By: Bryan St. Andrews
In the journey of life, navigating your path becomes significantly clearer when you uphold core values that guide your actions and decisions. Let’s delve into these principle I’ve tried to foster in the fitness community I’ve created, explore what they entail, and understand how they contribute to living a wholehearted and fulfilling life for those that embrace them.
Know Your Why: Have Purpose, Vision & Focus
What It Looks Like:
- Embracing a clear sense of purpose that fuels your actions and decisions.
- Crafting a vision for your future and setting focused, achievable goals to realize it.
- Leading by example, taking principled action, and defining your own measures of success.
What It Doesn’t:
- Lacking self-awareness and critical thinking, which hinders your ability to show up for yourself and be present with others.
- Abdicating responsibility and making excuses instead of crafting actionable plans.
Win by Playing Hard & Having Fun
What It Looks Like:
- Approaching life from a position of empowerment and dedicating your full effort to your endeavors.
- Cultivating a gratitude practice and taking time to celebrate your successes, no matter how small.
- Maintaining humility and coachability, allowing yourself to learn and grow from experiences.
What It Doesn’t:
- Shying away from challenges and being unwilling to step out of your comfort zone.
- Focusing solely on problems without actively seeking creative and constructive solutions.
- Letting ego hinder your progress and preventing you from seeking help when needed.
Be Relentless in the Pursuit of Your Dreams
What It Looks Like:
- Demonstrating unwavering commitment to your goals and seeing them through to completion.
- Patiently trusting the process, even when faced with setbacks, and embracing the journey as an essential part of your growth.
- Taking full ownership of your thoughts, actions, and the results they yield, understanding that your success is in your hands.
What It Doesn’t:
- Being unfocused and lacking a strong work ethic, which can lead to wavering commitment.
- Allowing ego to disrupt your progress and seeking shortcuts instead of dedicating the necessary time and effort.
- Shifting blame onto others and worrying about factors beyond your control, which can hinder your personal growth.
Live Wholeheartedly
What It Looks Like:
- Unapologetically making time for work, rest, play, and nourishment, recognizing the importance of an intentionally balanced or unbalanced life.
- Demonstrating empathy and compassion, both towards yourself and others, fostering stronger connections within your community.
- Embracing your role and acknowledging the unique talents that each individual brings to your shared journey.
What It Doesn’t:
- Neglecting any aspect of your well-being, be it physical, emotional, or mental, to the extent that is negatively impacts your life and balance requires attention to all these facets.
- Failing to extend compassion to both yourself and those around you, which can hinder the growth of meaningful relationships.
- Overlooking the fact that unity and support from a community can make you collectively stronger.
In conclusion, these core values—knowing your why, playing hard with gratitude, being relentless in your pursuits, and living wholeheartedly—form the foundation of a fulfilling life. By embracing and embodying these principles, you can create a life that aligns with who you really aspire to be and offers the richness of purpose, growth, and meaningful connections with those around you. Live wholeheartedly, and you’ll find that success becomes not just an achievement but a way of life.
