things to do

things I did not do After every year comes to an end you spend your time sitting and reflecting on what goals you had set and the things you were going to do and whether or not you did them. When you are younger the 6 weeks holiday was a lifetime of endless days and Christmas was a mix of fun excitement and family time as you get older it is true what people say the years get faster and faster , sometimes as if it was a roundabout I would like to get off. Goal setting is a good way to start a year but as you look back at your piece of paper of the previous year's goals, sometimes the feeling of disappointment flows over you, You did not lose the weight you wanted, your body had went downhill (even with your oil of O'lay night cream) its feeling like you could not stop the tide. Sometimes in life, life gets in the way of living the many things that made you do things you did not want to do and stop you from doing the things you do want to do! That's a tough but honest statement (even the night cream bit) everyday seems to be a timing and logistic nightmare you must fit x amount of things in x amount of time and the constant feeling of just maintaining like a plate spinning act just hoping that one or more of the plates don't come crashing down around you. Last year I decided to try and claw some family time back by not working on Friday afternoons classing it as a half day and to be honest it is like skipping school or teachers training day , I get to come home pick up the girls from school go to my Mam's for tea and spend the evening catching up with recorded series that Kerry and I watch (sometimes back to back episodes) that's how rock and roll we are just taking that little time off has given me back a lot in terms of my health ( four less privates classes = home life and family) I think it is well worth the money. I did write a Blog about hanging up my guns ( you should read it! ) saying that I should train and teach less, I am still teaching a lot but I have cut down how much I get involved in my classes but I still feel I need to coach and not be the punch bag of every private class. I have cut down on the amount of conditioning I do and have tried to look after myself better, more stretching and going to a chiropractor once a month all year and sometimes twice when I need it. I know I have done a lot of damage to myself over the years and it will not disappear overnight but when it hurts all of the time you sometimes turn into a grumpy old man ( as my wife says) The BCA courses this year have been great fun and I have got the self-defence message out there to hundreds of people, this has led to working with the MOD on a system of close quarter training for the forces which I very proud to firstly be asked and also if I stop what happened to Lee Rigby in any way I will feel that I have made a difference. This year I will finish my self-defence book that I have started but not finished ( I have put that out there to the universe ) I will make it happen this year and I only have myself to blame that I did not do it this year (Looking at the unfinished book does not make it write itself) I will also do apps to pass on my teachings to a wider audience, this past year I was hitting my head on the ceiling in a teaching sense, I need to get a bigger challenge in my teaching I have so much more to offer to the wider society, I will do it! I have stood up for what I believe in more this year and have lost friends that have said things about the AFC to try and boost their ego! My wife Kerry and I have gotten harder and more business-like this year and have had are fair share of heated arguments with people about the changes. All of the changes have been a good thing for the AFC, we are a family run business but because of that everyone thinks they should have a say in how we run the gym and the standards we want for the classes. We have found this hard to do but we are doing this for the right reasons because since we have put the changes in place we have had amazing results, this year we will push further on with are business and our lives. A lot of things make you change your goals and targets throughout the year and things get in the way but you have to keep pushing forward as they say “life is change" Goal set for this year if you choose to take it or is it #missionimpossible Wait and see Take it easy John Atkin AFC