Rant and Tip for June 23, 2011

With today’s rant a quote from Dr. Mark Hillman comes to mind. “It’s not trespassing to go beyond your boundaries”. I am lucky enough to get to enjoy a cup of coffee and some quick wit banter with Dr. Hillman on a regular basis. He has a coffee mug with that quote on it. As I reread this quote it struck me that we set our own boundaries, and many times these boundaries are not broad enough. People who do not set boundaries at all may truly be the real heroes in our society. I will have to think about that statement some more. Let’s talk instead about those of us who set our boundaries. For example, you all know I recently competed in a power-lifting competition. Originally, I was not going to compete in the deadlift portion of the meet because I didn’t feel that I was strong enough in the lift. I did not even think I could pull 400 pounds off the floor. I had set that goal to be made in November. For whatever reason I decided to enter. Could it have been the friendly ribbing from my power-lifting friends, or was it just something inside of me that said, "go ahead and do it, what do you have to lose"? Well I went and did the lift, and much to my amazement I pulled 407 pounds off the floor. It seems as I sit here I had set a boundary for myself and that boundary was not broad enough. Maybe we all sell ourselves short a little bit. Maybe we all need to look beyond the boundaries we set. When we set big goals are they big enough or do we pigeon hole ourselves in a fashion that doesn’t let us live or lives to the fullest. Dr. Hillman was my high school guidance counselor, and he is now a renowned therapist. If he had boundaries in the past he has gone past those boundaries. He often gives his opinion on National Television regarding a broad range of issues. Feel free to check out his website Dr. Mark Hillman . So this week I will ignore any boundaries I have set for myself and go beyond them. I will push harder and not let my fear of the unknown hinder me. I have put off getting my personal training certification long enough. It is time for me to get that certification in something I love to do. Your goal this week is to look at the boundaries you have set for yourself, and determine what boundaries have kept you from reaching your health and fitness goals. Let’s do this together!

Have a great workout and go past those boundaries!

Tip:

I know I have mentioned setting goals, and I think goals really do help us to better ourselves. With respect to Dr. Hillman’s quote let’s be careful to not allow those goals to become boundaries. Remember to look beyond those boundaries, or at least analyze those boundaries and determine if they should be there in the first place.