For the last forty years movement has been a massive part of my life. I needed to develop physical strength and stamina, back in the early 1980’s, to reach my dream of playing professional Australian Football. Then, as a personal trainer from the late 1980’s to 2006, movement was important to attain and maintain a physique and level of fitness I was proud of, and to help others do the same. From 2006 to today, movement – and not just the physical variety – has been part of what has helped me create the purposeful life that I love. What I have discovered, over these forty years, is that movement is not a physical thing, it is 100% a mindset.

Over the last seven days, which is the first week of winter here in Australia, I have woken up between 5 and 5:30am each morning to exercise. On three of those mornings the temperature was less than 3ᵒC. For you less than sympathetic people, for Melbournians, that is cold! On each one of those seven mornings, as my alarm went off, I did not want to get up and exercise, I wanted to hit snooze and stay snuggled in my beautiful warm and cosy bed for another couple of hours. However, before I even knew what was going on, the covers were thrown back, my feet were on the floor, I was getting ready and heading out the door to do my scheduled exercise session. In fact, each morning, I was probably about 10 mins into each session before I was really even conscious of what I was doing. Then, within in no time at all, my exercise session was over, I was home and feeling amazing, and so glad I did it.

That sounds a little crazy, I know, and you may be thinking I am some sort of robot or superhuman. I can tell you, with great confidence, I am neither of those things. What I have is a mindset of movement. I am not just talking about exercise either. I am talking movement in my personal life, in my professional life and in my spiritual life. Every morning, in addition to the exercise I do, and again without a lot of conscious thought, I am doing things to move me forward in all areas of my life. I am doing my affirmations, praying, reading and writing out my goals, looking at my vision board, sending connections on LinkedIn, writing my next book, talking to my mentor, making phone calls and walking my dog whilst jogging on the spot to get my steps up and singing worship songs. Oh yes, I do seem like a weirdo, there is no doubt about it, and to be honest, I am proud of that. I do it because I want to live my best life, and I know that it requires forward daily motion, in every area of my life. So, I made the decision years ago, to develop the mindset of movement.

I am guessing, by the fact that you are reading this, you also want to live the best possible life you can live, for as long as possible. Would I be right? Therefore, again I am assuming here, you would also like to develop the mindset of movement. If that is the case, the first thing I would encourage you to do, is to listen to my podcast this week with Dr Irene Tan, called ‘Move with fluency.’ Irene is a living example of someone living her best life and making movement a significant part of that.  As a medical doctor, co-owner of a fitness centre and personal trainer, she discusses movement in the physical sense, but you will also get lots of inspiration and ideas about moving through life with ease and passion.

To develop a mindset of movement, there are a few simple things you need to do. Please understand there is a distinction between simple and easy. If success, optimal wellbeing, passion, purpose, achievement, fulfillment and abundance in life were easy to attain, then there would not be the devastating rate of mental, emotional, physical, financial, spiritual and relational challenges we see every day. Having said that, it is possible for everyone who is willing to commit to a process of forward motion, until that movement becomes a mindset, to predictably achieve everything they desire. Therefore, it must start with a clear vision of the life you want, in all areas, and that vison must create and strong emotional desire for its attainment. Without this first step, your focus on movement will lead you to frustration, discomfort and ultimately giving up before movement becomes a mindset. With clarity on what you want, you will have direction and drive.

The second step, as you move towards that vision, is to focus beyond the discomfort. I know for me, when I wake up and think about the discomfort of exercise, I am far more likely to talk myself out of it. On the other hand, when I focus on how amazing I will feel when I have done, I am excited, empowered and I get moving. The third step is to focus on and take it just one day at a time. Looking at the top of the mountain, when you are standing at the bottom is intimidating and overwhelming. You can, however, take the first step, then the second and so on. The mindset of movement will happen one step and one day at a time.

I could go into a lot more detail here, but if you focus on those three simple steps, in one area of your life, and I mean focus on them for a short period of time, the mindset of forward movement will become part of your DNA. When you get to the point when the things you need to do to be healthy, happy and abundant just become part of your mindset, life will never be the same again. Enjoy the journey to creating a mindset of movement.