Lessons from Charles Dickens and Julie Whitt

Tags

body for life, Christmas, Christmas Carol, christmas spirit, clara k.showalter, Julie Whitt. Soul Salon International, mankind is my business

Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy,forbearance, and benevolence were, all, my business. The dealings of my
trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!

–Jacob Marley, A Christmas Carol

The words of Jacob Marley ring down through the years. At the time Dickens wrote his novella, “A Christmas Carol”, England was experiencing a renewed interest in the practice of Christmas. At a time where there were no soup kitchens, no social safety net, and the gap between the haves and have nots was the size of the Grand Canyon; Dickens touched on the importance of charity and goodwill towards others. His words helped to spark a new interest in Christmas.

The idea of reaching out and helping others has always resonated with me. I’ve long had a belief that it’s my job to care about my fellow man. This isn’t something done because I get a reward. It’s not done because someone tells me to. It’s just what you do.

Julie Whitt believed in helping her fellow man. She was the 2005 Body for Life Grand Champion in the inspirational category. She took charge of her health so she could undergo a double lung transplant. Julie was one of those people who always reached out to help others. She had a kind word for everyone. She believed that it was her job to inspire and lead others to a better life. She did that one person at a time. I remember stories about her sending supplies to help people with their Body for Life Challenges after Katrina. Right up to the days before her transplant, she kept reaching out to help others.

She died on December 19th, 2005. Unlike Jacob Marley, Julie made mankind her business. There was no chain for her to drag through eternity. She lived a good life. Christmas isn’t just one day a year. The spirit of Christmas is something you should live year round. Julie did that.

Dickens and Julie are two of the people who inspire me this time of year, and year round. It’s not my job to get ahead of everyone around me. It’s not my job to show people how cool I am. Mankind is my business. The lives and well being of people around me are my business. Doing the right thing, and the common good are my business. It’s not always easy, and it isn’t always profitable in the way most people expect it should be.

Yet the value to me is incalculable. I live with Christmas in my heart year round. I’m happy, I believe in the wonder and glory of impossible things, and I strive to share those with others. It’s a gift without price, and it is the easiest gift you can ever give.

Make mankind your business. You’ll never regret it. Merry Christmas to all. And as Tiny Tim said, “God Bless us, Everyone!”

From the archives- Faith

Tags

abyss, body for life, change, clara k.showalter, facing fear, fitness, life, transformation

People talk about the key ingredient for a successful transformation. They talk about desire, motivation, planning, equipment, suppliments. There’s one thing I don’t see mentioned nearly often enough. Faith. Now I’m not talking about religious faith, though that’s something that I know many successful BFLers have. I’m talking about a deep, profound belief that this transformation is actually possible. A belief so deep, so true, that when things get dark, you KNOW that if you just hang on a second longer, you can make this happen. BFlers have a great gift before us. We have living proof that amazing transformations can and do happen to ordinary people. People just like us. These people show us that by putting away our fears, by believing in the process 100% that you can make a 180 degree turn in your life. You have living, breathing proof. Every single successful transformee stood where you are. They were upset by how they looked, and how they felt. They stood at the abyss. Then they did something truly scary. They stepped off the edge. They committed 110 percent to the process. When they made that step, they never looked back. This is week three. I know that some of you out there still haven’t crossed the Abyss. In the back of your mind, you know this can’t actually work. Somewhere between now and week 12- you are going to find a way to prove yourself right. That big, black hole is scary, dark, the wind howls up at you. It’s trying to suck you in. Nobody is going to blame you for backing away from the edge. I mean come on. It’s scary, you can’t see what’s at the bottom, you can’t see how far it is. Back away. Afterall, you don’t want to fall. That’s the easy choice. Or You can look at the black void in front of you. You can’t see the bottom. It’s dark, empty, the wind is blowing. Your hair stirrs in the breeze. Close your eyes. No, trust me. Close them. Feel the wind. Listen to the sounds. Do you hear that. That tiny breath of heaven, that small voice saying “can” You have to strain to hear it. Step closer. Listen to it. “can”. It’s just out of reach. Step closer. No, it’s okay- trust me. Take that step. Let the wind catch you, support you. Step. Keep your eyes closed, don’t worry about falling. Step. Listen to a fallen champion, let her carry you forward. Step. Listen to the voices telling you- CAN Trust me. This journey never ends. You won’t fall. Believe. When all else fails you- Believe that you can keep taking that next small step. Crossing the Abyss is all about faith. Those of us who’ve crossed are there to keep you from falling. Trust us, believe. Close your eyes… STEP

Changed for the better

Tags

be the change, be your own oz, body for life, changed for the better, life, michelle treichel

It’s not easy to change things. In fact, it’s damned hard. But I promise you this, the end rewards are so beyond anything you can imagine.

