I just attended the funeral of a good friend’s father. His father died just 4 short months after his mother, most saying from a broken heart.
When you witness such grief it makes you reflect on what truly is important in this world. Like many people, I get lost in my day to day activities, get stressed over “silly” things and often lose sight of what life is ultimately about. I hate to think that it takes these types of events as the catalyst to bring me back to what truly is important.
I made a choice 7 years ago to make a huge change in my life. I quit my full-time corporate job and set out to start one of the first boot camps in Toronto. I was going to do something I loved and hopefully help people along the way change their lives. I have met some AMAZING people along the way. When I think about everyone that has come into our lives at Toronto Adventure Boot Camp, I am humbled. We have made a difference.
There is a common thread that I’ve realized now, looking back at our experiences. Most people come to us wanting to “lose weight”. Most people have the goal because they can’t fit into their jeans or they’re going on vacation and want to get into a bathing suit or just don’t like what they see when they look in the mirror.
We don’t get a lot of people coming in with their motivating factor being “I want to be healthy” or “I want to make sure I can keep up with my kids or be here to play with my grandkids”. Usually the motivation is vanity and while that is fine, it can be a great temporary motivator, it usually falls short of providing enough reason to keep with it.
We are eating and drinking and sitting our way to a shorter life span. And really when you think about it, a life that isn’t as much fun. What happened to getting out a DOING things. I fall into this trap with my kids frequently. It’s easier to sit and watch cartoons than it is to organize an activity or an outing. In taking the “easy” way, I’m cheating myself and my kids of special memories and habits that lead to a more fulfilling life.
I want people to take a look at their life and make a conscious choice about how they want to live it and what they want to experience. You don’t have to feel tired and gross all the time. You don’t have to get out of breath climbing the stairs, you don’t have to eat out of a box. Life is full of choices. Make a commitment to yourself to give yourself the best one possible.
I know today I’m making a commitment to myself, my kids and my husband to change some of my ways. What are you going to do?
