BE the Resolution: Focus on People

What does “BE the resolution” really mean? It can certainly mean the obvious: A cliché type of saying we use to imply that you should take advantage of the growing number of fitness enthusiasts that naturally spring up this time of year. And, for business’ sake, I hope that we’ve helped you to better capture the opportunities ahead of you – to challenge yourself with goals that are S.M.A.R.T. in the New Year.

Now I’d like us to take a look at a broader picture. After the holiday lights are taken down and the leftovers have been thrown out of the fridge, how can we,as invested and caring people, “BE the RESOLUTION”?

How can we set the example? It’s a new year’s resolution to mean more than thinning up around the waistline, more than making more money, more than being a better trainer. It’s being a better you!

Focus on people

We’ve probably all heard “Pay it forward”, “Follow the Golden Rule” and “If you don’t have anything nice to say…” But do these sayings really resonate with us? Do we live by them in a way that’s genuine? Or do we just remember them in a regretful moment when we didn’t? Either way, it’s a heart issue. But, when we first take a look at such an important way of life, the others seem much easier to accomplish by comparison.

Yes, I said it, focusing on people–on others–can be challenging. It requires real effort and commitment to the needs, feelings, and perspectives of the people that have been purposefully placed around you. And, if accepted, this can be a great responsibility in the New Year (and always).

Even the smallest of ways that you pay attention to and recognize the life of another will mean so much. You can lift spirits and will keep lasting relationships with people who ultimately will also start to “pay it forward”. An attitude that may have been culminated in part by what they’ve noticed in you.

Your small investment of time, attention and resources will pay off in a bigger way, and the time you give to someone else (whether it just be a simple call to say you care, a passing conversation with a “how are you doing?”, or the bigger question to someone in need “how can I help?”) will be what sets you apart.

Your love for others won’t go unnoticed, and it means more than your New Year’s marketing strategy. Marketing strategies are important, yes, but nothing trumps love for others. May we be reminded of where the passion started – the genuine care for the health and well-being of people. In the New Year, let’s get back to the root of it.

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About

Angie Pattengale is co-owner and chief executive officer of the National Federation of Professional Trainers, where she works behind the scenes on relationship-building, advertising, policies and procedures, test development and delivery, and growing the business. She joined her father, NFPT founder Ron Clark, at the company in 1994.