wish I had stayed in shape.
Which one do you want to say?
Dr. Kenneth Cooper, he coined the terms cardio/aerobic back in the 60's, said: " it is much more fun and enjoyable to stay in shape than it is to try to get back into shape." How true is that? I have been in and out of shape in my life and I can tell you that as I get older it is way harder to get back into shape. I am much happier and feel a lot better about myself when I am exercising consistently. I call it loving thyself.
So getting back to "resolutions"...how many of us have already used excuses to get in the way of a lifestyle change that we believed would improve our lives? I bet a lot. Think about exercise and how long it takes to make it a habit...at least 6 months of continuous exercise to make it a habit where your body craves it. 6 MONTHS!! Most people think that is an eternity let alone accomplishable. They want a quick fix. I'll work out just enough to not gain weight. Guess what, it will catch up to you in your forties for sure where you start losing muscle mass like crazy. You may not be gaining weight, however all that muscle is turning to fat and you are going backword really fast. You may not realize it until your fifties or sixties, but you will realize it. We all need weight training just to maintain muscle mass as we age.
If time is your hangup, then figure out how to sneak in a 30 or 60 minute walk or workout in. There is always time. Watch less TV or watch while exercising. I once asked one of my mentors if he watched a championship hockey game and he said: "Yes, I rode my bike trainer during the whole game!!" That was very inspirational to me. I tried to do that during a whole game and it is really, really, hard. Do you think he is in great shape?
10 years ago I made the decision to make exercise important in my life. About 5 years ago I got really serious. Then 3 years ago I started getting up even earlier to get in longer workouts when I needed them. Dean Karnazes gets up everyday at 4am and runs for 3-4 hours. EVERYDAY! If he can get up early to workout, so can I. Jenny and I now make sure that exercise & living a healthy lifestyle comes first. Without good health, how can we enjoy everything else?
These are lifestyle choices that are part of life's journey. Make wise decisions everyday and choose that ones that will make a positive impact in your future.
Make the lifestyle choice now! Keep the resolution alive!
To your health and abundance,
Steve Aune
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Mentor
Too often in my life I have reflected on my relationships with other people without realizing the impact they had on me as a mentor. Neither of us probably even recognized what was happening, yet it was. Other times in my life I totally knew that I was being mentored, or groomed, and how impactful it was to me. I am not sure if I fully paid my respects to my mentors at the time, however I will as of this writing.
What is a mentor? Better yet, who is a mentor?
Mentors come in all shapes and sizes. They appear for different reasons. A good mentor will watch you struggle to help you learn first hand, the lessons they are teaching. Mentors support you in what you are doing, challenge you do it better, and prepare you for the results. Mentors push you through "The Dip". "The Dip" is times where you are struggling and the universe is testing your dedication and passion to what you are doing. A good mentor will not do it for you, however they will hold you accountable and tell you like they see it.
The best mentors are not friends. Friends tend to not tell it like it is. Some friends can pull it off, however most will just say you are doing well. Keep it up. When deep down I am looking for something deeper, something a little more challenging to move my past my DIP. I think of my best mentors and they all have different strengths and they all impacted me in different ways, yet they all challenged me to do it better.
As I write this I am overwhelmed with emotion over all of the mentors that I have had over the years, and the ones that I still have. Truly amazing how they have touched my life. I think one of the reasons is that I listened. I modeled myself after what they taught. Not what they did, what they taught. I believe in them. I trust them. Think of all the different mentors you can have...Health, Family, Spouse, Kids, Business, Personal Development, Sports, Spiritual, Friendship, the list goes on and on. Who do you know that could fill those roles?
Then you have to be careful with what you do about what you are being taught. You still have to be YOU. Don't turn into something you are not. This is very important. Read books, however use them to educate yourself, learn, gain perspective, entertain, don't let them be your only belief system. You must figure out for yourself what works, what does not. What you like, what you dislike. What you are good at, and what you are not good at. Be honest with yourself, and truly evaluate yourself.
