Keri McKibbin Personal Training

Your reaction to doubt and adversity is vitally important, and will ultimately save you a lot of time and emotions.

When you get a knock back, get completely knocked down or even out, it’s your response that matters. Contrary to the always positive messages i send out, i usually get at least one disappointment every day, things didn’t work out, opportunities didn’t materialise and now and again get knocked down.

Dwelling on it is our first reaction. Then sitting on it for a few days is sometimes our next move. Before we know it, we are out of motivation to do anything about it, and the chances of coming back strong are filled with doubt and a lack of self-belief we can do anything about it.

The habit of bouncing back is a habit, you have to do something about it that day. However desperate circumstances seem, you must fight back. You must make yourself feel better, and exercise will turn the corner for you quicker than anything there is. It may not solve the problem, but it will put you in a more positive mindset to make better decisions on how to tackle it.

Think of the people around you who RELY on you bouncing back, they really do. They are waiting your next move, your next conversation and they often expect courage from you even when all seems lot.

Whatever your situation, you need to take action now. There has GOT to be a way out of it, there has to be a way that if you just take action now, life will begin to seem better tomorrow, however small in the beginning.

There are many times i don’t want to take the dogs out tomorrow morning, but here’s some truth, i ALWAYS get great ideas on that walk, i always get fresh thinking time, my brain always comes alive on those walks, it is 100% a “has to happen” part of my day.

I know i HAVE to do that walk because a lot of people want me to be fired up every day and bring something new to the table.

Here’s the news, people are depending on YOU, and you will either become that shining light leader for those around you in times of difficulty, or you become the one that sets the domino effect going in the wrong direction which sets off a spiral you really do want.

People rely on you, take decisive action now and move forward and take charge of the circumstances you CAN control.

As the positivity in the gym goes up, you must realise we are part of a bigger and more powerful TEAM and it’s growing at a rate of knots. I have seen so many of you step up the last few months and years, become true leaders, and i mean that passionately.

You have stepped in to have private chats (i haven’t prompted anyone to do that), and made better days for everyone. That is teamwork even if you don’t know it.

You have led by example when those next to you needed a positive role model at times in their day, allowing them to get through difficult circumstances in the rest of their lives.

That’s team work because you’re lifting up those maybe weaker than you emotionally at that particular time, and making a better day for them.

If people have better days, they tend to be in better moods. They are encouraged to do better in all areas of their lives.

This will impact their families, and even work colleagues and their environment becomes eventually unbelievably positive. They then become wonderful role models themselves in time, and make their own teams better.

This is the impact you are ALL having. You don’t realise just how much.

FAST FORWARD to 80 years of age, realise the impact you have every day is something you will become incredibly proud of.

So a big thank you and i’m very proud of you all!

This splits opinion, but is a great analogy, and i don’t even eat them but i hear a ton of gripes on the subject.

It’s about restaurants and why many (if not most) serve frozen chips. They say it’s easier and cheaper than making them in the restaurant, and people “seem to like them”, even if they are often nutritionally deficient and being “partially” cooked, then heated up and doesn’t make them the best alternative for your health.

Some even more upmarket ones settle for this route.

I counter with “If you were trying to spoil your girlfriend/wife with a special meal, and she happened to go down the shop and get a bag of frozen chips, wouldn’t that be a lack of effort? Wouldn’t she be offended?”

So when you go to a restaurant, you expect a bit better? It’s a question they can’t really answer.

The restaurant counters “Well it’s more convenient and it’s “cost-effective”! The conversation often ends like this, more or less i get shouted down and i know not to push it further.

Using these examples, there is no “art” in cooking anymore for some business owners, there is a lack of ambition and to me sets a clear difference between them and the more successful restaurants who have been around for much longer, who still consider what they do as very much artistic, and are desperate to create great tasting and fresher food.

As a gym, i desperately didn’t want become a gym who’s main aim was to sign you up to a 12 month contract, show you around once, and hope you never show up again. I knew this was/is wrong. This wasn’t art, and would explain why many of them don’t last in the fitness business.

The art of training is treating everyone as an individual, dealing with their limitations, recognising their weaknesses, and nurturing them until they become the strong force they were always meant to become.

Using art as a description is right because the thrill of developing something out of nothing is the biggest adrenalin shot you will ever get, and for the person you train who becomes great once they realise they can achieve great things and develops self-belief, perhaps for the first time in years.

Whatever you do, creating “art” is within all of us and we must keep putting it out every day for as long as can to keep our passion alive.

This strategy creates a much better experience for those using it, helps your work create a much better impact, and stops us settling for the “easy way out”, which often make us lose our creativeness, purpose and excitement for what we do.

So here’s how this thing goes.

You exercise, you eat well and you sleep better, and everyone lives happier ever after. Easy yes?

Then the honeymoon ends and your introduction to exercise doesn’t feel so dream like anymore. Other influences come into your life, and your best interests are not often highest on their priority list.

Your mind plays tricks with you. An inner voice starts telling you that “you can’t do it”. A voice says “you don’t deserve this”. A voice says “this maybe not for me after all”.

Your mind is your biggest dictator. Your mind will often tell you what to do, even if it’s not in your best interests. How you handle this battle is key to you being successful or not.

The reality you see every day is what your mind tells you, and if you have low expectations, then expect to have them met again and again.

If you can just concentrate on taking action, making your environment more positive, and grinding your teeth a little bit more to get you through those tough times when you don’t feel like training, you don’t feel like choosing healthy foods, then momentum will develop and this time very much on your side.

Nobody said changing your health around would be easy, especially as many people have had a lifetime of poor choices when it comes to eating right and exercising. It can’t be done in a couple of weeks, but continued positive action will eventually change your life for the better.

Overcoming this stage has a direct relation to your self-esteem and confidence too. Get through this stage and you will have proven you CAN actually do it, and with it will come the confidence for you to set new higher targets that will inspire you even more.