New Year, New YOU...and Me!

Can you believe it? It's 2013!!! Take that Mayan calendar! But no, seriously, where does time go???? As I sit and marvel at the speed of life, I can't help but praise God for giving me the strength and idea to move forward with his plan for me because it allows me to savor my time with Lleyton and KC, not wish it hadn't passed already! That being said, I have to admit...while I absolutely love being home part-time, it's been a hard adjustment thus far! Starting a new contract position two days a week, trying to build out my business, and figure out how to work from home while keeping in mind my main role ("mommy") has been overwhelming to say the least! (And for those of you who know me personally, you know that I'm a perfectionist and always go, go, go...so I'm sure you can imagine my angst!) Regardless, it's helped me do what we all need to do at the first of the year: set smart, WHOLE, wellness goals! What do I mean by that? Let me explain:

Yes, it's important and also admirable to set smart (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, & time-focused) fitness, nutrition, stress, weight loss goals...but we all know there's more to life (especially our modern day, fast-paced, too-many-things-to-juggle lives) than just these! Am I right?! If we're employees, we have a job to do to get paid. If we're parents, we have kids to tend to before we tend to ourselves. If we're students, we have homework to do, papers to write, projects to meet deadlines...and most likely work on top of it all, too!

As a dear friend of mine kindly reminded me just last week, you have to keep in mind all the "buckets" of your life. For me, there's my 1) God bucket, 2) mommy & wife bucket, 3) ME bucket 4)contract work bucket, 5) FitKO Health bucket, 6) Beachbody bucket, 7) Wellcoaches bucket, 8)Wellness Ministry bucket and finally, 9) a social life bucket! Again, being the perfectionist that I am, I talk myself into believing I'm a "failure" if I don't fill every bucket every day...but that's just not reality, nor is it possible to do...unless I inherit Super Woman's powers...or just choose to be totally burnt out every waking moment (which would probably be 22 hours a day) for the rest of my life! So here's what I did, and I recommend you do, too...

1. Set an overall wellness vision that encompasses all of your buckets. Be detailed, be specific, write it down, and keep it somewhere that you will be reminded of your wellness vision for your life each and every day! Say your vision out loud a couple times to yourself or your support person. Think of all the strengths, values, and support systems you possess that will help you attain this vision.
2. Set smart three-month goals that will help you on your way to your wellness vision. Again, be detailed, be specific, write them down, and keep them somewhere so that they are just in your face!
3. Every week (pick a starting day...I always choose Monday because it's easiest for me to remember), schedule time for you to review your vision & three-month goals. Start your session by thinking about the BEST part of your week last week; all the positivity that was brought forth, all the strength you contributed, etc. Next, look at your three-month goals, then look at your upcoming schedule this week and assess your needs, wants, desires for your health and your wellness vision for that week alone. Which of your buckets does that need fall into (it can be more than one, but don't say "all of my buckets" because that will defeat the purpose)?
4. Set smart weekly goals (1 but no more than 3) that you feel you could confidently meet (confident= a 7 or higher on a scale of 10) to fill that bucket (or two)!!!! But to best determine confidence, you need to first assess what challenges you might face that coming week as you drive to meet your goal, and then strategize how you are going to overcome those challenges should they arise!
5. Remain positive! If you set a goal to exercise for 30 minutes during your lunch break on Monday, Tuesday, & Thursday, but you only were able to do so two days of the three...FOCUS ON THE SUCCESS! You met your goal 2 days of the 3!!!! Then examine how you felt when you worked out those two days. What were the support systems in place, what was your mindset, how did you overcome challenges to make sure you met the goal those 2 days? FOCUS ON THE SUCCESS! And use it as a learning experience to best meet your goal the following week!!!!

And now announcing...FitKO Health!!!

I cannot tell you all how incredibly excited I am to FINALLY be writing this post! After years of thinking, wishing, hoping, and months of intense praying and planning, FitKO Health has officially moved from dream-status to real-life-status!

For the time being, I will be using this blog and my facebook page (make sure to go out and "like" it if you haven't already...I've been so kind as to add the link for you here at my blog--check out FitKO's Favorite Resources Links to the right) to keep you informed and excited about all that God is using me and FitKO Health to do in the Rockford/Grand Rapids community. What exactly do I mean, you ask? The mission and purpose of FitKO Health is to help plant & harvest healthy bodies, spirits, and lives one person & one goal at a time, whether it be through 1-on-1 Wellcoach Health Coaching, Personal Training (1-on-1, partners, or small groups), Exercise Prescription (plan design without the trainer--me--there to bark at you:), basic Nutrition Advising, Mommy & Me FitKamp, Family FitKamp, Family FitKitchens, FitKO Fitness Parties and/or Fitness Instruction...it will happen! (Note: to see a full list of services and pricing, please refer to the FitKO Health Services list.)

Since this post marks the "grand opening", I thought it'd be appropriate to share the meaning behind the naming convention, as well as the reasoning for (or rather accreditation to which I owe this all to) the nod to Ecclesiastes 11:4.

First off: the name. Well, for obvious reasons, I chose the word "Fit" to represent my expertise in and passion for Fitness in particular. "KO" because, well, those are my initials and obviously a play on the word company (I know, you're marveled by my creativity, aren't you?). And "Health" because it encompasses all types of health within the wellness circle--spiritual, emotional, educational, mental, occupational, physical, and social--which I believe are all critical components that deserve special attention in achieving optimal health. Along that same vein is where the tag line "Maximizing bodies, maximizing lives" was born from; in fitness people often times have one physical health goal in mind that very obviously affects and hopefully maximizing the body in one or more ways. But often times people overlook those remaining health barriers (emotional, educational, mental, occupational, & social) that may be the key to unlocking one's greatest health potential; that is why I use my Wellcoach Health Coaching Certification in all that I do as it's the best proven way to help others reach their full potential.

Lastly, good 'ol Ecclesiastes. As I briefly mentioned above, FitKO Health is a dream that has finally been actualized. While I've come to own this dream, it was never fully mine. This dream has been a dream that God instilled in me and has slowly (& patiently) seen me through to fruition...and man, God is good! Whenever I'd get inpatient in God's unveiling of this plan he had for me, I would turn to His word and He always had the right thing to say. For a long time, I relied heavily on Jeremiah 29:11 ("For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future"), yet I would still never fully surrender my fears and follow his cues when he was telling me now was the time; I still let my fears of my own definition of perfect timing run His plan...that was until my August 8, 2012 Purpose Driven Life Devotional was delivered to my inbox. Once again, His word proved ever faithful and as always, on time: Ecclesiastes 11:4 kindly reminded me that "If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done". WOW! Not only did it completely apply to me in my life at that time, but it also serves as a powerful reminder & speaks volumes to anyone wanting to make a lifestyle/behavior change; and that's what FitKO Health is all about...helping plant & harvest healthy bodies, spirits, and lives one person & one goal at a time.