Happy 2013 my dearest friends!

Following my last post I received an interesting email from my old friend Christina. Something she wrote really made me think.

“I like to read your blog. It’s a completely different Joe than the one I met in 2003 that was smoking cigarettes in his car (Can you believe we met TEN years ago?!) You were always goal-focused, however, always had fun at the same time and did everything in such a relaxed way. But lately, you’ve changed even more – in a good way – Always seeing the good sides to life. I am sarcastic and have a hard time taking your words seriously all the time (sorry – this sounds really bad and I can’t find the right words right now!) but after reading your blog tonight, I really thought about what you asked. How do you want to feel in 2013?”

It made me laugh when she mentioned that she sometimes has a hard time taking my words seriously. I totally understand where she is coming from and know that she is not the only person who thinks that. I admit, if the Joe from that time period wrote a blog post about how you want to “feel”, no one would have taken me seriously. For those of you that didn’t know me ten years ago, it’s true I was a very different person. I think this is why some people who have known me a long time are often skeptical of my new outlook on life. Like everyone I suppose, I have grown, changed and evolved. This gradual transition did not happen overnight but from the outside it may seem that a lot has happened for me in short period of time.

I am extremely driven to maintain my new positive outlook and blossom in this upward change knowing that if I can share experiences that will make even one person stop and reflect; than it’s been worthwhile. It’s really the essence of why I love being a fitness instructor, knowing that I can motivate my members to achieve personal greatness in their fitness goals is an incredible feeling of gratification.

So yes, I have changed, but my evolution is far from over. I am a work in progress, taking things one day at a time. Thank you Christina for your email, it really means a lot to me that you took the time to reflect about how you want to feel this year. I really appreciate that you didn’t let your memories of the “old” Joe who was ashing his cigarette in your face while driving stop you from being open.

And to everyone reading this… How is your evolution going? How would the conversation go if you met your “old you” today? What small steps are you going to take in these early days of 2013 to accelerate your personal growth.

Source: unknown quotes