Boot Camp......

.......from the other side!
 I had a great day! I got to hang out with some of my black belt friends, attend a hard core fitness class and watch some amazing students push themselves to the limit. It doesn't get any better than that!
In other years, I have gone and participated, pushed myself through the day, dreading  and then enjoying each new seminar. Yesterday was different as I push myself in different less obvious ways now. I am not only looking to get the job done, I am concentrating on how to get there in the most efficient manner, learning as much from the experience as humanly possible. I learned that I would like to learn more about grappling, as it is totally foreign to me to try out moves with someone on top of me. You have to be aware of how you move and how that affects how they can or can not move, I think. I have been concentrating on what I feel like when I move, I think that doing more grappling will take that to a whole new level.
I enjoyed helping with the fitness test and watching the students put their all into each exercise (yes, there was some cheer leading involved). I like sharing tips and tricks on how to get the most out of your muscles or how to improve your time.
I enjoyed the end of the day, being part of that energy bubble, experiencing other people's euphoria as they realize what they have accomplished, and of course, reviewing the entire experience with my daughter on the way home.
All in all a great day! I am already looking forward to next year!!!!

Negativity/Positivity

  I have been troubled for the last couple of weeks and I am not even sure that I know how to write about it. I am going to try anyways, in hopes of getting it out of my brain.
I keep encountering super negative people. Not the kind that you can ignore, the kind that invade your world and have you wondering how on earth you have attracted such a person. I have a friend that firmly believes that you get back what you put out there, with that in mind, what am I putting out there? Am I attracting negative people through my actions and words? How does that work? My daily goal is to have positive interactions with all the people that I meet each day. Are the people that are negative a test of my resolve? Or maybe I have nothing to do with what is happening for them and I am just a witness to what they are throwing out there. Perhaps they are placed in my path so I can show them the other side, you know, the side where everything has a solution and there is nothing we can't conquer! And being mean and negative  with others is not the answer.         

I can chose to ignore them, I can chose to not feed into their negativity, I can share my thoughts and believes...... I realize that there are many things that I can do. I can also challenge all who read my blog to encounter each day with the goal of having a positive impact on just one person. Here are some examples: strike up a conversation with another person while standing in line (you can start with - hey I have this crazy friend that thinks we can make this world a better place to live if we chat with one another in the line up), share a friendly greeting with a stranger at the gym ( strangers are just friends that you haven't met yet), help someone take their groceries to their car, be empathetic when you do meet someone that is having a bad day (you may be the one thing that convinces them that all is not lost). It is just like acts of kindness, just amped up a bit.
Being friendly doesn't hurt one little bit and if you are lucky, you'll get a smile in return :)

Friend