2018 has been a roller coaster of a ride. 12 months ago my life looked completely different to how it looks now. I had some great trips, both educational and recreational, got to attend some amazing sporting events including the historical Ireland-All Blacks game and made big strides both professionally and personally. I have a lot to be grateful for in 2018. This week I’m going to share some of the most important and impactful lessons I learned in 2018 and also some tips of maximizing your fitness regime in 2019, but first, I want to take the opportunity to reflect on an incredible year.
By far, one of the best things I did this year was set up this blog. I’ve spoke before about my reservations in setting it up but now I am so thankful I did it. I can’t express how it makes me feel when I receive a text from somebody saying they enjoyed the blog that week or even better, they took something away from it. For me, 2019 will be about improving the blog and website as a whole and seeing where can I add more value and content for you guys. 2018 brought me some really crazy memories now that I look back. Early in the year I got the opportunity to meet Seattle Seahawks star safety Earl Thomas, a player I’ve loved watching for the last 5-6 years, his passion is unrivaled and he is by far one of my favorite player’s I’ve seen play any sport. Unfortunately, he probably won’t play for Seattle again. After that I went to Liverpool to reunite with Ron McKeefery, a true mentor to me, at the PLAE Lab where I learnt so much from some really smart people. Looking back, the connection I have developed with the performance staff at PLAE has been really beneficial for me this year, they are a real representation of what their company is trying to achieve, Ron, Marisa and Shane put on an incredible event. I could keep going on and on about different highlights of my year but I’d have 20 mini stories to tell.
Like I said above, 2018 was a year of huge personal growth. I’ve learned many lessons and I’d like to try share them here with you, maybe they’ll help some of you going into 2019.
I think the biggest lesson for me this year is not to settle and embrace the change needed to achieve more. Don’t settle for something just because it’s the safe option and you’re worried about what will happen if you do change the situation. As the saying goes, a ship is safe in the harbor, but that’s not what ships are for. As I said at the outset, my life now is 100% different to 12 months ago and it has to potential to flip upside down in the next 7 days. (Check out next week’s blog where I’ll let you know what that potential possibility is, I’ve been holding it in for 3 months.) But in all seriousness, the best things to happen me this year wouldn’t have happened if I was still worried about the what if’s and afraid of change. Maybe you’re not happy in your job or relationship but you’re staying there for the paycheck or you’re worried about where and how you’re going to meet new people. Money is money, friends and family can help you out if you ask but if you’re unhappy then good luck… 2019 is the perfect time to go out and get what you want. There are online, part-time courses for just about anything these days. What have you to lose? Just go for it. Change is scary, especially if you haven’t had much change in months or even years, but that’s the exact point I’m trying to make. If you stay where you are, comfortable with your situation, small little changes may go unnoticed. Then all of a sudden too many pieces have moved and it’s too late.
If you know me or you just read my blogs you probably know the importance I place on building lasting and impactful relationships first and foremost. It started out as a way for me to take my coaching to the next level but has spilled into my personal life as well. It’s important to remember people come first, athlete’s second. Or whatever your job’s version of my athlete is. There are a load of different sayings for this way of life but the best one is still People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. In my line of work, yes people want improvements in body composition and strength but they really just want to be looked after and something simple like asking how’s your day going so far and actually listening to the response can do so much for building a relationship.
The last one was hard for me to do but in the last few months I’ve done a pretty good job of it judging by the amount of Guinness I’ve been drinking.
Take your work seriously, but not yourself.
By that I mean, obviously it’s so important to give your job everything you can and do the best job possible when you’re there because if you’re not adding the value the company requires of you they can easily find someone else to do that but what about when you’re away from work? This is something I tend to struggle with, I find it hard to ‘switch off’ and in the past I’ve found myself worrying about the gym on my time off. However, in the last few months I’ve made more time to be social and just completely switched off from work when I needed to. It’s made my time off way more enjoyable but it’s also given me a new lease while I’m in work. I’ve felt a lot more re-charged going back in than I previously have. It’s a real strength coach mentality I think, we’re always ‘on the grind’ and ‘the grind never stops’. We like to show we’re the hardest workers on the staff and out of any performance related profession. But I’ve found it doesn’t work well for long term mental health and career longevity. I’m happy I had the right people around me these last few months to help me see that and push me towards more things I wouldn’t have previously done for one reason or another.
They are my biggest lessons for 2018, I’ll carry them into 2019 and try improve on them further, I know they may not exactly relate to everyone reading this but hopefully you can take at least one of them away and apply it into your own life for some greater level of happiness and satisfaction for the coming year. While we’re talking about the next 12 months here’s some tips I have for making New Year, New Me a reality instead of just a January craze.
The worst thing you can do is make wholesale changes, which happens every January, people who lead an inactive lifestyle with poor nutrition suddenly try to join a gym (Usually they choose the wrong gym for them) and try to start ‘eating clean’. This is massive change to their lifestyle and more often than not they get overwhelmed with it all and it falls off by February.
So how do you combat that? Well my advice is to try make 1 meaningful change to your lifestyle and seek help in doing so. Want to include training in your lifestyle? What is your main goal? Muscle/strength gain? Join a semi-private training gym or hire a personal trainer. If you just want overall health and mental benefits maybe join a running club or hiking club. If nutrition is more up your ally for change in 2019 you should hire the services of a nutritionist. There are plenty of good nutritionists out there who do consultations. Anyone reading this who is interested in the services of a qualified nutritionist just give me a shout and I can send on 2 or 3 different recommendations.
They are just two examples I see of how people aim to change in 2019 but the principle applies to anything. Put all your effort in to one manageable change and make it a habit before moving on and trying to change another thing. It’s always worthwhile paying for professional help if it truly means something to you. If you’re not willing to invest in yourself then ask is it truly what you want?
To sum up my advice for 2019 I guess I’d say just be patient, you didn’t fall out of shape and become unhealthy in a month, you won’t reverse it in a month. Sometimes it’s years of inactivity and poor nutrition habits people are trying to change, how on earth do you expect to change that in 30 days?
Finally, I just want to take the final opportunity to thank everyone who continues to read, like and share my blogs on a weekly basis. Whether you drop in and out sporadically or you log in every week you’ve helped me get here over the last 6 months. It’s been so much fun writing these pieces and dishing out my view on the current state of affairs and I can’t wait to see what 2019 brings.
Happy New Year guys,
Rory.