Motivator...

This video was shown to me at a recent physical and health education conference and I thought I would share it with you as well. All things are possible through sport!

ATM Machines

    'At the moment' cash machines are the gift and curse of the middle class and all students. The other day a dietitian and wellness consultant was talking to me about how ATMs actually work After reading the book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" this summer and gaining financial literacy, one of the things I thought about was: Are 
ATMs really necessary?

  

    They are convenient and they can bail you out of a tight bind when you are 
strapped for cash. However, you will pay for such a convenience. Usually 
when you take money out, you pay between $1.25 and $3.50 to get YOUR money. 

    Now, you are probably thinking, "Ryan what does this have to do with health 
and wellness?" Answer: "Why do you have to pay money to get YOUR money. It 
doesn't make any sense at all when you sit back and reflect on it." To me, 
paying money to get money is almost like running backwards up the steepest 
hill without proper footwear, hydration and clothing. Why would you do it? 
It just does not seem rational.

  

    I suggest getting your money from your own bank and avoiding these undue 
fees. This can save you money that you can contribute towards your health by 
purchasing healthier groceries. Let's break this down:

  

    If you withdrew from ATM machines an average of once per week for an entire 
year when you are just out and need some cash and if the average fee was 
$2.00 you would be throwing away $104.00/ year. If you did that each year 
for 10 years that would be $1040.00 of your money you will never get back. 
How many people withdraw money more than once a week?

 

    Now, next time you need quick cash, try planning ahead of time and/or have 
cash tucked away for certain things. Planning and preparation with your 
money will get you ahead financially just as it gets you further ahead with 
your exercise routine.

Ryan Fahey

B.A Human Kinetics

CPTN Canada 

Canfitpro FIS, PTS 

NCCP

Some New Approaches to Stress

Lately I have been conversing with fellow students who seem stressed. This is not to say that other individuals are not stressed. However, it has been interesting hearing stress coming from the tongues of so many students. When conversations surrounding due dates, assignments, assessments, and tests arise, I can see different forms of stress in many students. Ultimately, such stress hinders positivity, work output and your health.

I can recognize the beginnings of stress with school mid swing and assignments piling up. However, as I sit here sipping on my cup of tea, I am trying to understand the realities and reasoning behind such stresses. I find it very interesting that stress takes such a toll on our bodies and our minds. Stress creeps up on us and before we know it we are drowning in it. Then it affects our sleepings, eating and our physical activity habits causing our lives to spin out of control.

Last night I attended a counselling seminar in which I surveyed the information on counselling surrounding stress. The information showed on a basic level that stress causes the downward spiral mentioned above and it needs to be nipped in the butt. Avenues such as counselling can provide alternatives in coping with undue stress. If, however, you do not choose counselling to retain or 'regather' your wellness, you can simply change around your lifestyle to accommodate stressful times which seem never ending. Here are some tips for daily stress management:

1) Is this "busy work"? Busy work is work given in your job or in school which doesn't really push you beyond your learning capabilities or your goals. It is simply work that is in your way which 'needs' to get done and 'get done now'. My favourite example of busy work is making a cover page for an assignment. What is the point? It just takes 8 minutes of your day you could spend exercising or sleeping. Title pages use more paper and really serve no purpose outside of a thesis presentation.

2) How is my energy? Do I have enough energy to quote: "Do this work like I do nothing else". Meaning that you can complete the given workload with adequacy, ease and critical thinking using logic and methodical, technical inferences? If you are simply too tired to put 100% into your work; get some rest and start it again tomorrow.

3)Ask yourself, "What would they do if I were dead?" Think about it...Is it really that urgent and important that you really need to come back to the library to finish it? Probably not. If you were dead, someone else would do the work for the company right? Work will just have to wait for ME to be ready to do it.

4) "Where does this fit in the grand scheme of things?". Will this work make me a better teacher or a better employer, or will it just keep me where I am? Personally, if it is not going to make you a better person stop what you are doing;switch jobs/careers and give your energy to something else. You will be happier because of it.

These are arguably pretty rational ways of assessing your stress. Taking a proactive approach to stress by implementing some ideas I mentioned above can help you control your stress before it controls you. You know from my other postings that proper nutrition, rest and exercise can help reduce and/or eliminate certain stresses. Allotting time to make sure those three components are aligned is critical for stress management.Work-related stress can be a silent killer; slowly engulfing our personal and professional lives where we see no visible way out but to resort to relationship counselling or career counselling. Take time each day to assess the workload placed on you and separate what is urgent and important from neither urgent or important and your exercising will come easier, eating will stay on par and you will feel an intrapersonal sense of wealth and happiness which no work can take away from you!

Ryan Fahey

B.A Human Kinetics

CPTN Canada

Canfitpro FIS, PTS

NCCP

Cool Tool!

www.ubersense.com

Click on the above link to see one of the coolest tools you can use to coach and teach sport related activities in a more efficient manner!

Mentors....

       

        I discovered the coolest thing the other day. While grabbing a cup of coffee with a friend and fellow physical educator, I realized he had become my mentor. Our friendship has been deep rooted as of late due to our shared passions of both Phys.Ed and healthy living. However, this still remained a revolutionary concept for me to grasp. My best friend is one of my mentors!

Having a mentor both professionally and personally may be one of the most enlightening tools you can carry throughout your career and in your life. Sometimes an objective, no biased opinion from a trusted, valid source is the greatest way for you to move forward in your business, education and lifestyle habits. Mentors are not just "friends" who share laughs with you on a Saturday evening (although that is awesome!). Mentors are fundamentally different, yet mutually exclusive to an extent. 

A true mentor is someone who can make you a better person through challenging you to do more. For example, a mentor can be someone who sees a quality within you and asks you the right questions to allow you to subjectively see the strength of the quality you possess. A mentor also has the ability to get to the point and help you figure out how/where you should make changes within your life to allow for future success. They broaden your horizons, challenge your insecurities to the point of necessary discomfort and extend your limits.

Mentors are not like car salesmen (although somehow they could co-exist....). A car salesman dresses up in a suit, smiles as soon as they see you and tell you what you want to hear in the hopes of selling a car. Basically, they sell cars. Mentors are often not found in a suit, they shake your hand or hug you with a sincere hug/firm handshake and they oftentimes do not tell you what you want to hear. They tell you what you NEED to hear.

Basically, they help you sell yourself for what you're worth. They often do not sugar coat weaknesses, instead they highlight them and help you succeed in strengthening them.

I encourage you all to think about selecting mentors in your life who can help you when you least expect it and when you need it the most. Hang onto those mentors when you find them! Take care of them and treat them with upmost respect. After all, a mentor may be the difference that keeps you from falling between the cracks and succeeding in the highest form within your profession while simultaneously improving your quality of life!

Ryan Fahey
B.A Human Kinetics
CPTN Canada
Canfitpro FIS, PTS
NCCP