It’s the final Every Step Counts column for September so I really want to make it a huge one today for you all.
I hope that September has been a fantastic month for you in as many ways as possible. I hope the month has given you enjoyment.
I hope the month has given you joy.
I hope the month has given you contentment and most of all, I really do hope your month has been filled with happiness.
“Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life. The whole aim and end of human existence.”
Last week saw myself and very good friend and client Clare Rowley launch our Action for Happiness course, Explore What Matters.
It’s an eight-week course with sessions lasting two hours each week that focuses on happiness, meaning, life satisfaction and just trying to make your life and other people’s lives as awesome as possible.
It has started amazingly, and everyone got so much from it.
Today I wanted to share with you one quote from the course that for me just was out of this world…
“Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you’ll look back and realise they were big things.”
Take a few moments to sit back right now wherever you are reading this and reflect. Just sit there right now and imagine you are near the end of your life, clearly and hopefully many many years away from this moment.
You are now looking back at your life as a whole, your family, your relationships, your work, your achievements, your ups, your downs, your owning it moments … all the things you have done with the limited time we have in this world.
Now I want you to ask yourself the following question: “What advice would your future self-give you about what really matters?”
I thought long and hard about this and my simple answer was “don’t rush the experiences you only get once.”
Your first-time swimming with your child.
The first time your child smiles back at you.
The moment you get married.
That moment you score a winning goal in your weekend game of football.
It really doesn’t matter but the key is to enjoy the moment. Don’t rush it, embrace it and love it.
I will keep on updating you on some of the key takeaways from the course each week for the next eight weeks.
Alongside this, I will also be sharing some of the amazing events and opportunities happening in our area now and in the future. I feel it is essential that these events are seen as opportunities and for me to use this amazing column and this amazing newspaper to help make the world a better place.
So, who are we going to start with this week then? What event has caught my attention that I feel you should know about?
I am sure you have heard of Fast Track Fit camp and the brilliant Heidi Strickland-Clark who runs it.
I saw one of her posts the other week about an amazing challenge she is running so we had a good chat and I really do feel everyone should know about it.
The 100 Day Fitness Challenge started in 2012 as a way for Heidi to keep fit after retiring from being a fitness instructor.
In her own words, “After 10 years of being fit for a living, I was worried that I was going to get out of shape pretty quickly.”
Due to this, she came up with the anti-resolution, a 100-day challenge to lead-up to New Year’s Eve. The aim is to do something active every day for 100 days to keep the “winter blues” at bay and the “muffin top” from spreading.
For the last seven years, Heidi has run the FREE community programme using social media, specifically Facebook and this is to get people involved and to be held accountable.
You can see why this caught my attention now right? I love this type of challenge and I love this type of concept. Evolving the challenge this year, Heidi has used her changing business as a social enterprise to be more socially responsible.
With this tweak, Heidi this year, has added in a litter pick option too, pretty cool yeah?
If you like the sound of this amazing challenge then head over to Facebook and click on the following link – www.facebook.com/groups/473619610104095 or type in the actual challenge name and you will be well on your way to joining it.
The guidelines are simple:
- 100 days from the 23rd September (I am sure she won’t mind you starting slightly later)
- Do something active every day, even a 20-30 minute walk extra each day counts
- When you are walking or jogging, pick up litter that’s on your path
- Take it home, dispose of it or recycle it
- Enjoy the process
Absolutely love it, awesome stuff, get involved and make a huge difference to your own health and fitness but also the wider environment too.
So, there we have it, another week and another chance to be amazing and make the best opportunity of your own life and other lives too.
Put the paper down now, give yourself a huge hug both physically and mentally and take one step towards being a better version of YOU.
It may be signing up to Heidi’s challenge, it may be doing something for someone else, it could even be walking up the first person you see and making their day by buying them a coffee or a tea … it really is up to you.
Have an awesome Thursday, have an awesome week and commit some time to working on the most important project you will ever work on … YOU.
Chris Hunt is the Head Mind, Body and Life Coach at The FUNdaMENTAL Coach based out of The Hub, Molly Millars Lane, Wokingham
