We all have a New Years Resolution.  A grand idea or lofty goal set to improve our lifestyle, career, relationships and personal life.  It may be to loose weight, train harder, have more balance, embrace relationships, learn something new, and set the gears high to begin an unknown journey.  Truth be told, each and every year when faced with this New Years challenge, I’m hard pressed to find one area of focus, one area of improvement, one key area that needs to be highlighted over all the rest!  The older I get, the more I realize how much I have to learn, how important relationships are, how right my parents have always been, that balance is important, that the first step is always the hardest, and showing emotion isn’t weakness, it’s courageous.  When faced with all of these important life goals, I have chosen to “hack” my New Years Resolution, to break it into tiny pieces and attempt to live it each day.  My objective: become 365 days better…”one day” at a time.

Another year is officially in the books.  This is always a great time for me to look back at how 2013 has shaped me as a Coach, business owner and leader.  From mistakes made, thought processes reinforced or altered, paradigms shifted, and progress made.  Here are 5 things I learned in 2013.

Some may choose to call it a box with old iron, rust, rubber, infused with the smell of sweat: a place where testosterone reigns free and emotions freer.  An atmosphere clouded in chalk and saturated in sweat.  I choose to call it a classroom: a classroom for both Coach and student.

Michelangelo once said: “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”  This quote is relevant in multiple circumstances throughout the training process.  Many excellent programs are simple, yet affective, and many diets are simple yet results driven.  Why do we always have to make things so difficult?  Want an easy way to feel better, perform better, and move better?  Ignore the infomercial on TV, return the “supplement of the month” and turn on the tap!  That’s right, water is king!  Skip the sodas, energy drinks, coffee, tea, and other highly caffeinated beverages, and make sure you’re dinking plenty of water (Ok, I love coffee, but I make sure to drink plenty of water).  Here are some interesting facts on hydration from the book entitled “The Body’s Many Cries for Water”.

I just finished reading two fascinating books on the human brain and its neuroplastic ability to change based on the sensory information it ingests.  The external environment plays on the brain like a keyboard.  A healthy dose of sensory stimulation is crucial in building strong neuronal connections and increasing synaptic efficiency and function.  Bottom line: use it or loose it!  Whether in the classroom or on the field/ice, we have the unique ability to craft our brains into more efficient, well-oiled machines.  Here are a few excellent pieces of information from the books “The Brain That Changes Itself”, and “Inside The Brain”.