I recently heard people talking about some of their personal goals. Some wanted to get in shape, some wanted to work hard on their careers, some wanted to spend more time with their family, some wanted to quit smoking and the list goes on and on.
It got me thinking about what some of my current goals are. Did I want to fight again, grow my business, spend more time with family, get in great shape and stay there? I wanted to do all these things but then it came to me. I wanted to get back to BALANCE in my life.
I think we all need to think about BALANCE. So many times we get wrapped up in life and keep piling more and more on ourselves. We do things we normally don't do: over help people, stop working out, quit activities we like and other things because "We are simply too busy for them."
What I have learned studying martial arts my whole life if that there is essentials to keep you sane and true to yourself.
These areas include: 1. Working out. 2. Eating Right. 3. Spending alone time. 4. Spending time with family, friends, spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend. 5. Positive attitude.
Whenever I have felt the most empty or overwhelmed is when one of these 5 essentials were out of whack. So for this Volt's corner I want describe the 5 essentials to a basic standard of living through the martial arts code.
Working Out
How great does it feel when you get done with a good BLAST martial arts class? You are sweaty, tired and happy!. You feel like you learned things and accomplished something. The feeling inside is unlike any other activity. You have everyone else in class around you feeling the same way as you and me pushing you beyond limits you never knew you could go.
Some of you lift weights on the side or do other activities. How does that make you feel? For me there is no other feeling than a good sweat from an awesome martial arts workout, lifting weights or taking a run. You feel good about yourself. You feel confident and have a have a sense of self satisfaction. Imagine quitting these activities because you are to "busy". You simply can't they are a essential basic need and why quit something that makes you feel good.
My suggestion to people who don't do anything is to get moving. Join my martial arts program, go for run, whatever it is get your body moving in a fitness way so you feel better about yourself. For people who have worked out in the past but stopped for whatever reason. Set time a side 3 days a week for your workouts.
Eating Right
Now imagine feeling good about your workouts and eating right? Eating right gives you the energy to keep up with your daily activities. It helps you lose weight and feel better about yourself. It puts you above the average person because you can control what you eat. It amazes me how many people workout extremely hard but then go eat everything in sight. If you are a person that does this you are totally messing up your workouts.
By eating wrong your workout was worthless because you just put junk food back into your body and over ate. Treat your body right with good food and it will treat you right by showing weight loss, healthy skin, hair and much more. My suggestion for this part is that you get on a good nutrition program and follow it 80% of the time. We have a nutrition plan available at THE BLAST if you would like to learn more about this subject.
Spending Alone Time
Some people have a really hard time with this. Some people simply cannot do things without other people. The fact is that you have to spend some time by yourself without other distractions. Sit down and read a book or magazine, take a run by yourself, go to the gym by yourself, watch TV by yourself. Anything that will make you happy and content to just be by yourself!
I will warn you that this is not a pleasurable experience at first. All your emotions will surface and you will learn a lot about your feelings. Start doing this 15 minutes a day. Think of this like modern day meditation. In the end you will be happy that you spend some alone time to clear you thoughts and make better decisions for days to come.
Spending Time with Others
Now go have some fun with other people. Go out, have a party, have a cookout, go to a movie, do something that is fun with other people. Getting social with friends, family or significant other is super important. You need these people to make you laugh, talk about your problems, believe in you and plain talk about things that have no relevance to anything.
That way you can step outside yourself or your relationship and enjoy other people’s riches. My suggestion to you is that you call someone you haven't seen in awhile and invite them out to dinner or over to your house.
Positive Attitude
This one is the most important essential of the 5. So many negative things come our way day in and day out. It is easy to fall into that negative attitude. I don't feel like working out, i don't have time to spend alone, It takes too much time to make healthy meals, I am sick of all my friends. See how easy it is to fall to negativity!! The fact is a negative attitude can ruin everything in your life.
Try this tactic: if a negative thing upsets you try replacing it with one positive thing. Let’s say for example you lost a sale today at your job, one that you were really counting on. Replace that with, well I have an appointment with someone next week I will make that sale. See negative things build on each other and it becomes a snow ball effect. Try to rise above that and keep a positive attitude towards everything.
I will guarantee this: for every one negative thing that happens to you there is a way to replace that with a positive. Do some research on motivational speakers like Tony Robbins or Brian Tracy. These guys keep your mind on the right track. They show you how to train yourself to think positive all the time.
I didn't mean for this month’s Volt's corner to be such a long article but I think it is important for people to have BALANCE. Try these 5 essentials together and you will see a drastic change in your life. If you feel weak in one of these five areas, step outside yourself and work on improving it. Once you have this BALANCE in your life you will feel much better about who you are and accomplish things you never thought possible.
Good Luck and Good Training. See you in class,
Mike "The Volt" Vaughn