With all my heart

  
It was a cold winter but that did not stop me from being active. The cold weather is a good excuse to let yourself go for a few months and kind of hibernate like animals do. But not me.

I can’t take all the credit though, I owe it to a few people; Get The World Moving guys (aka The Global Corporate Challenge/GCC), my colleagues who participated and my 5.5 year old son who decided to join me on my 100 day journey. This is explained further in my Challenge Complete and The BEST Ever 3 posts!

My son is a champion. He joined me after the first week and surprised me – he completed the whole other 92 days with me. We challenged each other daily and he remained enthusiastic for the duration. I must admit, I didn’t think he’d last a month. Kids don’t usually have a long attention span but I was proven wrong. In that 92 days he managed to beat me on 65 of the days. That’s 70% of the time! His personal best was 21,770 steps! My personal best was 24,439 which was definitely not easy to do, especially when my daily target was 10K. Some days I wouldn’t even get anywhere near that. 

The best part about doing it with my son is that even though our GCC pulse devices are now off, we have managed to remain active long after the 100 days was over. With the weather warming up in Sydney, and the days getting longer due to daylight savings, we are trying to be as active as possible. I hope I have somehow inspired him to do more than play on the PS4, use his iPad or be a couch potato. 

Some other exciting news is that during this time as well my blog was read by the Founder & President of the Get The World Moving organisation, Glenn Riseley. I may have emailed him but that’s beside the point. He still read it and even better, he acknowledged it. And the best part is, I spoke to him personally over the phone about my idea and he also featured my blog on the GCC website! Turns out my idea was already trialled by them and sadly, the government were not on board so it didn’t get far. But this didn’t stop me. I thought outside the square and decided to still try this in my local community – my son’s school.

My purpose in life is to help shape the future; one step at a time. This is one of those steps. 

So I spoke to the School Principal about my idea and he said to email him some details and that he would discuss it with his executive team. I put my heart on that email and hit send. Unfortunately though, it hasn’t gone ahead. That was my 2nd stumble on a hurdle. I’m still not giving up.

Even though my ideas have not gotten far, I decided to try my colleagues. I used our internal social media outlet (our version of Twitter) to send a message to those who participated in the GCC. I asked for help with my community project by requesting anyone’s spare GCC pulse devices. Slightly deflated after the first 2 flops, I must admit, I wasn’t expecting anything to come out of this exercise but I was again happily surprised. I managed to get about 40 GCC pulse devices. Not the 700 that I needed for the school but it was a start.

So my little community project lives on. This in itself was a lot of work and took time but I’m so glad I did it. I will not stop. I will find a way to make this happen. #WatchThisSpace

The moral of the story is this (and I am taking this from Entrepreneur/Life Coach, Jonathan Doyle). You don’t need a bunch of ideas, you just need one idea that you’re willing to commit to! And I will keep trying – somehow I will find a way to get this up and running. Even if it’s just in my local community. I may not have all the money in the world to buy the tools I need to make things happen; or all the cool ideas or gadgets; or even the 1000’s of followers on my social media to get the exposure I need, but my heart is in this and that’s gotta count for something.

The BEST Ever! Part 3

  
I’ve always spoken about being the change. Being the one who acts to make this world better. But it’s not always like that. It is a give and take relationship too. In order to be more, we must also learn to accept and receive as well. And expect people to give back!

This came to me only today at mass. Our father is travelling overseas for 2 months and made an announcement at the end of mass. At the same time, he asked for our prayers – and I quote – “Please pray for me during this time. I pray for you all, so I expect you to pray for me as well.” Now I don’t know about you but this was true and although he meant it, it also sounded funny. There were some giggles from the congregation (me included) because even though this was serious, our father has a sense of humour and likes a good laugh.

So true though. Because we can’t always be the only ones giving. It’s not like I’m saying ask for things or if you do something, you can expect something in return. It’s more, about giving and taking at a different level.

Those who read blogs and listen to inspirational podcasts for example are a different bunch of people. Because let’s face it, not everyone has ‘time’ to read blogs, or even wants to read in general. Not all of us are the same and that’s a good thing.

