HOW BIG IS YOUR BUT???????????

No, I’m not talking about your Glutes even though the current trend seems to be building a stronger and shapelier back side. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that as your glutes are the power-house of the hips however I’m talking about your “BUT.” This “But” is the power-house of your ATTITUDE!

            With the start of the “New Year,” everyone will be faced with new challenges and adversities around every corner. The “But” I am pointing out is just how you will respond to those challenges, changes and adversities will that surely come.

            For example, on your job your manager may make demands that seem impossible to get accomplished and are extremely challenging, “but” you say to yourself “I will find a way!” Your financial situation may be in disarray, “but” your attitude is such that you will find a way to make things work and you’ll make the necessary changes to correct the situation without going into debt! Or…you may find yourself a few pounds over-weight after the holidays, “but” you get motivated to begin a consistent healthy nutritional plan and 3 days a week in the gym no matter what! In other words, your attitude begins with your “But.”

            Even in the Bible whenever you see the word “But,” God showed up to change the situation or person allowing for a new direction in their life. And just as the title says, “how big is your but” will make a difference. It must have meaning, purpose and determination.

             Instead of life attacking you, you attack life--- with your big “But”!!

Change

Change.     No, I’m not talking about the change that’s in your pocket or purse; I’m talking about real Change. Change that can alter your life, set you on a new path, or a new course of direction. Nobody likes that kind of change, especially me! But, like it or not, change will happen; it’s just a part of life.

Me and Rick Parker, my Saturday morning workout partner were discussing and trying to solve the problems of the world this past Saturday in the middle of our 4 sets of squats when the subject of change came up. When change comes its all in how we handle it---and once again with me—not so good. ATTACHED are 3 quotes that may help when dealing with the kind of change that you’re not real sure of, or change that can cause fear or even some anxiety.

            So read above---and just maybe it will help you through times of CHANGE!

            By the way------what is your Favorite??

THE 3 P’s

I saw a football player from the University of California with a saying on the front of his T-Shirt that I liked. It read, “The Toughest Team Wins”. Now I realize that particular saying is focused on the game of football, however I believe that it’s also true concerning the game of life. You had better be ready to play every single day! That’s the kind of world we live in today where you have to bring your very best every day no matter what the profession you’re in. No matter if you are a bank teller, warehouse worker, teacher, coach or the president of a major corporation; you had better bring your best to the table every day. Life demands it; however isn’t that the way it should be?

Here’s what I mean. We can’t get better as individuals in todays world if challenges and adversities are not in front of us. I know you’ve heard the saying, “what doesn’t kill you just makes you stronger”. If we want to be a success in this life, whether it’s in the area of being a better father, husband, mother, wife, better in our finances and at our profession we must strive to get better every day no matter what!

To help us along the way, to have that toughness to do battle every day, I like what someone shared with me once, a long time ago, ---and that is the “3 P’s”.

PURPOSE / PASSION / PRIDE

PURPOSE: Life is hard so we must be hard on ourselves, and we do that by having PURPOSE in our life! When you have Purpose you wake up each morning with a little more Zing in your step, a little more energy. You’re looking forward to facing the challenges that are before you even if you are afraid of not knowing what the future might bring—that’s called Courage. The people who are facing Cancer or someone who has just lost a loved one, yes they are afraid and unsure, yet they continue to fight! When one has Purpose they know what they want and that’s to do their best and get better every single day at whatever that goal is that they are trying to reach!

PASSION: What determines your success? It’s not your circumstances; it’s not what has happen to you in the past, your family situations, NO-- what determines your success is YOU! You are the determining factor to either your success or your failure and to help you along the way towards that success is another key component called PASSION! We are not made just to be at home and sit in front of the TV all day and night.-- No we all are on a divine mission and that is to make a difference in this world in one way or another and we do that by having Passion. That’s what separates the haves from the have not’s! The Passion to get up no matter how many times we have been knocked down. To get up again and again and keep going until we reach our desires. Having Passion is what gives us the love of what we do and doing everything to the best of our ability. To keep getting better and better at what we do and striving for excellence comes from the amount of Passion we have! You’ve heard of the phrase. “The Passion that burns inside of You”. Usually that’s in a Love story—and that’s for another article (by someone else), but it’s true! Passion does burn inside of you, it has always been with you—you just have to find it, and when you do watchout, things will happen!

