One of the things I love about sport is how competition trains and disciplines the mind.  A novice will make the mistake of focussing on his or her competitors.  She will try to pace herself against the other players or will feel intimidated by an opponent who is much stronger.  Through experience, competition trains you to stay in your own lane and to focus on what you are able to do without regard for the rest of the field of competition.  All you can do is your best performance, you have no power over how your opponent does. 

This does not come naturally but is a skill developed over time.  But if you only apply this to sport, who cares?  After all, sport is just for fun.  Something that most people miss is that sport is an opportunity to practice for life.  All mammals, especially humans, use play to learn and grow.  Sport is a form of play and yes, even we adults can continue to learn it’s lessons.  And learning to focus your energy and attention on your sphere of influence may be one of the most powerful life lessons sport can provide. 

We are living in crazy times.  We say it and we believe it.  But if you’ve studied even a little bit of history you will discover that to the people of those bygone days, the times in which they were living were fraught with unprecedented craziness.  It is true in every era for which we have written record.  So maybe the craziness is not as unprecedented as we think.  Though the flavour may differ from generation to generation, change is a constant in the human experience as is our reaction to it.  We resist change and call it evil because it disrupts the way of life to which we’ve grown accustomed.  And no doubt, many changes throughout history have been bad though humans have proven exceptionally poor at differentiating good from bad until much later when the lens of history provides some perspective.  And even then, there is not always agreement.

The fact is, we live in times of change, and we always will.  Some of the changes will benefit us, others will not.  And while some extraordinary folks do possess the power and the will to effect world events, most of us do not.  Most of us have very little influence on the tide of history and like the luddites, resist the inevitable change at our own peril.

If you focus on events outside your sphere of influence, you will continue to feel disempowered and afraid.  All you will be able to do is add your voice to the cacophony of powerless people impotently shouting their rage and fear creating noise but changing nothing.

Empowerment is derived from identifying your sphere of influence and concentrating on making your small corner of the world in your image.  If you are a teacher for example, your sphere of influence extends to the children in your classroom and your co-workers.  A doctor will have her patients and peers.  We all have our family and friends.  These are the corners of the world in which we can make a profound and lasting difference despite whatever chaos is going on in the greater world beyond.  Here we can cultivate love and support and acceptance creating a tiny pocket of goodness. 

If we each focussed our energies on creating such pockets of peace and love instead of directing our anger and hate and fear at forces beyond our control, how much could we change the world?  How much more energy would you have for the people closest to you?  How much more empowered would you feel? 

My sphere of influence is very small.  But I have managed to bring together a small but beautiful community of wonderful people who genuinely care about and for each other.  People who bring joy to each other every day, who support each other and cheer each other on and make our little corner of the world a better place.  For many, it has been a life raft in the midst of chaos and despair.  Alone I could only do so much but, my efforts attracted a group of wonderful people with the desire to spread health and fitness and together they have been able to reach out and make a positive impact in the lives of more people than I alone could ever reach.  These days when I go to the gym I see the happy faces of people whom I have never met, spreading joy in our community.

To accomplish this we have had to keep our heads down and focus on our small circle of influence.  Eschewing the news, we pour our hearts and souls into making the one block we inhabit, the best we can.  When I step back and look at the wider world, I can see that I am a nobody who will before long be gone and forgotten but, in this place and for this moment in time I have helped plant the seed of something beautiful.  That I have made a small positive difference in the lives of a few people.  I hope someone will step up and continue when I am gone. 

I imagine a world where every person cultivates their own garden of joy in the place where they live.  Imagine a million nobodies bringing love to their small spheres of influence.  Imagine a billion! 

The fear mongers will tell you that your small sphere of influence cannot survive the greater chaos of the world, but they have said that since the dawn of time and it has never been true.  In every era, under every regime, under every circumstance, there have been a few who refused to be made powerless and wrought what beauty they could in the place where they lived touching the lives of those closest to them. 

Yes, it requires courage.  But you do not lack for courage.  Don’t let yourself be distracted by the events outside your control.  Do not let your energy and faith in humanity be sapped by outside forces.  Control the things you can and make your mark on the world in the place where it matters: the people that you love!

Friday Make Up Day

1) Empower Reset #43
Breathing/Head Nods

10 mins
20 Deadbugs

20 Egg Rolls
20 Windshield Wipers
20 Glute Raises

10 mins
20 Hands & Knees Rock
20 Bird Dogs
10/10 Leg Extended Rock R/L

10 mins
Alternate Between:

Hands & Knees Crawl

Leopard Crawl

10 mins
10 Full Body Rocks
20 Cross Crawl March
10 Cross Crawl Squats
10 Cross Crawl Reverse Lunges
10 Cross Crawl Side Lunges

10 Cross Crawl Curtsy Lunges

2) For time:

40 pull-ups

40 burpees

20 power snatches

Rest 3 minutes

For time:

30 pull-ups

30 burpees

15 power snatches

Rest 2 minutes

For time:
20 pull-ups
20 burpees
10 power snatches

3) 5 rounds for time of:

12 push jerks

12 back squats