We're well aware of the many benefits of exercise which include better health, improved sports performance and stress reducer. And now we can add one more the list. And that's that exercise helps give purpose to our lives. A recent study from Harvard University observed over 14 thousand adults over 50 years for a four year period. What they found was that those that exercised more had: more purpose to their livesmore meaningful livesmore happinessmore years i.e. longevity How much and how frequently the subjects exercised was correlated to feelings of purpose. And those with purpose was associated with doing more exercise. This makes me wonder if this a 'chicken & egg' type of scenario? Does exercise lead to purpose? Or does having purpose in your life cause you to want to exercise? When exercise is lacking from our lives we have a decreased sense of purpose later in life. And with less purpose we are less likely to engage in physical activity. So what we do we mean we speak of purpose? I remember hearing this described as belonging to something bigger or greater than ourselves. Maybe this is being a part of a church community, going on mission trips to under-developed countries or volunteering for a charity. What we may forfeit in terms of reward in these types of situations is replaced by a sense of purpose. And when we have a stronger purpose in life we: live longerhave less heart diseaseare better protected against Alzheimer'shave better pain management Maybe you are not in a health crisis and are able to manage a healthy weight. But you sometimes wonder what you are supposed to do with your life and how to figure this out? The solution may be to get back into an active lifestyle to realize your purpose...

A client stopped in the other day to share a positive story. She didn't have a booked training session. And she was in her street clothes but went out of her way to share how training with us for the past year has changed her life. During the conversation certain themes came up that summarized what allows for a happy life. This list isn't complete by a long shot. But sometimes it's easier to start with the basics. Sometimes it makes more sense to start with a few things than to try and do everything. Here's a quick replay of three elements that will lead to happiness. 1. Invest in YourselfWould you bet on yourself? It doesn't matter what your profession, do you consider yourself among the best? Or do you consider yourself to be the best? I remember being at a business event in Las Vegas and the presenter asked us if we would bet on ourselves. And he asked the room filled with hundreds of coaches and trainers who was the best. You can imagine that's an usual situation for many people to be in. If you put your hand up to identify yourself as the best does that make you arrogant? Or cocky? I don't think so. Only if you believe you created yourself and you alone are responsible your accomplishments. Otherwise if you give credit to God for your existence and for others along the way for the skills and abilities you've developed than you aren't cocky or arrogant. You are simply appreciative of the gifts and opportunities you have had. And you also realize that you have a responsibility to develop your gifts and abilities as much as possible. This not only helps us to be the best version of ourselves that we can be but...