The last of the 3 P’s is PRIDE: No matter what the task before is, one must have pride in what they are doing, or in other words, whatever you do, perform the Task to the best of your ability. Why is having Pride so important? Because we only have one shot at this, this thing called life. Pride is what will help us get through the hard times. Having Pride is the fuel that gives us Purpose and Passion. Without having Pride the Purpose and Passion won’t last. It’s the cornerstone that holds those two together. I’m not talking about acting Prideful that leads to being boastful. I am talking about knowing that the job that you accomplished no matter how big or small, was done with you giving 100% of everything you had to get the job done right. Having Pride will help you fight through and give you the toughness not to give up and to finish strong.

There is also one more ingredient I’d like to add in helping one to find the toughness to endure and continue the fight and to help find success along the way, and that my friend is Faith. What are your Spiritual Beliefs? Only you can answer that but even the atheist believes in something. I do know that the right kind of Faith can move mountains, and can give someone Hope when there seems to be no Hope. And Hope is most certainly what everyone desires and needs today!

So remember what that T-Shirt says when tough times are upon us, and for sure they will be upon us. Tough times are inevitable but Failure, well that’s an option.

“Pray like everything depends on God, but Work like everything depends on you!”

Chip Sigmon CSCS, USAW, CMTF

OVERCOMING YOUR ADVERSITY

Our Fitness and Wellness Programs at Europa are not just about what exercises to do and how to do them or what foods to eat, how much to eat or even when to eat them. “Wellness” covers areas not just from a physical perceptive but also from a mental and emotional, and even a financial perceptive as well. So I thought that I’d change things up a little this week and write on a topic that each one of us is familiar with ADVERSITY!

I started to feel sorry for myself a little this week. After having shoulder surgery I had a case of the blues until my wife just bluntly told me to get my head out of my rear-end (and she used another word besides rear-end). Feeling sorry for ourselves serves no purpose and only draws attention to ME. Yes, we all feel that way at some point in our lives and feeling that way for a day or two is natural--- but the fact is one simply cannot dwell on the situation at hand. If you do it will and can “eat you alive”! You must learn to rise above!

Adversity can come to us from all angles, in many shapes, sizes and it can and usually does hit us from the blind side from time to time. But it’s how we respond to the adversity that defines us and can also determine how productive we are through the adversity. We also have to realize that adversity is a part of life. If you’re not meeting the challenges of life then you’re simply not living. I like the attitude of what strength and conditioning coach and physical therapist Martin Rooney has to say about adversity. He says that if you look at the most popular books and movies you will learn that there is no great story that first does not begin by fighting against large odds. The bigger the odds, the better the story. 

I once heard that history is nothing more than “difficulty defeated by an eventual triumph of enthusiasm”. Life is going to constantly throw obstacles at us almost daily. The key is to take obstacles head on and don’t stop until you take control or even overcome the situation. The mind-set is all about ATTITUDE! 

Whether it’s an adversity with a family situation, an adversity on the job or even a financial obstacle to overcome, it’s the attitude that you take to the battle. You do have a hoice however; you can go the other direction and wallow in your problems and drag everyone else down with you. Yes, there will always be people to help you along the way and they will understand if the world has you down for a while, but you can be an example to the people around you if they see you rise above! Besides, there will always be people who are fighting even bigger battles than you!

Another thing about adversity is what you can learn from the obstacles that are set in front of you. I believe that everything happens for a reason whether we understand it or not. The problems and adversity that we have had and experienced in our lives can be used to help others along the way. And helping others is what life (and Europa) is all about.

So remember that adversity will always be a part of your life. What you do with it is up to you.

Chip Sigmon CSCS*D
Fitness & Wellness Coordinator 
Europa Sports Products