Fitness, Business, Fitness Business, & Achieving Life Goals

I watch my kids go through phases of not trying new things and know that, for the most part, there are a couple  of reasons why they won’t try them. First, it just plain old doesn’t interest them. In that case, who can blame them? Second though, they don’t try because they don’t want to look or feel stupid. That fear or intimidation is not unique to kids. We all have things we don’t attempt for the same reason. We don’t want others to think that we’re unintelligent or uncoordinated.

What if we got over it? What if we didn’t care what others thought? What if we thrived on the idea of trying something that was so different that we would feel completely out our element? Beside the fact that adding new abilities, skills, experiences can enrich our lives, it is exactly what keeps our bodies and our brains healthy and fit.

Ask yourself, if you if you could try anything in the world, what would that be? Take a moment and write down the top 5 things you would do. Now, what’s holding you back? Go try it and embrace the process of learning something new.

One definition of critical mass is “the minimum amount or number required for something to happen, begin, etc.” In our businesses, that may be a successful launch of a new product, getting the big break opportunity, or finally operating in the black. Whatever you define as your success, it is most likely to be the accumulation of smaller successes until you reach your own critical mass.

“Overnight success”, as we all know, is never overnight. In his book “Outliers” Malcolm Gladwell delves into how the seemingly gifted elite performers in the world (from the Beatles to Bill Gates) are simply a product of desire, opportunity, and practice. In fact, in several books that I’ve read, the standard amount of time these “endowed” individuals have spent practicing their craft is 10,000 hours. Their rise may indeed be meteoric, but that is simply the point when their achievements have hit critical mass and all of their work to date is acknowledged, appreciated, and rewarded.

So, as you work toward your goals, keep in mind that you need to put in your time learning/practicing in order to become an elite performer and that if you are continually seeking or creating opportunities for achieving smaller successes, you will eventually hit the critical mass needed and become the “Overnight Success” in your field or business.

I just started listening to (I mostly do audio books) Outliers: The Story of Success. It begins with a discussion of Roseto, PA, a town with a remarkably low incidence of heart disease. Researchers, in an effort to discover why that was, checked out their diet, activity level, environment, and even hereditary factors (the majority of citizens were descendants of immigrants from Roseto, Italy). None of these showed any correlation to Roseto’s uniquely high health levels. Then they realized what was making the difference. It was that Roseto was a tightly knit society with a strong sense of family and community. Their days were spent interacting with others. That connection with others was making them more resistant to disease.

This is not the first time I’ve heard that social connection is a powerful health enhancer. And, in the research I’ve been reading on brain fitness, activities that involve social interaction also enhance brain health.

So what’s the take away message here? We are meant to be interacting with others. If our days are spent being by ourselves, our physical and mental health is at risk. Seek out those chances to connect. Join clubs, groups, classes, be a volunteer, get out and visit friends and family.

For our part in the fitness industry, we are trying to create greater opportunities for social interaction though group exercise classes, small group training, social events at our clubs, creating areas where you can hang out and talk with others, and even using social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to further your ability to reach out to others. (NY times had an interesting article on social media Online, ‘a Reason to Keep on Going’ )

To coin a telephone commercial slogan, reach out and touch someone. Your life will be enriched for it.