Keri McKibbin Personal Training

Many of us make new year’s resolutions because we think our situation is hopeless, and it can only improve but we don’t know how.

We hate our job, our colleagues, the boss won’t get off your backs, we struggle with our weight maybe, we are depressed, we’re in debt and we’ve tried everything we can do get out of it.

That really deep feeling of having no control and being helpless can lead to a feeling of hopelessness and feeling trapped.

A massive problem with this feeling is that we convince ourselves we can’t get out of it, and we fail to take any opportunities that present themselves daily.

The famous “elephant in the circus” story works big time with this. When the elephant trainer wants to get an elephant he picks a baby elephant, and to keep it from running away he ties one leg to a peg that has been beat into the ground.

The baby elephant is small with little power and after weeks of struggling to escape he finally sees his efforts as pointless and gives up trying.

When the baby grows into a fully adult elephant with crazy amounts of power it will just stand tied to the peg. It has ‘learned’ that it can’t break free and is unable even to recognise that he could just easily break the rope and run off.

This perception of hopelessness is a crippling feeling. It stops the very thing we need to make our situation better – Just like the adult elephant we stand idle, tied down by something that we don’t even realise we have the power to break free from.

We think we are the only ones who feel this way and praising others while never backing ourselves. We don’t make the phone call, apply for the job we want, get into good physical health or arrange the meeting to better our lives – we are certain we will fail, like the elephant is certain it can’t walk away.

It’s easy to see this situation from afar but not when you’re right in the middle of it. It is said we are our thoughts, so maybe its time to practice thinking different. We have the power over our minds, and the power to break free just like the elephant.

Have you ever taken the “Rocking Chair test”?

You are 80 years old, on a porch somewhere on a rocking chair, looking back on your life wondering whether you should have done certain things, taken unbelievable opportunities, changed career so you get to help people more and follow your true calling, taken more holidays to places you were always fascinated with, gone after your true ambitions that would have a massive impact etc.

When you look back at your life, you will realise chasing after a big house didn’t matter, going after a false title or “standing in life” really was a waste of time and you can never buy respect, you need to earn it by your actions.

Chasing money for money’s sake was the most shallow thing you did because it never lasted because you created no foundation and value for others, dining in the restaurants “to be seen in”, rather than eating in the places that really made you happy was embarrassing now etc.

The rocking chair test makes us realise that we should do the things that come from our hearts, to fight for the things that we see as a cause and believe in, to hang out with those we want to, rather than those who we think will advance us “social climbing” standings.

This test makes us that our true opportunities only exist right now and they are only fleeting.

We don’t know how much time we have left to enjoy them so we have to make the most out of every day, to work at our best levels continuously to achieve them, and the real possibility we have each and every day that we can positively impact not only our own lives, but all of those around us too.

New year starts with the same goals as usual for many, but many of them are fake goals. It’s fashionable to be motivated by money, to want to live in a big house that many would be envious, to eat in the “to be seen in” restaurants, to have a “title in life”, to be seen to be doing the right things, to have a job we think others would be pleased to see us doing, the list goes on.

If this is your mission and passion in life, what you truly believe in, then fair enough.

Once you get to know yourself though, and start to like yourself and what you are doing, then you won’t need the constant approval of others to do the things you think you should be doing.

Once you get to know yourself, chances are you won’t need these so called “trappings of a rich lifestyle” because you will discover they aren’t important at all. These things come and go, and if these so called powers are all you have, then once they go you will realise you don’t have anything.

The real change, the real power you can have is doing everything with integrity, finding out what you truly stand for and fighting for it tooth and nail, learning every day so you can master your craft, being true to yourself, learning to know and like what you actually are, and being on a mission to improve yourself every day so the improvement in a few months will be vast, which will only set up further improvements that will enable to go after what you truly desire.

Step 1-You won’t have the energy for this unless you start exercising and eating right. What is one thing you can do every day as a sort of ritual that keeps you fit and ready to go after all of these lofty goals? I’m planning to do my big graig hill 5 times a week to keep me sharp and focused on what i want to do this year, think about something yourself that takes you to another level and sets you up for success.

Richard Branson never set the goal of having over 400 companies and 50 thousand staff. His initial goals, like many business people who start from the bottom just want to get better every day, just a little bit, but continuously.

This creates opportunities as people appreciate your work more.

Serve people well, look after those around you and everything improves.

Care about the people who help you, who support you and more people will always want to get onboard your bus.

Whatever your goals are in 2017, your most valuable advice would be just to try to get a tiny bit better every day, the results will look after themselves, and great opportunities will eventually present themselves to you.