What a year so far!

I don't know about you, but 2021 has been just as challenging, stressful, exhausting and eye opening as 2020. I am in my last couple of days at my brick and mortar location before moving my business back home - where it all started about 6-7 years ago.

I have been in the fitness industry and working as a personal fitness coach for about 20 years now, but about 6-7 years ago I start doing small group training in my home studio with 5-6 people. When an opportunity came up for a brick and mortar location just over 3 years ago I jumped on it.

The family was tired of clients coming and going, I was tired of kids always interrupting when I was with a group or a client and the running up and down the back hallway above my studio. So it was time.

After 3 years and 3 months in my brick and mortar, the landlord and I couldn't see eye to eye on a new lease agreements so back home I go. To keep a positive mindset has been challenging. I have learned to roll with the punches A LOT more in the past 16 months. I have learn so much about recording video, editing video, compressing videos and so much more with being more online with my clients and future clients.

So how as your 2021 been? Is life just as crazy, busy, hectic, and stressful? Do you feel a bit beat you down? But here is one thing I have learned, that our perception is our reality. So, if we see AND think our lives are too stressed, too tough, too hard, and too negative they WILL be all of those things.

But what if I told you that you have the POWER to change all that or at least change the way you look at these things. I am going to share with you 4 quick, easy, effective ways to mentally get out of a funk and into the mindset of a healthier, happier, more positive person.

Step 1 – Laugh out loud: smile, giggle, laugh, I know it sounds simple and basic but happy positive people smile and laugh daily. If you are a more serious person by nature try just smiling at one stranger per day or watching an episode of your favourite comedy or movie clip that brings a smile to your face. I would say even go as far as texting, emailing, calling a friend who you know is a good for a laugh. Sometimes this can change your whole day in an instant.

Step 2 – Move your body daily - exercise is important as we all know, and I am not telling to go join CrossFit, or become a Zumba instructor, but you need to move around. Find something you love to do and do it a lot, find that activity that you look forward to, that calls to you - bowling, hiking, running, doing cannon balls into your swimming pool for 20 minutes – this can literally be anything you look forward to do doing. Motion creates emotion and every positive emotion, so get up and get moving.

Step 3 – Let Negative thoughts, ideas, events, and people go. Holding onto grudges or having hard feelings and thoughts towards others is just poison to yourself and the sooner you can let it go the better. Life is short and you don’t have time to waste on things in the past or waste time on things you can’t control. Negative people live in the rearview, while positive successful people live in the now looking forward to the future.

Step 4 – Positive Language – I know it sounds weird but just by changing the words we use in our daily lives can change our mindset. Think about it when someone asks you how are doing today? Most people reply with “I am ok” or at best “I'm good” - just “ok” or just “good” is not good enough. Answering with things like “I am awesome”, “I am doing amazing right now and it will only get better” as weird and as over the top as it sounds it makes a difference.

Often times it is these simple phrases, these affirmations, we tell ourselves that shape how we see, act, and play out our days. If I am constantly saying “I am ok” odds are my days are eventually going to play out just “ok”. So look at your daily language and see what you can change.

How you greet people in the morning, in the evening, on the phone, how you sign off emails, texts and so on. It’s these little words we use to describe our days, moods, events, that shape our views of our life. So, if you have the power to shape it, why not go out and shape it in an amazing way.

So no matter how your year, month, week or day is going, my challenge to you is to NOT waste it in a negative mindset. Clip that in the bud NOW, and reframe it as soon as you see it. It will take practice like anything great in life, so be consistent and patient with your efforts .