JUST TURN UP

2020 wasn’t all bad. It definitely held some blessings from the lessons delivered along the way.

For me, I took a lot of time being quiet and focused, as I smiled at synchronicity dancing her merry dance across my coaching practice.

I closed out certifications as a goal before I could study anything new. Also, decided to read the books I had on topics I was passionate about, before buying a new one. That’s why I had them on my shelf, right!

Everything I closed out and finished reading has been incredibly valuable to me in shaping my growing coaching practice to be how I want it to be, to coach people with the idea of transforming their hearts as well as their mindsets.

The one area I struggled with, personally, was 100% self-care.

I did so well, each turn of season I’d set Tom and I up for a month of juice cleanses, water-rich foods and no alcohol (lucky Tom!). We ate the most nutritious made-with-love meals from local ingredients and we slept like satisfied babies. 2020 was also my first year of 22 years in Noosa, that I swam in the ocean every single weekend!

Where I came undone, with my self-care, was my physical fitness regime. Start, stop, start, stop… I was watching me do this as a coach, thinking…. ‘really Susan, what is that all about?’.

I’d get in the routine of walking in the morning, as my go-to exercise some of the year. I could always find ways to not do that though.

I’d have a bad end of my night’s sleep, in a menopausal sleep pattern. That’d make me roll over when Tom’s alarm went off at 5am and go into a deep sleep. I’d wake up otherwise to see Tom had messaged me to go meet him for a quick coffee at the river. Yes, course, it’d be my pleasure!

Then I’d just be itching to get stuck into my business day, coaching clients starting from 8 or 9am, so there were things to be done!

Just not exercise though…

I decided I needed to find a new philosophy, shake my mindset up, make a shift in my perceived choices, and not spread my focus far-and-wide with new year goals, but give this one area of my life the attention it deserves as 1st priority.

In December, I looked up a gym program that I’d read about in the newspaper. I’d been impressed by the story of Kate, EFM Noosa’s owner, and her individualistic focus on her members and that made me reach out and join. It has that small class feel, men and women of similar demographics, a coach or PT always there, very qualified, so I know they won’t break me. Variety galore – they set up a new circuit class every single day of the year!

So variety, quality classes and coaches, camaraderie with like-minded members, laughs, sweat then I head off to go home, still with plenty of time to be ready for coaching calls to begin.

Wow, that doesn’t sound like the beast I’d made physical fitness out to be at all!

Part of my new philosophy was about bringing back some accountability to my regime. Having to schedule online first. Know I’ll show as a ‘no-show’ if I roll over and go back to sleep. Also, the gym is shaped around counting and celebrating each member’s milestones. 25 visits, 50, 100, 250, 500, 1000 and the like. Then do the maths to work out how many weeks it will take to achieve, say 250 visits, if I attend 3, 4 or 5 days a week.

Keep it sensationally simple, Susan, remember K.I.S.S., that’s the physical fitness plan!

I started just before Christmas, even though it was incredibly humid: once I’d decided, I knew I just had to start and get past that feeling of heaviness and being clunky and sore from lack of regular movement. I initially started with a goal to get there 3 days a week.

As you go to walk up the stairs to the gym, Kate has posted a sign: “one of the hardest parts is just turning up”. I smile every time I pass it by, because I’ve done that bit… I’ve turned up!

Now we’ve swung into 2021, I’ve set my fitness mantra to be the thing I smile about, that is: “I Just Turn Up”.

So far across January I scheduled 4 sessions a week, 3 in the Aust Day week, and all I have to do is “Just Turn Up”. The rest of the hard work is about following the circuit course for the day, sweating my butt off, and then feeling good, and also sore in one or other place in my body, for the next 24 hours.

From February I would like to build that to be 4 sessions a week minimum, around some long weekends away. A bit like adding it to my list of what health professionals refer to as your activities of daily living really.

Activities of daily living are things of personal care we do every day starting from get up, make your bed, go to the loo, brush your teeth, wash your face, have a shower, get dressed etc.

My start to the weekday is I put my workout clothes on, that I’d set out in a small pile with my shoes last night. I do the quick rounds of feeding the 3 guinea pigs their morning greens; have a good drink of water; grab the towel and full water bottle, my purse and keys; and I’m pulling up to the gym in 3 minutes flat!

Trying to get 100% balance in many areas of your life, all at the same time, I’ve learnt to be a fool’s game.

It sets you up for failure, or self-sabotage becomes very easy, and then you feel like you’ve let yourself down. 1 or 2 focus areas is fine, but not 7 or 8.. I know, because I’ve tried to disprove this many times with multi-level goals, projects, all to be done simultaneously.

All that does, is it overwhelms us. “It” being our ego actually which has this fatalistic approach to ‘work hard, harder, no harder’.

Sorry ego, it’s only me now that sets my goals, how and when I want them. It’s about being realistic and taking baby steps.

The main thing is, as we all know, that we need a lot more energy to get a lot more done, for the rest of our lives. Whether that be the good big stuff or the small necessary stuff.

Trying to prioritise everything, without the energy first, it doesn’t really work.

Energy and physical fitness seem to be a very good place to start. The benefits that I know and feel it gives to my mind, body and soul cannot be counted.

OK, so I know I’m 55 saying that, so why am I only getting started on physical fitness now?

I’m not, it’s there in a sporadic way, and it has always been the first thing I drop when I give myself way too many other things to focus on or stress and worry swamps my life’s boat. As a coach, I know that by breaking those kind of personal agreements with myself, failing to put me first, it slowly chips away at my self-trust and my ability to be, do and have all the other amazing things I want.

For some of you, you have the physical fitness thing under control already. It could be, however, that you have other areas of your life that are important but never get your focus in a week or that you just need to turn up to or to show up a little more in?

What 1 or 2 areas of your life could do with receiving the attention it deserves as a 1st priority in 2021? Where could you JUST TURN UP or JUST SHOW UP even a little more?

Writing this as a post instead of keeping my thoughts just to me and my journal. Just in case you’re out there needing to also come up with a new philosophy, or to shake your mindset up, make a shift in your perceived choices and not spread your focus far-and-wide.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this for you. I’ve added a form below if you would like to share.

Take care,

Susan