October 7, 2019
Simple Is as Simple Does…
Life is About Choices. We spend Childhood (and the Rest of our Lives) “Training” to Understand all of the Possibilities in this Great World, and Adulthood trying to Piece them Together…
The Famous Quote, “Life is a Sum of Your Choices” (“So What are You Doing Today”) is a reminder that Opportunity comes with Choice, and “We” reflect the Choices that we make…
In the Health and Fitness World, that Theme is Popular and Accurate, at least on the Surface. There is a strong “Before and After” Culture that empowers People to Change using Choice, and it can be very Effective:
“Eat This not That”
“Obey these Simple Rules”
“Follow this Plan to get What You Want”
“Live Your Best Life with this Mantra”
At IPF, we think there are Levels of Being Human that exist before we arrive at “Choice”, that Make You Who You Are, and Govern How you Live.
Simplicity, the Concept, is about Regulating the Difficult into either Smaller, Easier or “Better” Pieces so that it is easy to Understand, or almost Natural.
It varies from Individual, and certainly plays into both “Nature and Nurture”.
We believe “Simple” is more a Process, and less an Objective for Optimal Living.
It is very Fluid, as Life Changes quickly, with Positive and Negative Situations affecting our “Simple” with regularity…
So, to stop all of Us, Clients, Staff, and Friends alike, from Heading Down the Rabbit Hole before every Choice, we Start with
5 Fundamental Principles that take us towards Honesty, Opportunity and Improvement…
1) You Control You.
Your Attitude/Mind-Set (How You Think + Act) and Your Word (What You Say, with Integrity) are Yours and Yours Only. Never Take them Lightly, and Never “Give Them Away”. Owning Your Mistakes is every bit as Important as finding Success, as both come with Opportunity to Improve…
2) Take Action.
Waiting and Patience are overrated when it comes to Starting Anything. The Best Time is Now, and You Rarely Regret Starting Anything Worth Doing.
We routinely tell People to Exercise and Join a Gym (to obtain Guidance), but it doesn’t have to be our Gym. Better yet, just Get-up and Go, because Movement is Action Baby!
3) Make a “New” Mistake.
Breaking established Patterns of Behavior are difficult, and we tend to get stuck in a repetitive cycle of Choices, Decisions, and Outcomes. We ask our Clients, ages 11 to 67, to not be afraid of making “New Mistakes”.
New Mistakes represent a departure from the norm, a different decision and an opportunity to Learn. Growing as an Individual frequently involves modifying an existing pattern into a better one, and Making a New Mistake means you have taken a New Path. We Love and Encourage just that, as it means you are being liberated from the previous Behavioral “Hold” that caused you to hit the wall so many times before…
4) The Greatest “Power” of All is that You Make the People Around You Better.
There are 10k Methods to help People Improve, and every situation varies, but everyone has “Room on their: Team/Company/Relationship, etc.” for someone that Creates “Better” by Working with Others.
“Team” also Works both Ways as the Power of “More” is a Real Thing.
You Can and Will Benefit by Becoming Part of Something Bigger (when you are ready for it)…
Your “Team” isn’t Set in Stone, and Your Best Line-Up may still be ahead of you, but having the “Right” People around You is a “Success-Booster”!!!
5) Is this Taking You Closer to Your Goal or Further Away from It?
Some questions are “Harder” than others, some “Hit” harder than others. If Your Goal is Improvement, Change, Knowledge, Better, etc., then most Decisions begin with this question.
Let’s be clear, we actually don’t want anyone to be 100% on this question (either way). We want everyone to have Fun, Enjoy Life, and Not Pressure themselves with pretense of “Being Perfect”, but we do want 100% “Awareness”.
We are looking for our Clients to understand exactly what their Choices Lead To, and that They are in Control. We typically tell People that an 80% Success Rate is the right place to start with Good Decisions. There will be scheduled periods of time on the Calendar that require more Focus + Effort, but for the Long-Term, we want Adherence and Awareness as opposed to Idealism and Instability…
