Without a doubt, we are living in turbulent, challenging and exciting times. What I've learned is that turbulent doesn't have to mean "scary". In fact, if you've ever had any experience paddling an Outrigger canoe, you soon learn that some of your best paddles occur in turbulent and choppy waters. The choppy waves give you something to 'dig into' with your paddle, and as you work together with your team, you can actually rise up and out of the water and 'soar' along the whitecaps.

With the recent historical inauguration, there is a wave of renewed hope being felt across the globe. I think if we listened carefully to President Obama's speech, we'd agree that this sense of home will be capitalized on – not only by one Great Leader leading us out of these turbulent times – but by each of us recognizing the great leaders we are and owning responsibility for this role… in our personal and professional lives, with our families and in our relationships, in our community, and indeed in our world at large. It's time to hold up our end of the bargain!

Are you conditioned to your life?

In fitness, there’s a term called "conditioning".  You body is such an amazing machine that it gets "conditioned" to whatever it gets used to.

Have you heard this definition of insanity before? – I’m sure you have.  It goes something like this – Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting to get different results.

In my experience as a Personal Trainer, whenever I started working a new client, I would inquire as to their current eating and activity patterns.  Once I reviewed this information, I would immediately change it.  Why? Not because I had all of the answers or because everything they had been doing was "wrong"; simply because their body was conditioned to it.

What are some things you’ve been doing in your fitness that good, bad or otherwise may need to be switched up if you want to see some different results?  And how about in your life?  Are you repeating the same patterns over and over again yet expecting different results?

Take a close, honest look.  Be brave enough to challenge yourself to change things up to yield unique, new, exciting results.  What is no longer working for you? your body?  your community?  Don't be insane – play with some different ingredients and let's see what you can cook up!