Monday, August 31, 2009

5 Secrets my Dad taught me that everyone can achieve this Summer

Dad was not in great shape.

He gave me every excuse that I have heard from anyone who I have trained as reasons why they should not look after themselves.

- I am too old
- I am too busy
- I am always on the road
- My knees hurt
- I've got a sore shoulder
- It is all too hard
- Ill never be able to do that…

Mom and Dad look like a young Elvis and Cher in the family portraits from when my sisters and I were young

For my Dad over the years the weight piled on, every now and then he would lose some weight but old habits and the old excuses crept back in, bit by bit.

Terrible food and inactivity took the same toll on my Dads body as is does to anyone.

The months and the years went by…..until a particular week about a month and a half ago
- Dad slipped and fell at work injuring his shoulder and was unable to return to work until he had recovered
- Dads legs became so swollen that he could not walk at all without discomfort
- Dad was then diagnosed with a life threatening blood condition that caused him to need an injection every day just to keep him alive

Then something strange happened- Dad asked me to help to him get back into shape, but this time is wasn’t like the other times I have tried to help him.

There were no excuses this time.

There was no “cant” or “wont”.
There was no resistance.

There was only “Dolly how can I make this happen?” (Dad likes to call me Dolly)

So why was Dad able to make this change? Dad has discovered his reason why.

He told me he wants to see his grandson grow old.

He wants to teach his grandson his grandmothers traditional Serbian recipes.

He wants to walk my sister down the aisle.

He wants to buy new clothes and take my mother out to places.

He wants to go on the around Australia trip he has been planning but never got around to.

When the family heard this we were all in tears.

One day my Dad woke up and his whole world had changed.

But all that had really changed was his attitude, his thinking, his standards and his beliefs.
The changes that he needed to make were there to make the whole time.

When our thoughts change, everything starts to change- the unlikely becomes likely, the impossible becomes very possible and the hard becomes incredibly easy.

Nothing in the world is hard or easy- its only how we give meaning to them that makes them hard or easy for us.

We create “hard”- then we re-enforce in our minds what is hard and then we inhabit our “hard “world and let that "hard" world control us.

All it takes is a simple decision to start escaping this hard world.

My Dad has lost 6kg in his first month of training.

He has more energy and mum says he is a different person to be around.

Already he no longer needs his daily injection.

So what are the 5 secrets that my taught me that anyone can achieve by this summer?

You don’t need to wait 20 years, or have a life threatening medical condition, all you need to do is change your thinking.

Today is the first day of spring.


1. By this summer everyone who decides to can have lost up to 8kgs of fat
2. By this summer everyone who decides to can have toned arms
3. By this summer everyone who decides to can more toned legs
4. By this summer everyone who decides to can have more energy
5. By this summer everyone who decides to can feel stronger

…and none of this has to be hard.

So what are you waiting for- lets all take my Dads as inspiration and make some change!

More on my personal changes next week.

Victoria