“A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.” John Barrymore

If you found out your life was going to be over tomorrow, or next week, or next month – what would you do differently today?  How would you fill the remaining days? hours? minutes?  Who would you spend that time with?  What wrongs would you right?  What chances would you take?

If you knew that so little time remained for you to DO, or to FEEL, or to LOVE, would you spend that time doing the things you are doing right now?  Would you continue to avoid, deny, or neglect the important people, things or opportunities in your life? 

Or would you reach out  and taste, touch or experience new things?  Would you visit exotic places, listen to the sounds of nature, feel the wind tickle your hair or relish the sun as it caressed your face?  Would you comfort someone you had hurt?  Make old wrongs right?  Say thank you for things taken for granted?  Would you stop being afraid and allow your heart to truly soar and to love unbridled until the very end?

As we approach the beginning of a New Year and the season of  “resolutions” I challenge each of us to stop for a minute and reflect on these thoughts.  To pause and to consider how we would really “live if we were dying.”  To contemplate our own personal bucket list. 

What ARE the hidden desires of your heart and the secret longings of your soul?  When you know these answers, once you have embraced the passions that have gone neglected and unsatisfied thus far, then you will finally be prepared to enter the New Year, not with “resolutions,” but rather with a new resolve to live life to the fullest…  to experience no regrets of the things gone undone…  to avoid arriving at the end and left wishing “if only I had ….” 

Sieze the day!  Stop holding back, stop holding out for some day, stop waiting to start your life.  Take a chance TODAY and know that when you get to the end of your race you will be able to look back with pride and say, “I did my best, I found the joy in my life and I have no regrets because I LIVED every moment.” 

“I’d rather regret the things I have done than the things that I haven’t .” Lucille Ball

 Too many times in life we sell ourselves short and believe that an opportunity,  relationship or a goal is out of our reach.  We believe that we are not good enough, or that we are not smart enough, pretty enough, special enough, strong enough ….

To accomplish great things and to rise above the mediocracy that plagues our world, we must raise our eyes upward and embrace our gifts, our strengths, the things within that make us unique and special to the world around us.  We all possess traits that are rare, of value and we all have untapped reserves of strength and ability within.   The challenge is to have find the courage to embrace these qualities, to set our eyes on the goal and to allow our spirits the freedom to soar.  Like J Mac, we too may find that we have the ability to set the world around us on fire and that the most “seemingly impossible” tasks are mere stepping stones to greatness.    

“If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.” ~ Henry Ford

Our thoughts and attitude determine the outcome of our efforts and controlling those thoughts and attitudes allows us to determine our future. But how can we control our thoughts, you may ask? Well, by taking responsibility for the things we allow ourselves to dwell on. We can also channel our thoughts through the following activities:

Surrounding ourselves with positive, happy, encouraging people. 

Reading inspirational books, listening to upbeat music and watching encouraging programs.

Practicing meditation or spiritual activities

Participating in endorphin producing exercises

By feeding ourselves a steady diet of optimism and encouragement every day, we are able to determine the course of our thoughts and to keep our attitude positive. 

Do you ever struggle with negative thoughts or attitude?  We would love to know what things you do to help maintain a positive attitude?  What do you do to reverse the influence of negative people you encounter?

Too often people think a fall or failure defines “who” we are. This is not so – failure’s an event and not a person. We consciously choose the person we are to be and no single event will define the person inside.

Falling is not a failure, one cannot live without falling a few times. Failing to get back up when one falls is the failure. Our life is not defined by the falls we’ve experienced but rather by the way we finish the journey.

How do you plan to finish? Has a stumble in the road knocked you down? Are you actively looking for a way back up?  Or are you already back on your feet and moving forward?  Your future is in your hands – the strength is within you – are you going to finish strong?

Marianne Williamson, in her book “Return to Love,” wrote this:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, “who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?”

Actually, who are you that you are not to be?

You are a child of God. You playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. You are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within you.

It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

So my question for you today is this:  What is your wildest dream for yourself and your life?  What has fear held you back from accomplishing, being or doing?

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU:  What do you think?  How easy is it for most women to “bulk up” by simply strength training as part of a fitness and/or weight loss program?

Why do YOU want to Get Fit?

As mother nature teases us with brief hints of warm weather and as summer creeps slowly near, we begin a full court press to get our bodies in top shape before the warm weather sets in permanently.  The end goal means extra trips to the gym, walks after dinner, giving serious consideration before devouring the fatty food, and the all too familiar mantra, “I promise to look better this year” begins to repeatedly emerge from our panicked lips. 

But why do we go through this annual ritual?  Why does the threat of spring spur us on to accomplish what we have struggled to accomplish the remainder of the year? 

What drives you to make the effort?  Is there a special vacation on the calendar that makes your heart desire to look amazing?  Is it the simple wish to look and feel great while you cheer your children on playing ball?  Or is it maybe an absolute refusal to look bad in a pair of shorts again this year? A wedding?  A reunion?  A new romance?  As you prepare for the spring and summer, tell us what “it” is that is driving YOU to get fit.

The member who are participating in the “New Year ~ New You” Weight Loss Challenge are having a GREAT time in the team relays each week.  In fact, we have members who are NOT a part of the challenge that are sneaking in to join the fun. 

If you have a great Team Relay story or have had a great time with your team members and the instructors, please share your story with us here.

It’s that time of year again – time for 24/7 to begin our much anticipated weight loss challenge

Member’s that have participated in the past challenges know that they are a fun experience.  Previous participants have received helpful tips and strategies for getting a great workout, they have received lots of motivation and support and they have made lots of really great friends.

The members in previous 24/7 Health Club contests were able to boast of truly amazing results, see some examples below:

• Holiday Hotties – Average of 10.52 pounds of fat in one 8-week contest
• “I Lost it at the Club” – Average of 15 pounds of fat in the next 8-week contest
• Biggest Loser – Average of 18.9 pounds of fat in a 10-week contest

We are so excited you chose to participate and we can’t wait to see the results you have at the end. 

• For those of you who have participated in the past - please take a moment to tell us what you enjoyed most about our New Year ~ New You Weight Loss Challenge’s of the past. 
• For those of you who are new, we would love to hear why you chose to join the program and what you hope to gain by participating.

Good Luck to all of you!

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life not life to years. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We’ve done larger things, but not better things.

We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.

Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever. Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side. Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn’t cost a cent.

Remember, to say, “I love you” to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you. Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again. Give time to love, give time to speak, and give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.