The most rewarding thing you can do, in my opinion, is be a mentor for someone else. Not your kids, someone outside your comfort zone where you are challenged to be prepared to make an impact every time to talk. You have to be ready to lead by example, every second of every day. You will have to do your own homework as much as they will have to do theirs. Most of all, you have to be honest with them and hold them accountable.
A person could start with Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Great opportunity to get involved, work with some kids, and mentor them to be more than they think they can be. You could also start by what you do everyday. Some people call that a job, or what ever you call it. Volunteer to mentor someone in what you do. Don't do it for monetary purposes, do it because you have something to give. I've written about passion, what are you passionate about, mentor someone in that area. The list goes on and on.
Find a mentor. Find someone who you feel would be able to provide you with honest advise and feedback. Someone who will challenge you, and hold you accountable. Someone who wants to do it because they want to share their experience and teach others. Someone who will tell you like they see it. You may not know this person yet, however if you ask enough people and put it out there to the universe, your mentor may just find you.
As you read this, if you are a little uncomfortable with the idea of a mentor, then you need one more than ever. As you read this if you don't think you need one, then you most likely need one more than ever. If you already have a good one, keep em!
I owe the thoughts on this topic to my good friend/mentor Chanda! Thanks for holding me accountable!
To your Abundance Attitude,
Steve Aune
What is a mentor? Better yet, who is a mentor?
Mentors come in all shapes and sizes. They appear for different reasons. A good mentor will watch you struggle to help you learn first hand, the lessons they are teaching. Mentors support you in what you are doing, challenge you do it better, and prepare you for the results. Mentors push you through "The Dip". "The Dip" is times where you are struggling and the universe is testing your dedication and passion to what you are doing. A good mentor will not do it for you, however they will hold you accountable and tell you like they see it.
The best mentors are not friends. Friends tend to not tell it like it is. Some friends can pull it off, however most will just say you are doing well. Keep it up. When deep down I am looking for something deeper, something a little more challenging to move my past my DIP. I think of my best mentors and they all have different strengths and they all impacted me in different ways, yet they all challenged me to do it better.
As I write this I am overwhelmed with emotion over all of the mentors that I have had over the years, and the ones that I still have. Truly amazing how they have touched my life. I think one of the reasons is that I listened. I modeled myself after what they taught. Not what they did, what they taught. I believe in them. I trust them. Think of all the different mentors you can have...Health, Family, Spouse, Kids, Business, Personal Development, Sports, Spiritual, Friendship, the list goes on and on. Who do you know that could fill those roles?
Then you have to be careful with what you do about what you are being taught. You still have to be YOU. Don't turn into something you are not. This is very important. Read books, however use them to educate yourself, learn, gain perspective, entertain, don't let them be your only belief system. You must figure out for yourself what works, what does not. What you like, what you dislike. What you are good at, and what you are not good at. Be honest with yourself, and truly evaluate yourself.
The most rewarding thing you can do, in my opinion, is be a mentor for someone else. Not your kids, someone outside your comfort zone where you are challenged to be prepared to make an impact every time to talk. You have to be ready to lead by example, every second of every day. You will have to do your own homework as much as they will have to do theirs. Most of all, you have to be honest with them and hold them accountable.
A person could start with Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Great opportunity to get involved, work with some kids, and mentor them to be more than they think they can be. You could also start by what you do everyday. Some people call that a job, or what ever you call it. Volunteer to mentor someone in what you do. Don't do it for monetary purposes, do it because you have something to give. I've written about passion, what are you passionate about, mentor someone in that area. The list goes on and on.
Find a mentor. Find someone who you feel would be able to provide you with honest advise and feedback. Someone who will challenge you, and hold you accountable. Someone who wants to do it because they want to share their experience and teach others. Someone who will tell you like they see it. You may not know this person yet, however if you ask enough people and put it out there to the universe, your mentor may just find you.
As you read this, if you are a little uncomfortable with the idea of a mentor, then you need one more than ever. As you read this if you don't think you need one, then you most likely need one more than ever. If you already have a good one, keep em!
I owe the thoughts on this topic to my good friend/mentor Chanda! Thanks for holding me accountable!
To your Abundance Attitude,
Steve Aune
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
