Slow down to accomplish your goals

Charlene Circele

“Busy people leading busy lives” seems to be the mantra of life in America today.  People, especially women, pride themselves on being able to do many things at one time – they can often rattle off a list of the things they’ve accomplished in amazingly short periods of time by doing several at once – talking on the  phone while emailing, for example.  Talking on the phone while driving is almost universal – and guess what?!  A recent study done by the University of Utah found that drivers talking on cell phones actually take LONGER to get to their destinations! 

“There is more to life than increasing its speed” is a quote from Gandhi that offers a great insight into what life is really about.  If you take the time to slow down, you will actually find that you have more time than you thought – time to be with your family, friends, actually pursue a hobby, or whatever it is that makes you feel good.

I have a perfect example from my own “former” life.  I worked for many years as a salesperson in the “garment center” in NYC.  Anyone familiar with the garment center knows that the pace is hectic, stressful, and demanding.  I often dreaded going into the office when I knew I had a lot of work to do, because once the phone started ringing (which was immediately), I knew my day would be spent “putting out fires” and none of my “real” work would get done. I usually worked 12 hour days; often not getting home until 8 pm.  But one day, before I left the office, I took out a yellow pad and wrote down all of the projects that needed my attention.  I listed them in order of priority, and the first day of my experiment, I actually had 2 pages of things to do!  I vowed to go down the line and complete EACH task before moving on to the next.  If it was something that required input from someone else, I would do my part, pass it on, and then when it came back it would go back on the list.  I kept going down the list in the order of their priority and didn’t go to #4, for example, until #3 was completed.  After a few days of settling in to this pattern, and learning how to cope with interruptions, I found that some days all of my work was finished before lunchtime!!  I sometimes had to make “busy work” for myself in the afternoon so my boss wouldn’t think I was slacking off!  It was amazing.  I was able to translate that into my personal life, and now, when I have to clean a closet, the closet gets cleaned before anything else that wasn’t my priority. 

Now, I know that things come up.  Kids need attention.  Phone call from work.  Dog just ran away…etc. 

So, when stuff happens, simply redirect your attention for whatever time it takes and then get right back to the task at hand.  Even if it’s tomorrow.  Don’t allow a simple detour to throw you off your game.  Stick to the plan.

Life is indeed a journey.  Don’t miss it.  Learn to live in the moment and find joy in all that you do.

One thing at a time.

Why We Have Mirrors

 Michael Bronco

Charlene makes such a great point in her lead article that I want to follow it up with a few thoughts on how to apply her advice to your fitness program.   Over the years, folks have asked, or at least commented in one way or the other, about the vanity of mirrors in a gym.  "Do people really like to look at themselves that much?" is one of the more common questions. Particularly in a gym like ours which has wall to wall mirrors. 

But vanity is only part of the reason.

Real gyms have mirrors so that one can focus on the task at hand.  I'll say it again: focus on the task at hand.  What an experienced weight lifter knows is that seeing the muscles in action is critical to achieving results.  It helps to make the connection,  so that the mind and the body work together.

We use mirrors to check for balance and symmetry so that the body is performing the way that we intend it to.  In time, one can feel this balance without seeing it.  So, basically the mirrors are a training tool in themselves.  Often times a trainer will actually look at a client in the mirror because the distance allows for greater perspective.  For example, we can stand right next to a client and check for shoulder height and foot position at the same time without being all the way on the other side of the gym.

Now, of course there is no denying that mirrors and vanity go hand in hand.  But like Charlene says, if you stay focused when you do your work you'll achieve more.  And in the gym that means you'll get more results

And when that happens, the mirror isn't such a scary thing!  You may actually like what you see...

See you at the gym,

MB

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