Happy New Years! (well, almost)

So just to get this upfront, some of you are not going to like this entry. You may take it personally, you may get angry or think I'm being brash and that's OK with me. Just don't expect me to share your feelings. However there may also be some of you who jump out of your seats, point and the screen and yell "BOO YA!".... ok, maybe not that exact scenario. If you find yourself in the later category you probably do not need to read this. Those of you in the first category I would encourage you to read it, get your rage out and clear your head and read it again.

    I was watching a dog training show today that had a family with an overweight dog and a daughter who was so over priveliged she could not put in correct order the importance of her social life and the health of the pet she so dearly wanted. In essence this girl was lazy and selfish and this did not sit well with the trainer who proceeded to promptly inform her of her choices in plain language. Directly after that I watched a weightloss show where families lose weight together through healthy diet and exercise. Same sort of story, only this time it was a mother daughter combo team of excuses. The doctor on the show was not impressed, but shared his feelings with the camera instead of the family. Bringing my point around, I noticed a similarity between the two different sets of people with two different sets of dilemmas. In fact they both used the same phrase, "It's just not that simple." (Those of you who know me at all realize at this point I was interchangeably laughing hysterically and shouting at the TV)

    I have heard this SO MANY TIMES, and for the record my answer to this is Waaaa. In fact, I think maybe we should call a WAAAAAMBULANCE. Now, don't get me wrong, there are several terrible circumstances that happen to smart, hard working people who could not have forseen it happening. These are not the people I am talking about, those people deserve and need help and support. No, the people I am speaking of know, on some level, what it is they need to do to change and simply don't do it. That was the case with the people I saw today. Infact that is the case with many people I have met in person, some I have trained. Lucky for those people I am not the sort of trainer who is unable to face reality (there are lots of them out there), those people I informed were failing, miserably. The wonderful part is that after I informed them 90% of them corrected their shortfalls and were able to go on to success. The other 10% percent fell back into their excuses and carried on without me.

   If you have heard yourself say "It's just not that simple" "I can't right now" or any other variation of excuse I am here to tell you something that will blow your mind and change your life. YOU. ARE. WRONG. Yep, you're wrong, and I will stand by that. I can hear your inside voices right now, "Well I can't fly!" "I can't make a million dollars" "I can't win the lottery". No, probably not, but come on now these aren't the type of things I am referring to. I am referring to goals like weightloss, training a dog, finances and showing up on time for appointments. Things that can make you look at a person and say "Wow I wish I was more like Bob." or "Does Jill ever have it together, how does she do it?" things that bring integrity.

     Here's another mind blower. IT IS THAT SIMPLE. You can accomplish whatever it is you want and the only person standing in your way is you. Remember, whatever your excuse is, work, kids, time, money, there is someone out there with the same challenges who is accomplishing things you only wish you could with no more resources than you have. I spent hours training my dog to come back to me when called no matter what, and he does. But I spent HOURS! Lots of them, I didn't do anything special, I googled "How to train your puppy" and away I went. I skipped out on my favourite shows and couch time but now if a strange dog comes by to play I don't have to worry about him running off. People are astounded by the fact that mid play when I call him he stops and comes to me. I have no special connection with my dog, he's just my dog... I didn't have professional help, I just made a choice. I achieved a similar result with running, I was terrible at running and had zero stamina (I was probably one of the worst runners I have ever seen). But I learnt how to do it and I took the steps (even though they REALLY sucked sometimes and all I wanted to do was quit) and now I can run 5k no problem. I've even grown to love doing races and am thinking about doing a triathlon.

    I am not special, I am an average person (some might even give me a handicap or two, just ask Rob) and I did these and many other things on my own because I wanted to. I fumbled, failed and had to restart many times in my life on many things but always achieved the end goal. The reason for this is when I was done momentarily wallowing in self pity I sucked it up, realized how pathetic that was and kept on going. I have seen many people I've trained do the same thing, some took a little more hand holding, while others had me in awe of their grit. They were all different ages and circumstance, some I even had doubts about succeeding, but they did it!

    I wrote this article to share the frustration I was feeling about several people lately who I've seen excuse themselves from life, both people I know and people I don't for reasons varying from fear to laziness to a family member not supporting them. I am also hoping that since it is New Years and many people make resolutions this time of year, that this blog entry might just give you a kick in the pants you need to really meet your goal this year.

    In short, I do in fact love our dojo family and my clients and want nothing more than their success. But, I also believe in tough love, so here's my closing thought to you my dear friends, when you start to think that there's no possible way to do it.....

Suck it up Buttercup!

-Michelle