I can't believe it, it isn't even December yet and I am already being bombarded by people telling me to start writing my New Year's Resolutions, now.

What is it about the end of a year that makes people decide they are miserable and failing and have to change their ways?  I even had a client tell me today, that he had to get his act together because it is going to be different in 2010.

Just because 09 is coming to an end, is everything going to magically start to fall in place for you in 2010?  It doesn't work that way.

In fact, the whole goal setting theory doesn't work for the majority of people.  The goal setting process works great, it is the goal setting that is flawed. 

Let me explain, when I first began my business I took a basic marketing class and they asked me to set the goals I wanted  for my business.  They gave me 5-10 minutes to do it.  I set 2 goals:

1. I wanted to open a private studio in town, (I wanted to have a store front and not work out of my home).
2. I wanted a large enough stream of clients coming in that I had to have other fitness professionals working with me.

Five or six years go by and I still have not accomplished my goals, I am beginning to feel somewhat like a failure, I mean what am I doing wrong?

Two years ago I decided to take another business class ( a year long mentoring program).  This time, instead of asking me to  write my goals in 10 minutes they take make me through a series of different exercises over the course of a month before I am asked to write goals.

What I discovered was profound.  I did not want a store front business and I most certainly did not want other fitness professionals working with my clients.  No wonder I never accomplished my goals, they were never really my goals.  I think I set those goals because I just thought that was the measure of success.

Six months after that exercise I had my business structured exactly they way I wanted it - Working by myself in a private studio in my home.

So, what am I trying to get at with this long winded story?  Basically 3 things:

1. There isn't a magic time of year that will all of a sudden give you a good kick in the pants and change your bad habits for you.
2. Lastly, why in the world do you want to accomplish that thing?  Do not measure yourself against what other people deem successful, what is it that you want?
3. Goal setting can not be accomplished in 5 minutes, you need to truly understand what it is you want and more importantly why you want it.

Most times what we think we want in our head and in our dreams is far different, than what we want in reality.

We live in reality, not in our dreams.  Have a great weekend!

Live Fit,

Karen

I was so looking forward to my 40th birthday so I could begin my annual mammogram screenings, but according to some top officials that milestone may just have to wait an extra 10 years.

New guidelines released Monday are recommending women not get the test until age 50 and then only get it every 2 years.

I understand there is risk and there is unnecessary procedures and treatments sometimes as a result, but what about the women who's lives are saved when the aggressive forms of breast cancer are caught early.

Click on the link above to read the entire article and then share your views and opinions with our readers.

Live Fit,

Karen

If you are going to put in the effort to wake up at 5:00 am every morning to go do your workout you better darn sight see some results, am I correct?

We have become a very results driven society, we want them immediately.  For the most part with all of our new high tech gadgets on the market we can get most things in a pretty quick fashion.

However, there are still some things out there that just take time, planting and harvesting your garden, watching your baby oak tree grow, waiting for your kids to grow old enough to move out and of course reaping the benefits of your new fitness program.

Results take time.

How much time depends on the individual.  If you have never lifting weights before it is going to take you much longer.  The first 6-8 weeks of training will be devoted to neurological changes, which will account for why you will not see to many physical changes in those first weeks.

This reason alone is probably the biggest factor that accounts for beginners quitting, they expect big changes to occur to their body in the first month, but that isn't going to happen necessarily.  (Now this doesn't mean nothing will change).

If you have lifting weight in the past your results will be a little sooner.  Instead of laying the neurological foundation you are just tweaking it up a bit.

Be patient, stick with your program and be the tortoise, not the hare and I promise you will see results!

Live Fit,

Karen

PS, if you are curious about something or would like to see me cover a specific topic let me know.