Back to Life….Back to Reality….time to take CONTROL!

Many people set unrealistic resolutions for the new year. For those not used to setting and achieving goals, these resolutions have already faded or they have already gone off track. BUT, there’s good news! Whether you are still on track or already forgot what your resolutions were, you can make changes today that make a difference. An airplane is off course 90% of the time, yet it still gets you where you are supposed to go. The same is true in our lives. Just because we go off course, it doesn’t mean failure. We can correct our course and still end up where we want to be. We simply have to accept the responsibility of control and NOT make excuses! This is true for our health, our fitness, our safety, our finances, our relationships and our life in general!

February usually brings to mind two things: Valentine’s Day and “Black History Month”. I suppose we could go over goal setting as it relates to romance and how I married my wife who is clearly out of my range, but that is a much longer story. Instead, I would like to point out some key people for further reading and research on your own for the month of February. I find that when we educate ourselves and learn from history and other great leaders, then we can apply lessons to our own life, draw inspiration and gain greater understanding of our circumstances. The first leader people relate to “Black History Month” is Martin Luther King Jr. who is worthy of many articles on his leadership alone. However, I’d like to point out a few people who may be slightly lesser known, but you will find are incredible leaders who fought through their own setbacks and took the responsibility to accomplish their goals by making changes and not excuses. Though “Black History Month” originated from a selection of the second week of February marking the birthdays of Frederick Douglas and Abraham Lincoln, there were other very significant people in history connected to February. Look up the following leaders and find out more about them and their connection to the month of February:

Dr. Carter G. Woodson
W.E.B. DuBois
Hiram R. Revels
Then, for extra credit, look up events from February 3, 1870, Woolworth’s February 1960, and then NAACP New York February 1909.

Read about these people and significant events in history. Educate yourself and you will be surprised what you can take away and use in your own life. Now some may question what this has to do with goal setting and achievement. It’s very simple– these leaders in history had to overcome major setbacks, losses, injustice and an unending list of challenges—yet they achieved, they set goals and met them. They did not make excuses or blow off their goals to “next year”. So, the next time you feel tired and aren’t sure if you want to go work out or aren’t sure if you can stick to skipping a few pieces of cake, think about what some of these leaders accomplished and it kind of puts things in perspective when it comes to making excuses. We can all achieve great things, but it takes determination, a willingness to make changes and a decision to take control over your life and the goals you will accomplish.

For more information on Health, Fitness and Safety, email Jeff Dousharm at JDousharm@windstream.net.