Be the change you want to see. Be the person you know you can be.

Gaining to lose

Tags

clara k.showalter, fitness, gastric bypass, health, lap-band, life, weight loss

In a world which at times seems focused on weight loss, there are those who are so desperate to lose weight that they chose to gain it first.

Gastric bypass surgery and less invasive options like Lap-Band can seem like magic bullets. The weight loss post surgery is drastic. You may even hear a recipient of the surgery call it a miracle. As the push for surgery as an option grows, the companies providing the technology have pushed for changes in the regulations. Earlier this year, the FDA changed the requirements for Lap-Band surgery and lowered the Body Mass Index (BMi) requirement. By changing the BMI needed for surgery to between 30-35, more people are eligible to receive insurance coverage to pay for the surgery.

This means you find more people looking for ways to gain enough weight to qualify for the surgery. By engaging in binge eating, potential candidates hope they will gain the few needed pounds that will qualify them for surgery.

I’ve had friends over the past few years who’ve expressed similar interest. If they gain enough weight, they may qualify for surgery. It always boggles my mind. I had to work darned hard to get my weight off. I’ve had to work hard to keep it off. I know the process isn’t easy. I know that you’ve got to fail in order to lose and keep it off.

There are no magic solutions. There’s no easy path. My heart breaks a bit when I see people who think the only way to get the weight off is to make things worse.

Reciprocity- not just a status update

Tags

body for life, clara k.showalter, clara showalter, facebook update, fitness, life, make a difference, positive impact, reciprocity, status update, universal law of reciprocity

One of the cornerstones of the Body-for-Life program is the Universal Law of Reciprocity. In essence, part of helping your lose weight and keep it off is remembering to reach out and help others. It can be as simple as an encouraging word to someone who’s struggling. It can be paying tolls for the people behind you. The key is doing something for another, without expecting anything for it.

Developing this attitude of gratitude helps pull you out of your own drama. It gets you focused on helping others, and by doing that you help yourself. When I started my fitness and weight-loss journey, I made a point of including daily Universal Law of Reciprocity (ULR) work into my program. I literally had as part of my daily plan, “encourage X today.”

The key thing here is that this is a specific, focused action. It’s not just a blind status update saying. “great job!” It’s something with a purpose behind it. I see a lot of folks these days who post the status update of the day. You know the one, “if you believe in cause X, put this as your status.” The thing is, does that status update really help move anything forward? I mean it’s not much work or thought for you to do a copy and paste. It’s a bit like grabbing a shotgun, closing your eyes, spinning in a circle, then pulling the trigger and hoping you hit something.

You might, but it’s probably not going to be real pretty when you open your eyes.

The goal isn’t to show the world how much you care. The goal is to take action and make a difference for someone. A genuine kind word to one who is struggling has the potential to change a life. Too often, I think we lose track of what it means to give back. It means a sacrifice. Sometimes it’s a small one, a few minutes of your time. It may be bigger, in the form of money to a cause you believe in. It may be a half day volunteering. It may be picking up the phone and listening for a few hours to someone who’s hurting.

Some days people may know it’s you reaching out. Some days it’s you operating behind the scenes. Those are some of my favorite moments of ULR in action. When you can quietly work on the back end to make something come through for a person who needs it, that’s a great feeling.

The next time you update your status to reflect the cause of the day, ask yourself what you can do to really make an impact. How can you take that off the cuff action and really make a difference in the world around you?

Great changes happen one small act at a time. That’s how you lose weight, and that’s how you build your way to a happy and meaningful life.

The internet is not your therapist

Tags

bill phillips, clara k.showalter, clara showalter, facebook, internet, privacy, transformation, twitter

The internet is not your therapist.