But this is exactly why I do this. Because for the one person who reads this, I hope they share it with another person (not just by reading this) but through their actions. So that this other person can feel the change and then hopefully, they will reciprocate to a 3rd person and so forth. The same concept as pay it forward, but just live that philosophy. Rather than paying it forward to 3 people only.

That’s how I plan on shaping the future. 

My little blog here is travelling to many countries and I’m flattered that people have read it. If I could see what you are all doing with this, I think my heart would just melt. I’d love to read your comments if you have done something. Whether it be a tiny thing or a huge thing. We are all human and all deserve happiness and the best this world can offer. So feel free to share your happiness here. 😊

Since starting this blog, I’ve done some things that I never imagined I would do and it all stemmed from my blogging. It was a minor thing at the time but has blown out to something so much bigger. A real way to help shape the world. It may be small now but I have faith that this will grow into something worthwhile. It is now my project and I’m hoping to post some great news about this soon. I just want to have some more things confirmed before I do. Just know that I live the words I write. I’m not just preaching them. 

So to be The Best Ever, you have to give it your best. You just have to start and everything else will fall into place.

This project in a nutshell (and without spoiling it too much) started when I published my Change post.

Then the following happened without me realising it. 

• I wrote about it in my Challenge Complete post.
• I emailed the link to my blog to the GCC Founder and President, Glenn Riseley.
• He replied to my email and I spoke to Glenn personally about my idea.
• He helped me by publishing my Challenge Complete post on their website blog page.
• I spoke to my son’s School Principal about the idea.
• I emailed the CEO where I work to share with him.
• I tweeted my idea on my work social media page to get support from my colleagues. 

  
  
And this is where I’m at, at the moment, but that all happened in a matter of weeks, in between working full time and my family life.

I wish I had more time to devote to this project but like all of us, we have responsibilities and bills need to be paid. But whatever comes of this, I will be proud that I did my best – not just for my son, for his school and my community, but for the world. This will be epic.

To be continued…

*Broken into parts because I have a lot to say. In the interest of keeping these short… This was necessary.

**Photo creds: Images from GetTheWorldMoving.com

– Godly –

13 July 2015

Challenge complete

  

  

The whole world must know what I’m about to blog about because it’s not called the Global Corporate Challenge (GCC) for nothing. 

Ok – not the most interesting topic (for some) but I think it’s a good continuation from my last post ‘Change’.

So this is just another one of those global things like the Tough Mudder and The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge etc. 

However, it all comes down to the following:

1. Our personal interests.
2. Our choices and what we choose to participate in.
3. Encouragement from our peers.
4. What’s trending.
5. How society portrays things.

The GCC ticked all the boxes for me.

1. I am interested in looking after myself, being fit and healthy and love a challenge. 
2. I chose to participate because the GCC covers all of the things I mentioned in point 1.
3. I chose to participate because my colleagues were doing it (covering points 1 & 2). The best kind of peer pressure. 
4. This was trending and has been since 2003. But this is the first time I’ve wanted to be involved. Probably because I never really took my health seriously before. A part of me also thinks that my 100Things lifestyle change drove me to do more with life. Read more about it here. #Godlys100Things
5. Our society encourages getting active which helps reduce unnecessary medical issues later in life, promotes good healthy lifestyles and better food choices. So this movement is a great motivator for the world to get moving as the website suggests. Which leads me to the change I challenged you guys to make in my 2nd blog. 

Moving on (pardon the pun), my son saw my GCC Pulse and asked what it was. As you do when your 5 and a half and curious about everything. Naturally I explain that it’s a device that calculates your steps to encourage you to be ‘active’. I give him an example so he knows what I’m trying to say. He thinks about it and then asks me if he can borrow it while he runs around so he can see how active he is. I let him borrow it then he asks if he can borrow it for longer. I explained that I will need this for winter (as he wouldn’t understand yet the concept of 100 days) and I need it for work. 

As we all know, kids these days are glued to their tablets and/or their parent’s smartphone. Don’t get me wrong, they are a great tool for keeping kids quiet in restaurants, in the car or even at home while the adults watch TV or go about their day. But we all know the difficulty of getting kids off such devices when they’ve been on for too long or it’s time for dinner/bed/homework etc. 

