It seems to have been a long time since I wrote a blog post as the weeks have been flying by. Christmas and the New Year have come and gone, and I for one am looking forwards with a sense of optimism to what 2013 has in store.
The last 12-months have seen many changes in my business and personal life, and it hasn’t been without its ups and downs. As always, I have been full of ideas and plans, but at times too scared to take action.
Many of you will have been there……
You know what you need to do, but somehow resistance holds you back. Be it fear of failure, a perfectionist nature, or worries about how others will judge you (I suffer with all three), sometimes it is hard to take that leap of faith.
All too often we find ourselves wishing that certain situations in our lives would change, but seemingly paralysed and unable to acknowledge what is required. It’s not that we don’t know what we need to do, but rather that we dance around with the options, never truly committing to a path.
Instead we stay in our comfort zone, supress our dreams and hopes for the future, and just go on pretending that one day everything will fall into place. The harsh reality is that it probably never will!
Is this you?
Life is not a passive activity, or at least a fulfilling life isn’t. It doesn’t just happen to us. We should not simply be passengers on a train with an uncertain destination. We have to take control of our destiny.
If you are not happy on the journey, then pull the emergency cord and get out!
I finally got to that point around October when I realised that enough was enough. I was past my 40th birthday (mid-life crisis I hear you say), and was suddenly fed up with talking about my dreams and plans, rather than honestly living them.
So, I gathered my thoughts and did the only thing which I knew how, made a phone call. One call led to another, to a frantic few weeks of running around, to a snowball of activity, to where I am now, with my dream business bursting into life.
The last two month’s haven’t been easy. I have spent many weeks working 12+ hour days, dealing with an unbelievable amount of setbacks and frustrations, whilst having to find from somewhere the energy to keep making progress.
In reality, I blocked off all other courses of action. As I started to overcome that resistance which had held me back for so long, do you know what happened? The obstacles which had once seemed so insurmountable suddenly became less overwhelming.
I gained a little bit of traction, and then some more, and before long I was racing headlong towards my dream, with no option but to keep my foot on the accelerator.
So why am I telling you this?
For two reasons I suppose. The first is that we all have those ideas and plans in life which we harbour somewhere deep within our psyche. The types of thoughts which keep us awake at night, raise the pulse rate with anticipation, and recur time and time again in our dreams.
Like me, sometimes all it takes is for you to make the first step, and positive things will start to happen. Inertia needs energy and action to be overcome. Small actions build into larger ones, and before you know it you are moving forwards.
Remember the saying, “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there”.
Don’t be that person. Whatever you want in life, go out and get it…..now! No more excuses, or looking back with the ‘if only’s’. If you are waiting for everything to fall into place, for that right moment, I will tell you now that it will never happen.
The second reason I wrote this today, and perhaps the one which most accurately illustrates my point, is that my new Merlin Fitness functional training and rehabilitation studio will be opening in Christian Mill Business Park, Plymouth in less than a week.
You see I finally listened to my dream, and decided to make it a reality. It has taken me more years than I probably should admit to actually do it, and I can confess now that on opening day everything won’t be perfect (that’s tough for somebody with my character to write).
The painting may not be completely finished, all of the equipment may not have arrived, and the weather may be dire. If the last 12-months was anything to go by then the last one is a relative certainly.
The truth is that I just don’t care anymore. That little voice in my head which whispers to me about my failures will just have to be silenced.
I will stand tall and proud and acknowledge how far I have come 🙂
Merlin Fitness will have so much to offer, not only to the wonderful supporters who have been my clients for many years, but a whole new group of Tribe Members.
The studio is going to have everything from a vastly expanded timetable of Metabolic Magic sessions aimed at those looking for fast fat loss and fitness gains, to cardiac and cancer rehab, GP referral, one-on-one and semi-private personal training.
We have a ton of exciting functional training equipment, everything from TRX suspension trainers, to medicine ball rebounders, Bulgarian Bags, ViPR, Battling Ropes, Slosh Balls, Easytone Steps to Freeform Boards……and a whole host more!
The studio looks like the coolest adult playground which you have ever seen. Long gone are the days where sitting in machines and isolating muscles, or dancing around with very little resistance, is the best way to build a functionally strong body.
For many of you this will be an entirely new way of exercising. With a few simple tweaks it can be made accessible to almost anybody, regardless of exercise background, current health status or lifestyle goals. Best of all it is amazingly effective, whether you want to lose a mountain of body fat, earn your six pack abs, play with your kids without getting winded, or simply move a little easier.
I am also determined that this amazing new group of Merlin Fitness Tribe Members are able to be part of giving something back. When we give of ourselves, so much more comes back in return. My personal mission and ethos in life is inextricably linked to that of my company, and that is to reach out to those who need help. If I can’t give that help directly myself, then I will support those who do.
I looked around for a local charity which I felt embraced those company values, and it didn’t take long to settle on St Luke’s Hospice. I have been extremely fortunate not to have a direct family member who benefitted from hospice care, but I am absolutely aware that at any time that person in need could be a loved one, or even me.
It costs £6.3 million a year to keep the doors to St Luke’s open, and £4.5 million of that has to be raised from the local community.
Giving to a local charity means that it is east to see the results first hand. Like all charities at the moment, St Luke’s Hospice is struggling to reach its fund-raising targets and currently has a deficit. Merlin Fitness and its clients are going to try and help them to plug that gap. I have pledged to raise £5,000 with a series of events over the next 12-months, and much hope that you will be able to help me achieve that goal.
I have already heard from some of you, that for whatever reason you can’t commit to my larger membership packages at the moment. I know it is tough financially right after Christmas, but rather like my need to make the first step to overcome the inertia, it might be that this is the very decision which you need to make to set in motion a real change in your life.
I have added a £45 ‘Associate Membership’ option to keep everyone happy. This will give you access to two Metabolic Magic Classes per week each month (up to 9 classes), but not the specialist, fusion or technique. This will be enough to allow you to see results, and hopefully encourage you to really commit and become a full tribe member.
To sign up you need to visit the class booking page, register yourself on my mindbodyonline site, go to classes and book your first class. You will be taken to a payment screen where you will find the Associate Membership programme under ‘services’, ‘group fitness classes’. If you are not sure which classes to book yet, you can pay for the Associate Membership without booking a class. Simply go to the retail tab, ‘services’, ‘group fitness classes’ and ‘1-month associate membership’. The month won’t start until you book your first class.
Well there we go, that’s another piece of inertia overcome. Having not updated my blog in over six-weeks, I write a tome. I have set a target to be a lot more consistent in my writing, so if there is a subject which you would like me to cover, please let me know.
Your Merlin Fitness Head Coach and Friend,
Beth
