"Finding Fulfillment in Physical Activity" - By Guest Blogger Cathy Sullivan

We all have areas in our life where we naturally excel, and areas in our
life where we tend to struggle. As we enter adulthood (or often well into
adulthood), we begin to understand our strengths, talents, and activities
that we enjoy. Hopefully, for most of us, this is how we determine our
career or livelihood. We also recognize areas in our life where we struggle,
and what we need to do to address those issues.

As health and fitness professionals, most of us enjoy physical activity. I
would say that fitness professionals tend to be more passionate about their
careers than their peers in different professions. After a long week of
work, I choose to unwind with a good long Saturday bike ride, followed up on
Sunday by several hours of running. How is that not everyone’s idea of a
good time?

Unfortunately, I think that this enthusiasm leads many people to believe
that exercise must be “fun”. There is a misconception that if exercise is
not fun for you, then maybe exercise isn’t for you. We all have heard, and
we all understand the benefits of regular physical activity. However, many
people have a difficult time seeing the long-term benefits of exercise when
the short-term effect is often thirty minutes of pain, mind-numbing boredom,
or listening to a constant internal monologue about how out-of-shape, tired,
or uncoordinated you might be.

In order to better understand the mindset of a non-enjoyer of exercise, I
thought about an area of my life where I struggle, and how I address those
issues in order to lead a healthy, fulfilling life. The area of my life I
chose: math. I am horrible at math. I still add, subtract, and multiply
using my fingers. It is a miracle that I survived high school math, let
alone college math. I am certain I will be one of those parents who can no
longer help their fourth grader with their math homework, because that is
where it gets to complicated. That said, I still need to create a budget. I
still need to balance my bank account, plan for savings, and pay bills. I
feel better when I know what I am able to spend, able to save, and have
available in my bank account. While I would prefer to bury my head in the
sand and not do it, I feel much better about myself when my checks clear and
my bank card is not declined.

Do you see where I am going? Exercise may not be fun for you, but my hope is
that it will be fulfilling. You don’t have to be a runner to be an
exerciser. You don’t have to love group fitness to be fit. But I do
encourage you to try many different activities until you find something that
you can feel successful doing. Try a variety of classes until you find
something that “isn’t so bad.” Work with a trainer to put together a program
that addresses your strengths, and the areas of fitness where you would like
to improve. Work out with friends to enjoy the social aspects of activity.
Once you find something and stay consistent, I guarantee that you will see
benefits. Stress reduction, more energy, increased self-esteem, weight loss,
and increased strength are just a few examples of such benefits.

Hopefully at that point, you will then feel about exercise the way I feel
about math. It may not be the highlight of your day, but doing it is much
better than the alternative.


Cathy Sullivan is a NASM-certified personal trainer and group fitness
instructor at Equilibrium Fitness for Women.

MAYBE IT'S MY FAULT

Michael Jordan provides the ultimate motivation with a journey through his legacy that challenges you to look beyond your limits and rise to your potential.

How to be Great

Think of the greatest athlete, musician, artist or business professional
that inspires you. Were the amazing talents such as Michael Jordan, Tiger
Woods and Warren Buffet each born with a special gift of abilities wired
from birth that most of us don't have?

Believe it or not, research is showing that it's not that simple. In fact,
many child prodigies don't go on to major success in the area of their early
gifts. And many of the greatest performers, athletes and business people
never showed any early signs of aptitude.  So, how did they become great at
what they do?

The Research on Great Performance

In 1993, Florida State University professor K. Anders Ericsson and his
colleagues published a paper on 'expert performance' which, along with the
additional studies around the world that it inspired, made some very
interesting discoveries:

*        Nobody is "great" without lots of work. Early aptitude is not a
predictor for greatness in a given field without consistent practice over a
long period of time.
*        The most accomplished people in any field need about 10 years of
hard work before they become "world class". They call this the 10 Year Rule.


Many of these scientists are now saying that "targeted" natural gifts do not
exist at all. You are not born a gold-medal Olympic athlete, CEO or chess
grandmaster. Rather, greatness is achieved by hard, focused work over many
years.

Tiger Woods started practicing golf at 18 months, and was encouraged to
practice by his father. He had been practicing intensively for 15 years
before winning the U.S. Amateur Championship at age 18.

But you and I both know people who work very hard. Many work for decades at
a job or hobby without approaching greatness. Why don't they become "world
class", then?

It turns out that it's not just hard work that is required. What is required
is focused, consistent practice over a long period of time. Something the
researchers are calling deliberate practice.

What Does This All Mean?

We don't have to be born with a special talent in order to be great at
something. We just have to have the desire to constantly improve our skill.
Most people won't go through the long and difficult process of deliberate
practice. But this is what can separate you from the pack. This is what
makes great performance rare: most people either don't believe they can do
it, or aren't willing to do the work to become truly great at their passion.
So ask yourself, are you ready push yourself to the next level?