Play Your Hand

So, we're now approaching three weeks out from the fitness challenge, and I got one of the best compliments the other day. As you probably know, this is the second year we've done the 10,000 Kettlebells for Parkinson's fitness challenge. I was speaking with a co-worker who had participated in the challenge last year. She mentioned, while I happened to be walking by, that she was "still" doing her fitness/wellness activities that she started last year in our challenge.

I was totally impressed! It's one thing for people to ramp up for a challenge, upping their game for a few weeks. It's something quite different when they make that upped game a part of their lifestyle. She commented also that I had played a role in this change, and THAT is what I thought was a great compliment. It was very gratifying to hear that some of my own thoughts have been taken to heart by others.

In the scheme of things, though, getting compliments is not what it is all about. It's nice, and it can make a deposit in your motivation bank.  What I really think this is all about, though, is that we all move in the direction of greater wellness. We obviously don't control many aspects of life, or of our genetic history, and so we have to play the hand we've been dealt. But there's the rub, to quote Hamlet (well, to quote Shakespeare, really). It's up to us to play our hand. We have opportunities all around us to learn about wellness, and to spend time with others who are active and well (their attitude can't help but rub off at least a little bit on us!).

At the end of the day (or at the end of your "card game"), how you played the cards you were dealt will have had a massive impact on your overall health and quality of life. Don't waste that opportunity.

 

What to do...

A few weeks ago, we managed to put the 2nd Annual "10,000 Kettlebells for Parkinsons" fitness challenge behind us again. Most of me is quite glad for that!

To wind up the challenge, I wanted to remind anyone who had made pledges to send them in to the hospital foundation (click here for the link). Thank you to everyone who participated and who is supporting Parkinson's research.

Please email me if you have any thoughts, suggestions or ideas for next year's challenge.

Thanks again,

Richard

p.s.  I just spoke with my Mom a few days ago.  She just set a new PB (Personal Best) of 22 laps on her walking course.  Nearly 3km!  This from a lady who could barely muster a walk of 70 metres 15 months earlier.

We Made It!

Way to go everyone who took part in the fitness challenge!  I hope you had a good experience, and that it stretched your awareness of not just your own personal wellness, but also of Parkinson's disease.

I'm going to wind down the pace of the blogs for a while, but should have some updates every few weeks or so. Thanks for reading along and I really hope you got something out of them.

For anyone who was collecting pledges, be sure to send your pledge sheet in to the hospital foundation. If you are making a direct donation, you can send it several different ways.

Click here for more details on how to donate.  Thanks, everyone!