So this gives me an idea. I was given 2 GCC Pulse devices for the GCC, so I thought, why not give one to him? So I come home from work yesterday and I say “guess what I have for you?” Immediately you can see the excitement in his eyes. I lift up my top slightly and show him the 2 GCC Pulse devices clipped onto my pants. His eyes light up. Wow – I was happy that he was happy. There was a 50/50 chance that he would be disappointed because he was expecting a toy or chocolate or something. But I got the complete opposite reaction. I was overjoyed. So I explained the reset button and the rules of our ‘game’. There was only one rule – who can have the highest number at the end of the day! Pretty simple but he loved it. Therefore, I’m happy.

Normally, I would make deals with him (he’s a true negotiator). 

Like for example:

• If you eat your dinner, you can have dessert.
• If you finish your homework, you can play on your iPad.
• If you’re good this week, we can go and visit your friends.

And the deals are endless. The current one being, get 2 awards and I’ll buy that toy you want. And funnily enough on Wednesday as we were walking out of the school gates, he tells me very loudly and proudly, that he got this week’s merit award. #ProudMum

So this game did not require a deal. It was something he wanted. As soon as he got it, he ran around the dining table like how soccer players do when the just scored a goal. Then he tells me he did 38 steps. 

So today was the first day he got to wear it for the full day. I explained it to him again last night and he fully understood. I clipped it on his school pants and this morning when he woke up, I explained it again just one last time (because I really wanted to challenge him and encourage him – in case he forgot he was wearing it). 

Fast forward 8 hours.

I was late for school pick up today as my bus came early and then the next bus was late. But that turned out to be a blessing because naturally he was the last one left. So I ran into his class room, apologised profusely to his teacher who was thankfully very understanding. Then I greeted him with “what’s your step count?” He excitedly looked down and checked. As expected, his was higher than mine. Don’t forget I have a desk job and he’s a kid. I’m not making excuses because I was pretty active today being Thursday Volleyball day so I had a higher step count today! But we all know that kids are full of beans and run around all day – so it’s expected that they have a higher step count. The silver lining here was his teacher saw the great work he did and also the encouragement I’ve provided him.

I hope that maybe there can be a GCC for kids – what a great idea that would be. I mean, it’s not hard. Same concept right? Nothing changes. Except the amount of GCC Pulse devices that are manufactured. Kids all have the resources available to update their steps and they are all tech savvy enough to set mini leagues with their friends. It would also be a great way for them to learn about cool landmarks and places around the world, good nutrition habits and how to look after themselves. It’s a win/win. So this is my message to the bosses at Get The World Moving Limited: There’s an idea. #YoureWelcome #OneStepCloser #ChangeTheWorld

So I guess you’re all dying to know who won. 
*Drum roll please*

  

Mama on the right (9,843 but still counting coz he fell asleep in my arms after that) 

Son on the left (10,758)

Mama 0 – Son 1

I will keep you posted on the scoreboard. Maybe at the halfway point (if we get there and he doesn’t get bored). 

In summary:

What was initially his idea (no matter how small and insignificant it may seem to others) was actually a great idea. All I needed to do was embrace the idea and encourage him. The rest was all him.

It also means less iPad time for him because he wants to get up and run around. Let’s see what the Queen’s Birthday long weekend brings. This should be interesting. Sometimes he’s quite happy to stay home and play/draw/watch TV or play on his iPad. It would be interesting to see if I can motivate him to play sport and be outdoors (especially in this very chilly weather).

Lastly, without even realising, I completed the challenge I set for myself. Yey! 

For those who didn’t read the previous post, the challenge was simple ‘Think of something that you could do tomorrow that can change someone’s life?’ Because what we do today, no matter how insignificant it may feel to you and me, it could be a massive change for the future. As my trainer says #BOOM. It really isn’t hard (and doesn’t take much effort) when you think about it. 

So until next time, 

Keep smiling!

– Godly –
4 June 2015

*Photo creds: Google Images for GCC logo only