This thought keeps bouncing through my mind this week as I consider the ramifications of social media and the shrinking of on-line privacy. It’s not your priest, rabbi, or pastor. It’s not a lawyer. The internet is not the place to go with information that you’d rather keep confidential.

The internet can create a false sense of intimacy and privacy. It’s funny when you think about it. Parents closely monitor where their children go in real life and on-line. They don’t always do a good job of thinking through what they do or say on-line.

A few years back I was spending time on an internet wellness community called Transformation.com. It was started by Bill Phillips, the originator of the Body-for-Life program. I’d used the program with great success, and like many BFLers, was interested to see what Bill’s new program would be. Transformation.com was not BFL. The site had a much greater focus on mindset, with workouts and nutrition taking on a secondary role. For real deep and meaningful transformations, you needed to get your mind right.

What alarmed me was the emphasis placed on opening up and revealing things which might be holding you back. There was a particular discussion which started up that just floored me. People were encouraged to reveal concealments, things which they’d been hiding from others which were holding them back. This is a variation of Alcoholics Anonymous step 5, where you reveal to another the exact nature of your wrongs.

I watched in horror as people stepped up and revealed things they had never discussed with others. These admissions ran the gamut from illegal drug use, to theft, to acts of violence against animals and people. People admitted to affairs, abortions, and then confessed that they’d never told their partners about these actions.

There was a very important element missing in these confessions. Because they occurred in a public discussion area, there was no confidentiality. None. Zip. Nada. The only protection these folks had was the site required a login to read forums. That’s it. When it was brought up that this may not be the best venue to discuss these things, the counter argument was that people in the forum would never betray the trust of other forum members.

Why do I focus on this? Because two years later those discussion forums are now open to the public. There’s no password required. Nothing stops you from wandering over there to read anything you chose. You can now wander over and republish blogs without the permission of the blogger. All you need to do is push the Facebook or Twitter button.

There was a good bit of peer pressure to post your deep, dark secrets. It was almost a contest with some folks to see who could come up with the best issue. Now that information is out there, with potentially identifying information which could allow the wrong people to find it. Privacy laws don’t help here. There’s no law which can undo the impact of the send button. Once the information is seen, you can’t unsee it.

If you do not want your kids to know about the wild partying you did in college, best not to go publishing that information in your blog. If you were addicted to drugs and don’t want employers to know that, then don’t go out there and discuss drug addiction and rehab. If you don’t want your insurance company to know that you dislocated your shoulder, then do not go discussing it in your Twitter feed.

If you need to share things which are holding you back, seek a professional with an obligation to protect your information. Remember that personal trainers, life coaches, gurus, and “doctors” without degrees or licenses to their name have no obligation to keep your information private. Do your homework. Take steps to protect yourself. Don’t assume that a website is going to keep your private information private.

Private online is not the same as private in real life. Remember, the internet is not your therapist.

Each one reach one: Mid-Mo Fitness

Tags

abbott labs, body for life, champion, clara k.showalter, clara showalter, coach roz, cross-fit, debbie rosslan, eas, fitness, health, jefferson city, mid-mo fitness, wellness

Debbie Rosslan is a school physical education in Jefferson City, Missouri. She’s the perfect embodiment of the Body-for-Life philosophy. You see, it’s not just about how you can make yourself better. It’s about how you help others reach their potential.

She’s been using the Body-for-Life program for a few years now. Along the way, she realized that in order to keep building her own best body and life, she needed to grow. For her that growth came via Cross-fit. Cross-fit is a very intense and demanding workout system which integrates body weight movements, high intensity cardiovascular work, gymnastics, and strength training. Debbie enjoyed these workouts and quickly realized that they could have a positive impact on the kids in her physical education classes.

Putting her students through mini Cross-fit style workouts allowed Debbie to challenge them and teach them valuable lessons about pushing through adversity. Her passion and intensity carried over to the parents of these students. Soon she found herself running boot camp style workouts for these parents.  She also started doing Body-for-Life orientation workshops to help people get started on a lifetime of fitness.

Her passion, desire and heart are clearly making an impact on students and their families. I had the pleasure of spending a little time with Debbie this past weekend in Dallas. She was in town working to obtain her Cross-fit Kids certification. Her intensity and enthusiasm are contagious.

