Fit for Life: Control / Cope / Concentrate
Matt Espeut, GoLocalProv Health +Lifestyle Contributor
Fit for Life: Control / Cope / Concentrate
It's something we can all use in our personal lives as well as out work, because from time to time things don't go as planned, or we lose sight of priorities.
Here's how to goes...
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTControl what you can Cope with what you can't Concentrate on what counts.
In life we can control our attitude, our habits, our work ethic, our actions, words, thoughts, and deeds.
And so, we should control what we can, and do things to the best of our ability.
Our attitude is our outlook on life.
You can choose to have a positive attitude, or you can be negative and find fault with everything that you encounter in life on a daily basis. If someone makes a mistake, we have the ability to control our actions and make a choice to either reprimand them or help correct them in a constructive way.
If we lose at something, we can either hold our heads high, learn from failure, or we can become reactive and irrational.
We CAN control our thoughts, and our thoughts will control our actions.
So, it’s your choice to see the bright side of things, or you can cross over to the dark side when things don’t go your way.
If we choose to be proactive and think ahead, we are less likely to become reactive and irrational when things go wrong.
We can also control our level of success through our work ethic.
We choose to either over-deliver and go beyond what is expected of us or choose to do the bare minimum and “just get by”.
This is a direct result of the habits we choose to instill in our daily routines.
You can choose to hit the snooze button in the morning or be extra productive and jump up from bed.
You can habitually prepare your meals for the day and stick to your nutrition plan, or you can go into reactive mode when you get hungry, and most likely make a poor decision.
Habits can be both good and bad, however, we have the ability to change our habits if we really want to.
Good habits are usually harder to acquire, take more time and, are harder to maintain than bad habits that require less work and provide immediate gratification.
Either way, it’s something that we CAN control, and along with attitude, your choice will set the direction your life will go.
Some things we can't control and so we simply have to learn to cope:
The weather, other people, traffic, taxes, political leaders etc. CANNOT be controlled by us.
How do you cope with a rainy day or a snowstorm?
Do you complain, and walk around saying “this sucks”, or “can you believe the weather?” or do you take it in stride and say “it’s a great opportunity to get my inside work done?”
Because you don’t have a choice on the weather, it’s a useless waste of time and energy to complain.
Again, you have the choice with your actions, words and attitude, so focus on being more positive and deal with the situation.
I learned a valuable lesson from my mother the other day, and it hit me in the face like an open-handed slap.
You can’t change people that don’t want to change.
My mission is to grow and lead a better life, and through this journey, I want to share my learnings and help others do the same.
I wrote an article that my mother took the wrong way.
She was hurt and felt insulted when my intentions were to show concern and hopefully change some of her habits. I want her around for a long time and to feel good while she is here, so I constantly criticize her lifestyle with hopes she will change and turn into this health and fitness aficionado.
Now I realize that won’t happen with my current approach.
During our discussion, she said “Not everyone wants to change. I’m content, and I like my life, and there are other people that do too”. “Just because someone isn’t healthy and wealthy, doesn’t mean they aren’t happy. Some people don’t care about health and success”.
Point well taken.
You can’t change people unless they 1. Recognize that there is a problem 2. Want to change, and 3. Ask for help.
So, moving forward, I will accept this fact, and only offer advice to folks that ask, come to my facility, or read my articles.
I will learn to cope and deal with the things in life that I cannot change and embrace the things I can.
Concentrate on what counts: the things that keep us sane, healthy and happy.
The things that keep us productive, give us significance, and foster family and friendships.
Everyone will have a different prospective on what counts the most in life, however, my prospective is to focus on the things that aren’t replaceable like family, friends, health and life’s experiences.
Everything else in life are just material things that can be replaced.
Money, cars, houses, jewelry, clothes etc. are all things that we reward ourselves with for our hard work.
Money is the vehicle to freedom and can be made and lost quickly, however people cannot be replaced when they are gone, and you can’t buy lasting memories of great experiences.
If you lose your health, you would give everything you own to get it back, so along with creating healthy relationships, creating a healthy mind and body should be a priority.
I concentrate on my health and fitness, staying in touch and reconciling differences with people I care about, and improving my knowledge and life experiences, while helping others improve their situation.
From a member at Providence Fit Body Boot Camp to the high school football team to a friend struggling in business to a family member in need, if I am able, I will help.
If I can or have changed anyone’s life for the better, I feel like I have significance.
Yes, I want monetary success so I can travel for pleasure more, give back, and maintain my style of living, however I know that success is a byproduct of controlling your thoughts, actions, attitude and habits.
Once you get those items in line, the road becomes a straighter line.
Control what you can Cope with what you can't Concentrate on what counts
Committed to your success,
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