Ungrateful?

I just had a chat with a friend earlier, who is also a coach. He was sharing that there are some clients that are never satisfied with the training programmes he provides to them. To them, he is never good enough. Then he questioned, why do they pay and have him train them in the first place? I told him that that's a really great question which I can't answer it myself either as I do wonder about that at times myself.

I shared with him that he is not alone. I have had my fair share of clients who are never satisfied with the training I've provided. It really doesn't better if we have taken them in when they were at 'ground zero' (injured, post-surgery, unconditioned, unfit, etc.) and we have helped them to become a lot more mobile, attain their range of motion, strength, fitness, achieve their goals or beyond. To them, they gained their physical abilities all by themselves without your assistance. All successes are through their own efforts and they are quick to point fingers at the coach for their own failures. Without evaluation and reflecting on one's own actions first. It really does not matter what we do as they won't see it because they can't look pass themselves.

I told him to take heart and shared that what I always choose to do is to train all my clients unconditionally and to the very best of my abilities. Even if I go beyond the call of duty out of the genuine goodness of my heart, there will be individuals who decide to insult or mock at me or my programmes, and I can't control that. What I can do is decide on how I respond and think... What these individuals think of me is none of my business! They are free to move on and choose something else that they deem is 'better'. Never engage in their negative and self-centeredness with these individuals. I pick and choose my battles wisely at every single moment.

I told him "Welcome to the world of the service industry"=o) And I reminded him that there maybe a few 'bad eggs'. However, always look towards those who are positive and is willing to work together to achieve their goals. Even if it just one individual, it is enough to 'wash' all those negativity away. I told him that I have been very fortunate to have a beautiful group of runners for this upcoming marathon. They have also been most co-operative to allow us to assist them in achieving their goals. It is such a joy to be part of their journey. It makes all the nasty experiences disappear.

Please do not misunderstand... Coaches are not individuals who are looking for recognition just because they train you. Coaches usually train others with a passion. And it is their job to do so as their trainees would have paid them to do. It just makes it difficult for coaches to train any individual who attends training sessions grudgingly or would only engage in exercises they fancy which makes the goals set out impossible to achieve. In addition, should you decide that the training no longer works for you, move on and do not continue to crucify the coach.

Having shared all these, I would like to Thank all the Fifth Ray runners who have maintained their positivity during the training sessions all these months and years and who have worked together with us at Fifth Ray to achieve the goals they have set for themselves. It is for these individuals that we always strive to better our programmes and services. And provide them with the best programmes we possibly can.

Life is like running a marathon!

Whenever I train myself or others for a marathon race, it is the journey that I learn the most from. It has never been the race itself. The race is usually completed in a matter of hours while the training journey lasts for months or even years. Over the years, it has been the journey that has presented the most challenging of circumstances - physically and psychologically, for self and training others.

I am always thankful for all the challenges as they have certainly made me stronger and have broaden my perspectives on things and life as a whole. It is so interesting that how we deal with our marathon journey reflects how we actually deal with issues and challenges we face every day in our own lives.

I have come to learn that life is not a sprint! We can not simply sprint our way through with blinkers on to get to that one destination. Life is a magnificent gift given to us to test our endurance, patience, and perseverance, very much like training for a marathon. We usually have a BIG overall plan or objective for ourselves and we make smaller plans or check points along the way. It's pretty much how I plan the marathon trainings for myself and the Fifth Ray runners. Life is fragile and it is so important that we value it. If we choose to abuse or neglect ourselves, life can be short-lived and that is truly a dis-service to the beautiful life that you have been blessed with.

Mental Tenacity

No matter what you do in life, you need to have mental tenacity. It is the ability to sustain your focus to complete a particular goal or task that needs to get done. Often times when the going gets tough, we will find excuses or procrastinate or even talk yourselves out of it. It's amazing how many people I have met that have talked themselves out of what needs to be done.

The most common excuses told to me are "I can't do it!"; "It's too difficult for me!"; "This is beyond me!"; etc. Even if you think something is too difficult, give it a try, you never know how you can surprise yourself. So many people have so much potential and yet they limit themselves just by their own thinking and perspective. Your mind is really powerful! Half the battle is already won by just how you think!

As a coach, I have often been told that I don't understand when it comes to training. hahaha... Isn't it interesting?? I find it very interesting because I've been there and done that. When I train others, I would have weeded out all the mistakes I have done on my own before. As I do not wish for others to learn things the hard way if I can possibly help it. So I know exactly how they are feeling and what they are going through. For now, I do the same training as my runners. People can argue that there are variations in speed and experience but if you streap everything away, we are all just doing or giving our best. So the difference between each of us is really the mental tenacity.

In order to improve and better ourselves, we need to 'push' ourselves beyond our comfort zones. If we constantly stay in the zone that we are comfortable with, there is a limit to fulfilling our full potential. I don't promise that the experience is pleasant or easy but at least give it a go!! Run faster or longer (calculated and planned, of course, for injury prevention) because you never know what you are truly capable of until you do it. So what if you reach the time you have set for yourself? Work towards achieving it... You will eventually get there when done correctly. However, for some it may take days or weeks while for others it may take months or years. What's more important is that we all get to our own destinations eventually =o)

So be courageous! Don't allow yourself to live in your own little mind world with 'blinkers' on.