Time Well Spent

My family and I took a walk through an oak-filled park and newly completed land bridge on a beautiful day this weekend. For our son, it was a chance to run around and explore a whole new world of trees and plants, bicyclists, and every imaginable kind of dog being walked . For Diana and me, it was a good chance to enjoy fresh air, sunshine, and time together.

The last week had been busy with many of life’s responsibilities: meetings and presentation preparations, sitting down with potential new clients and seeing how 925 could fit into and benefit their lives, getting up at 4:45 to work out or coach, spending time with family, among other things. After such a busy week, a walk in the calm of the shady oaks and birch trees was relaxing and refreshing. I’ve been regularly reminded lately that time spent with family or close friends is so much more important than many of the things we stay busy with.

With so much to focus on each day, it’s so incredibly easy to put off the simpler pleasures of life until a time when “things will slow down.” Honestly, as much as we might hope otherwise, things rarely do slow down. If anything, each year accelerates headlong, as though it’s being pulled into the depths of an ever-growing gravity well. As I catch up with potential clients, I’ve realized more and more of the conversations I’m having revolve less about fitness and more about regaining control of time, gaining strength and stamina to keep up with family members, hobbies, or demanding jobs, or to plug into a community of people to grow real relationships with.

As coaches, or those of us who simply enjoy working out and encouraging others to stay healthy, we need to be regularly reminded there is more to pursing a healthy lifestyle via fitness than the workouts, the amount of weight lifted, work capacity gained, or good nutrition. When done correctly, great coaches and programs help people create more time for those they serve, love, and lead. They help people find a schedule that helps them progress, but prioritizes time for things that really matter - like simple walks in the park with their families and friends. They help them understand the Why behind the work they are putting in at the gym and helping them see the value of nurturing a stronger mindset to prepare them for the true struggles in life.

There is much more to working out than most may see on the surface. The right balance can help you create more time for the things of real value in your life and enable you to enjoy that time to the fullest.

“Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” James 4:14