It’s November tomorrow, the last month before Christmas and we are well and truly into the winter months now.
Even with the clocks going back, the mornings are still dark, the evenings are even darker, the temperature has dropped, its been raining much more and overall people are feeling more lethargic and not having as much zest in them compared with a few months ago.
Wait, I can understand what you are thinking:
“Why is Chris highlighting all the negatives?”
“What is he trying to do? Make me feel worse?”
I can promise you now, that is not my intention. It‘s just facts and the way it is. The beautiful thing is that you are aware of it though and can act.
That action is swimming against the current, bucking the trend and you are in complete control of that. How about we spend the next few minutes talking about the latest week of the Wokingham Action for Happiness Course and a fantastic facility run by the incredible Marla over in Bracknell.
If those teasers have got you interested, then keep reading.
This week saw the sixth session of our eight-week course, Exploring what matters, and it was a great week yet again. It really was enlightening.
We discussed happiness at work and whether we can be happier at work? We all spend a considerable amount of time in the workplace, so I think it deserves some attention. A great quote that came out was “Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.”
After doing a five-minute meditation with the amazing Andy Puddicombe (Headspace App), we moved onto some discussions. I think we all agreed with the quote “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”, I love this, it’s so true.
Work never feels tiresome and cumbersome when you are loving what you do.
We listened to our expert, Shawn Achor who gave a brilliant presentation on success, happiness and we could all be doing. He clearly believes that our brain performs significantly better when positive compared with a negative state.
He is the author of The Happiness Advantage so I can confirm now, the guy knows what he is talking about.
If you search online for “Shawn Achor, the happy secret to better work”, you’ll find his Ted Talk and its serious value for money. The cost??? A few minutes of your time.
In summary, happiness leads to success and not the other way around. Positive Psychology is showing us how we can help people move to higher levels of wellbeing and performance. Gratitude, journaling, exercise, meditation and kindness are great tools if you know how to use them.
That’s our happiness sharing done for the week, now onto our next instalment of letting you awesome readers know about something that is very special in the local area.
That something special is the “Ladies Learning To Lift” gym in Bracknell. I have known its owner Marla Murray for some time and it makes me very excited to let you all know about her fantastic facility.
When I spoke to Marla, she said: “Our mission is to inspire women to take control of their health and fitness.” Wow, this is awesome.
Marla also passionately said: “Generally women are the ones in the home responsible for nutrition and being the primary caregiver.
“It is our view that women are best placed to inspire their family members to prioritise health as oppose to short term fitness goals, educate their children in particularly their daughters, about the value of good nutrition and exercise.”
The studio offers three types of services to their clients:
- Essential gym access
- Online training
- Nutrition advice.
All the services are unique and I’m sure that if you get in contact with Marla, she will be more than willing to give you all the answers that you will need.
Like I said, I have known Marla for some time, we first met in a gym we both worked out of several years ago. Since then, we have both gone on to now own our own facilities doing what we love.
That is one thing that will stand out when you meet Marla, she loves what she does and loves helping women.
She is all about the client and helping that client to feel empowered, strong and up for anything that life throws at them.
One unique service that she offers is a FREE nutrition class that runs every month. The class is available to the public, you just need to sign up at http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ladies-learning-to-lift-free-nutrition-class-tickets-55203858226 so what are you waiting for? The studio also offers free taster sessions so if you like the thought of that, head over to www.bestlifebasics.co.uk and book one in.
This facility and Marla herself have The FUNdaMENTAL Coach stamp of approval, you won’t be disappointed trust me.
So, there you have it, another packed edition of Every Step Counts.
Take home points today are to pursue happiness, your body performs better when positive compared with negative, you have all to gain, make it a focus.
As Albert Schweitzer said, “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” Finally, please if you are a female and wanting to be inspired and take control of your health and fitness, then give my friend Marla a call, you won’t regret it.
Be awesome, cultivate happiness, keep working on YOU and more than everything, wake up every day and take a moment to breathe and smile, your life is truly special, make the most of it.
Chris Hunt is the Head Mind, Body and Life Coach at The FUNdaMENTAL Coach based out of The Hub, Molly Millars Lane, Wokingham
