Commitment

I’m evaluating the things that I want to achieve and what actions I’m taking towards them.  What I realised is that great achievement requires great commitment. The question I ask myself is “How badly do you want this?”

A couple of things:

• I want to be a brilliant, world-class public speaker. A good way for me, to measure this is to win competitions in Toastmasters International. Guys like Steve Pavlina and Derren La Croix and even my friend Christof committed to doing at least 3 Toastmasters speeches every week in order to achieve the level of excellence and intuition in front of a crowd that’s necessary to win a competition of that magnitude. My next action is to book myself to speak at more Toastmasters clubs, and then SHOW UP. Another action I will take is to do stand up comedy, and keep doing it till I’m great at it.
• My energy and ferocious creativy and courage in business are enhanced by an excellent foundation of health. The next actions to take are to set up an excercise routine and stick to it, make the healthiest food choice every time, and to stop social smoking.
• I want to feel and be more confident in my body and my looks. In fact, I want my body to be exceptionally fit and strong, which forms a foundation for confidence, speed, energy, discipline and so much else. The next action is to commit to absolute excellence in my gym and fitness. I will also be running the Knysna half-marathon this year (in July, I think).

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, magic and power in it”. – Johan Wolfgang Von Goeth
Whatever you

A New, Healthier Lifestyle

I just read an article in Fast Company entitle “Change or Die“. It reminded me that most of America’s health problems come down to 5 preventable causes: too much smoking, drinking, eating, and stress and not enough exercise.

The thing is that we know these things are not good for us, but we go ahead with that ridiculous behaviour anyway. Even after recieving bypass surgery, 90% of people fall back into their old habits, even though they know they have a life-threatening disease. The odds for change are stacked against us 9-to-1. The problem is backsliding.

Change is not just limited to health though. Behavioural change in business is also difficult.

Preventative steps are required. Two principles apply:

• Prevention is better than cure.
• The wise man does at once what the fool does eventually.

The article also highlights that the most effective way to make any change is to nurture a positive lifestyle, filled with life’s little joys. The most effective way to change is to make life more pleasurable in constructive ways – regular walks, time in nature, wholesome food, positive work evironment and habits, respect, gratitude for small and large things… and so on. Change is driven my positive emotions and experiences that support the change.

Ironically, making small incrimental changes in our diet, work habits or lifestyle is more difficult than making radical change! The reason being that we often don’t see the benefits of the small, incrimental changes soon enough for it to be emotionally engaging enough to reinforce the changes. This is why stopping smoking can’t be an isolated act – it needs to be a part of a lifestyle makeover which might include yoga, raw food and daily meditation!

Lastly, fundamental to change is the ability to learn. The stronger our learning muscle, the better we’ll be at change. Take up a language or learn to play an instrument. Everything is related.

We get into bad habits that don’t serve us, although we could just as easily get into healthier ones that do. As my karate instructor often reminds me: “Practice makes permanent“