It seems that the bodytweakers got lazy. As there may be some truth in that statement, in general the lack of time and maybe motivation has left us without any new posts about non-consumer fitness. All the loyal readers have nothing to worry about though. As the new year approaches we face a whole new dimension of challenges. In the new year fitness will prevail.

No matter how stressed or broke you may be (although, no matter how bad your situation is, you probably will never reach the ground-zero-lifestyle-level like us ), together we’ll take our life to new heights of fitness and well-being. Totally independent of our pockets. And, if you believe all those self-help experts like Steve Pavlina, our physical well-being will finally help us with our financial goals, too.

Goals

Our most essential goal for the next year is to end up at a better fitness situation than we are today. Stronger, more flexible and capable to face more complicated physical challenges. This will certainly affect our personal goals within other facets of life. Let fitness be the key element in the chain reaction to overall success.

Strategy

• Persistence, determination, keeping the course: As always this seems to be the most crucial point in achieving any goals at all. Keep going even in the most stressful and absurd situation. That will eventually mark the difference between a loser and a winner.
• Knowledge. Seek knowledge. How many time have you abandoned an idea or a goal just because you didn’t know enough about a topic? No wonder, that those who know, hold the freedom to do what they want. As long as you don’t know, you are slave to others. You will continue doing what others tell you to do (e.g. the fitness industry that tells you to spend thousands on unnecessary equipment).
• Time Management. With the two previous elements you have the power and the tool. Now you need to direct it into the right direction. Work more efficiently than anybody else. Invest your energy directly into the goals. Don’t spend your time on useless things. Everything must have a purpose to bring you (even if only a little) closer to your goal. Plan your week ahead, keep it flexible. Reduce your sleep to 6 hours, optimize your workspace. Be clever, your time is the most valuable asset.
• Be responsible, not a victim. Be responsible for your situation. Don’t accept excuses from your own inner self. Never stay passive in difficult life situations. Stay innovative, energized, active and fearless. Never accept any limits. Be a problem-solver. Take the lead, don’t let life-circumstances be an excuse.
• Self-esteem. The most important part in staying motivated, keeping the course, and in general taking the right decisions, is the way of how you see yourself. Decide on how you want your self-image to be. Form your own personal values and base all your beliefs, thoughts and decisions upon them. Even is it means some sort of discomfort in the near-future. A winner in the long-run always follows his values.
• Total Quality. Strive for total quality in your life. Don’t accept cheap excuses, cheap lifestyle, etc. Total quality in everything you have, eat, think, say, do and are. If you do something, do it well or don’t do it at all. Do it better than others. If you say something, put some thought into it, not just quote somebody. If you eat something, it rather be healthy or don’t eat at all.
• Socialize. Communication may open new doors. Approach and talk to people that have reached the goals you want to reach. You may always learn something new and maybe even get a helping hand in the process.
• Always have a plan B.
• Relax, Smile and Focus. Always works to boost your performance, in any situation.

There you have it. Modify those goals and strategy to fit your need. I hope you stay with us for the year 2007! Have fun in 2007!

- Wit

Hiya everyone! It’s so nice to be back. I have been quite busy in the last 5 months finishing my studies… and had a problem with the adsl company. Actually, several problems. They couldn’t manage to install a phone line in my new place for 3 months! So I was all that time without connection! Jeez! Now I know what a junkie feels like in his first few weeks on a drug-free diet

But now its over and I am up and surfing the stream like never before! So much to tell, so little time! Im hiiiiiigh!

In todays world people live in what I like to call a mental trap. You don’t really get to live and to enjoy the things you do during the day. No matter what your goals are and no matter if you reach them or not, most of the time thoughts cluster in your mind. Doubts, fears, hopes… about the future and the past. If there was a reliable way to detect those thoughts and analyze them, I’m sure that most of us are trapped in that abstract state most of our time during the day (and night).

Unnecessary thoughts are your enemies. If you know how to control them, thoughts are powerful tools in art, science, studies, etc. But most of us don’t even know that there is something inside our heads completely on the loose. Like a hurricane thoughts disturb our inner life and peace. As a result you get depressed, you are more sensetive to stress, you get insomnia, you get anxious, etc. Basically you just can’t enjoy your life. Days seem to pass quickly. You don’t get the time to do all you want to do. Years fly by and time feels waisted. Your self-esteem is damaged, you can’t face challenges, you can’t keep promises, you get weak and ill.

And the cause is the thought-beast that rages in your inner self. Think of it as a nuclear reaction. In a controled state it is the most important and powerful energy source, in a not controled state it’s the most disastrous catastophe you could ever face.

Among other things random thoughts are our main enemies when it comes to achieving our goals. Basically most of us give up long before we reach our physical limits and long before we did everything we could have done to achieve a specific goal. Thoughts in the form of doubts put an invisible wall on our way.

I’ll take my jogging experience as an example. After a year of “rest” I’ve finally decided to start jogging again since I felt a decline in my physical endurance. For the first time I’ve chosen a pretty long track and I had serious doubts that I could run it without stopping. Nevertheless I wanted to try.

After half the way my legs started aching pretty bad. I thought my lungs would explode, I’ve been breathing fast and deep, my throat was burning, but still could get enough oxygen. My inner voice literally screamed “Stop”. I noticed myself thiking “Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to start jogging” “It’s too much for the first time” “Maybe I should stop and walk the rest of the way home”, etc. You get the idea. As I was thinking my state got worse and I was an inch away from giving up.

It was then that I became aware of my thoughts. What the heck was I doing? Why was I spending my time in those thougths? My pain was completely normal considering that the last time I jogged was so long ago. So I decided to stop thinking completely and just concentrate on the run.

I just focused my whole awareness and my whole self on the sole objective to get further. I lost the sense of my body and it’s pains. I was free of thoughts, I was a pure action. My self was unstoppable. I felt like the wind. No emotions, no thoughts, just doing it (I always liked the Nike slogan hehe).

Surprisingly I finished the second half of the track much faster, although my condition was worse. The only difference in the second half was my mental state. Since I didn’t “collapse” nor “die”, like my thoughts suggested, it was obvious that my physical condition actually allowed me to finish that track. On the other hand, if I had allowed my thoughts to take over, I would have stoped because of the “mental wall” they would have put in front of my progress.

So here is my advice. If you want to achieve your goals outside in your life, learn to control your inner state first. Show who the master is in your inner world. Control over your thoughts will give you intergrity and solidness to face different situations in your life. You will notice that you are more calm, strong, wise and productive, and others will feel it, too.