In the best tradition of Body-for-Life, Debbie is living the life of a champion. She’s not only walking the walk, she is reaching out to help others along the way. She’s not willing to settle for average. She’s encouraging the people around her to be unwilling to settle either. She’s going to continue making a big difference in the lives of Jefferson City residents.

That’s the definition of a champion. It’s not about what you win, it’s about what you share with others.

If you’re in the Jefferson City area, check out one of Coach Roz’s boot camps. It may be just the thing to help you change your own body and life.

Embracing the past to move to the future part 2

Tags

bfl, bflspirit.com, body for life, clara k.showalter, clara showalter, embrace the past, inspiration, mindset, motivation, moving forward

Second in the series of journal entries from my 2006 Body for Life Challenge. 

Presented as originally written

 

People talk about the key ingredient for a successful transformation. They talk about desire, motivation, planning, equipment, suppliments. There’s one thing I don’t see mentioned nearly often enough.

Faith.

Now I’m not talking about religious faith, though that’s something that I know many successful BFLers have. I’m talking about a deep, profound belief that this transformation is actually possible. A belief so deep, so true, that when things get dark, you KNOW that if you just hang on a second longer, you can make this happen.

BFlers have a great gift before us. We have living proof that amazing transformations can and do happen to ordinary people. People just like us. These people show us that by putting away our fears, by believing in the process 100% that you can make a 180 degree turn in your life.

You have living, breathing proof. Every single successful transformee stood where you are. They were upset by how they looked, and how they felt. They stood at the abyss. Then they did something truly scary. They stepped off the edge. They committed 110 percent to the process. When they made that step, they never looked back.

This is week three. I know that some of you out there still haven’t crossed the Abyss. In the back of your mind, you know this can’t actually work. Somewhere between now and week 12- you are going to find a way to prove yourself right. That big, black hole is scary, dark, the wind howls up at you. It’s trying to suck you in. Nobody is going to blame you for backing away from the edge. I mean come on. It’s scary, you can’t see what’s at the bottom, you can’t see how far it is. Back away. Afterall, you don’t want to fall.

That’s the easy choice.

Or

You can look at the black void in front of you. You can’t see the bottom. It’s dark, empty, the wind is blowing. Your hair stirrs in the breeze. Close your eyes. No, trust me. Close them. Feel the wind. Listen to the sounds. Do you hear that. That tiny breath of heaven, that small voice saying “can” You have to strain to hear it. Step closer. Listen to it. “can”. It’s just out of reach. Step closer. No, it’s okay- trust me. Take that step. Let the wind catch you, support you.

Step. Keep your eyes closed, don’t worry about falling. Step. Listen to a fallen champion, let her carry you forward. Step.

Listen to the voices telling you- CAN

Trust me. This journey never ends. You won’t fall. Believe. When all else fails you- Believe that you can keep taking that next small step.

Crossing the Abyss is all about faith. Those of us who’ve crossed are there to keep you from falling.

Trust us, believe.

Close your eyes…

STEP

This marked the point where my attitude started to shift. It wasn’t so much about me. It was about looking at ways to reach out for others who needed help. That was a huge part of the formula that would help keep me on the path to success for the next 5 years. –ed

 

Embracing the past to move to the future part 1

Tags

bfl, bflspirit.com, body for life, clara showalter, eas, inspiration, julie whitt, mindset, motivation

While on a recent trip back to Colorado, I spent a bit of time digging through the family storage unit. After several years of unpredictable ping-ponging around, I can finally finish moving some treasured possessions out of storage and into my home. Every trip I take home, I spend a bit of time clearing out old clutter from the past.

This trip was about learning how to reintegrate that clutter into my life now. It’s an important lesson. The past is always with you. It just gets a bit further away in the rear view mirror.

Part of the past is my Body for Life transformation journey. I’ve been doing Body for Life since 2001. In 2006 it actually clicked in and the changes stuck. I haven’t looked back. As part of that not looking back, I realized that I generally don’t discuss my path to where I am now.  I’ve tended to focus on the importance of where I am now, and not really wanted to constantly look back. The thing is, when I do that I’m losing a valuable opportunity to help others. So I’ve been considering the best way to bring that story into the present. It needs to see the light of day, breathe, and hopefully help someone find their own way forward.

