I am now officially 36 … where have the last few years gone? (To make you feel old, Euro 96 was 23 years ago)
Last Thursday was my birthday and, to be honest, nothing crazy happened like previous birthdays and my younger years, but it was a beauty all the same.
The day itself comprised a nice family breakfast, lots of presents, some work, a delicious dinner out at Creams (Yes, I said dinner not dessert) and lots of family time … Amazing stuff.
The weekend was followed up with a fabulous adventure up north seeing family and going on some wicked fairground rides which is up there for me when it comes to good times and adrenaline rushes.
Back to the programme then and how about we continue with our double dose of happiness and opportunities and make this week’s column truly awesome yet again.
In terms of my Action For Happiness Course, it was another outstanding session filled with discussion, experience sharing, learning and overall contentment and joy.
Week three was all about MINDFULLNESS and how we find peace of mind in our stressful and frantic world.
Mindfulness is concerned with choosing to pay attention to what’s happening in the present moment. Mindfulness has been found to help significantly reduce stress and improve health and wellbeing … cool right? I’ll do another article on this specifically just before Christmasmas as one of my key tools to use in 2020.
We also covered the Serenity Prayer which I have mentioned before but here it is if you haven’t heard it before:
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
I honestly feel that we all could work on the above words more in life.
When you start to worry and concern yourself with the things that you cannot change, it can lead you down a dark path with tragic consequences. We need to divert our attention to things we can control. Our own habits and behaviours for example.
Our inner life is vitally important however it is at risk. Focusing on YOU and your own mental health and your own HAPPINESS could be something that you could be working on today…have a think about that.
On to the awesome area that we live in and the amazing opportunities that we have available to us leads me this week to talk about a new boxing club that has opened in Bracknell called In Your Corner Boxing Club.
You will know that I love boxing. I co-founded Wokingham and Emmbrook Boxing Club which I took a step back from last year and I am an England Boxing Level 1 qualified coach. I am always on the pulse when it comes to exciting opportunities in boxing and this one is certainly that.
I caught up with one of the senior coaches last week, Troy Carpenter and he had the following to say:“It all started a short time ago when an amazing guy called Brian Murphy who owns and runs BM Active, approached Dan Knight and me to launch a boxing club within his Alternative Provision Centre, which is effectively a safe haven for children from underprivileged backgrounds that could be having issues at home for whatever reason.
“The centre allows children a respite from the much-underestimated stresses that are caused for various reason that quite often lead to behaviour problems, exclusion and imprisonment in adult life.”
Having started Wokingham and Emmbrook Boxing Club back in 2017 with Mark Douglas and Matthew Howe, I was keen to find out why this particular club has been started.
Troy said: “The vision of In Your Corner Boxing Club is to allow everyone access to boxing no matter what their background. Boxing has a proven record of giving both children and adults focus and discipline that more often than not keeps them on the straight and narrow.”
I love this… boxing is so much more than just whacking some gloves on and getting it on, it involves life skills, ongoing personal development and amazing training that will stay with you for years.
I also asked Troy what made this new club different from other clubs and he had the following to say: “In Your Corner Boxing Club will also be offering SEN (Special education needs) boxing classes, which have proven very popular in the past. The club will, of course, be running the more “traditional” style of boxing classes, looking to nurture homegrown talent and the next National Champion but the SEN work and services to do with the local area is paramount to the club.
“Furthermore, the Club will be holding an open day on Saturday, October 19, where all are welcome to come along.”
I encourage you to pop down, check the club out on social media and see what it has to offer. For details on memberships or anything to do with the club in general please contact Daniel Knight on 07546 887688 or Troy Carpenter on 07757 436681. They will be more than happy to answer any questions.
The club is based in Bracknell but like all areas will take everyone and anyone in. Please do get in contact with the gents above. Now obviously if I am talking about boxing, I can’t not give a shout out to my old club Wokingham and Emmbrook too. Please contact head coach Mark on 07881 201831 if you are interested in taking up boxing and I’m sure he will be able to assist with any questions.
Boxing is all about community and making a difference in the world and if you turn out a few superstars in the process then that’s even better. I really do love boxing so please please please, get in contact with the coaches above if you want to try something different.
Mindfulness, Serenity Prayers, new boxing clubs opening … I love giving you content to help you be the best version of yourself so let’s keep riding the wave of success and keep trying new things…
Have a fantastic week and remember my last quote for the day:
Nothing is impossible, you are not defined by your past, but your identity can be defined by YOU … what do you want to design for your future?
Have an awesome Sunday and see you next week
Chris Hunt is the Head Mind, Body and Life Coach at The FUNdaMENTAL Coach based out of The Hub, Molly Millars Lane, Wokingham