I’ve decided to go ahead and post some older entries from other blogs. I’m not going to edit them, heck I’ll even leave in the spelling errors. These posts reflect a time where I still didn’t believe I could write. They are a snapshot of a time and place. Like any photo, they should be seen as they were.

—

December 22, 2005

Howdy! I’ve been a BFL convert since 2001. In January of that year I saw a picture of me with my 1 month old godson. I had more double chins than he did. My brother had a copy of BFL sitting around. I took 4 weeks to “prep” myself- learning how to lift, cutting bad food out of my diet. In 16 weeks I lost 40 pounds.

The strength and clarity of vision I gained let me chase some big dreams, including moving back to Washington DC. Once I moved back here I made a tiny little boo-boo. I had no plan in place to mantain my progress. Whoops. You know, it’s darned hard to get a rocket at rest moving again.  I’ve spent two years spinning my wheels. In March, I started and finished a challenge where I made modest and unsustained progress. By June I was feeling more alone and isolated than ever. I live by myself and it’s so hard to keep going some days. In September I was back at 178 pounds. I needed to change. I started a challenge, stalled a bit, then made friends with Gary Jacobs. He’s been my sparkplug the first 5 weeks of my challenge. I started my official challenge 2 for 2005 in October. On Halloween, I sprained my knee!

Knees are very, very important. I learned this the hard way.  I regularly preach about the value of completing a challenge no matter what. And to be fair to myself, every single challenge I’ve started, I have completed. (With the exception of sending in challenge packets.) So I was faced with an interesting situation. I chose to continue with my challenge for 2 reasons. One, it would be hypocritical to stop when I CONSTANTLY preach keep moving. Two- had I stopped working out I was gonna look like the goodyear blimp by Christmas.  And I was running out of pants that fit. So I continued the challenge. I finish on Saturday. It’s not a “money” transformation. My physique just looks less lumpy.

My legs are starting to show definition again, I see some nice upper body development. I now have several pairs of pants that only sort of fit. And they sort of don’t fit in a good way.  I’ve also made some critical mental breakthroughs along the way.

I’m here because of my hero. Her name is Julie Whitt. Her picture sits on my wall, where I can see it when I do cardio. When I’ve been feeling sorry for myself, I would think of her and Cowboy Up. She walked me through finish up my essay for my March challenge. I’m ashamed to say it’s still sitting on my desk. I got scared and never sent it in.

I’m going to have that haunt me to my dying day. I made her a promise and I broke it. And worst of all, she knows now that I did. Now I know that Julie probably wouldn’t have judged me. That’s not how she ever came across. But I judge me. I’m always my own worst critic. I can’t make excuses to myself anymore. I can’t say, “I’ll make it up to her later.” There is no later. It’s over, done.

Time to face up my difficulty following through on things. I don’t put ends on what I do. I start, but never finish in the ways that matter. I have reasons. I’m dyslexic, organizing is incredibly challenging for me, I’m busy, I have poor short term memory…

Those reasons sound hollow next to the broken promises staring me in the face. Everyone else I’ve broken my word to, they are all still here. I can fix things. Not this one. It’s over, done. And NOTHING I do will ever change that. It’s my personal wake up call. I have a decision to make. I need to decide if I am going to be the champion in life that Julie saw when she talked to me.

This is a time of year of great personal signifigance for me. It’s my personal high point of the year, my most reflective time of year. I’m being given a message. It’s come in a form I wouldn’t ever wish on anyone. It’s a gift if I chose to accept it. I’m terrified. Accepting this gift means becoming the person so many see on the outside. It means letting go of the frightened child I don’t let the rest of the world see. It means stepping up, leading others, and leading myself to personal success and victory. It means a complete and total change of EVERYTHING I’ve ever thought about myself. It means becoming the hero I so desperatly want to be.

This is Julie’s legacy and gift to me. This upcoming challenge is my first tenative step in accepting it. It’s a leap of faith. Which is what BFL is really all about. Faith in the impossible becoming probable. Sometimes you just have to close your eyes, step, and trust that you are not going to fall.

…closes eyes…step…