Take cover; it is not all about me.

So I have been struggling with a difficult concept over the past weeks; the concept that it is not all about me. In fact it is more than a concept as I have came to realise that in fact it is the truth. This is hard to believe in the "me" generation that is all around us. Anyone reading this uses the Internet and has to have been exposed to Myspace, Facebook, Blogger, Twitter, Youtube etc all places giving us access to our 15 minutes of fame. These days anyone can be someone on the Internet. A friend told me recently that I was "famous in my life", and I freely admit to working on my blog and other sites to increase this fame. OK, so it also helps pay the bills but I would be lying if I didn't admit to a level of satisfaction of gaining some minor level of celebrity in my health and fitness world. Ego is a very intoxicating thing

I am in my early 40's and in the past year some people in my life of a similar age and corporate background have died; some by accident, and some by their own hand. I wonder each time what their legacy is? A horrible accident recently claimed the life of a man that I would consider to be one of the most honourable, fair and decent people I have worked with in my corporate career. At his memorial service many people said a similar thing, and while his early death is tragic he leaves a company that has ethics, and a memory to us all that we can do business, be successful and be honourable at the same time.

A few months back I started thinking about my blog and the people who read it. This was the time I changed the name to "Strength and Beauty", as I wanted to reflect my desire to help others....to be strong and beautiful. I moved away from daily discussions on weight, body composition to posts about being consistent with nutrition, supplementation, exercise and relaxation. I posted more about healing your mind and attracting positive energy. However I feel that most of the people who read my blog already know this, at least at some level. I guess preaching to the converted is not overly satisfying for me.

I love competing and learning how far I can push my body and mind. In the past 3 years I have had many ups and downs in my lifting career, and I ended last year on a massive high and my reason for lifting these days has changed. I don't need to prove to the world I am a good powerlifter anymore. These days I train because I love it and it is like breathing for me.

So how did these events bring me to the conclusion that it was not all about me? Well, one day one the walk to the sauna I was tossing up what competitions to do this year, and how I was going to make weight, and what business activity I would do next to promote my business. I had been having these conversations with myself lately and trying to reconcile these with leaving a real legacy, and making sure my work helped people and contributed to a better society. It was really simple in the end, and although I didn't want to admit it the fact is that winning another medal or increasing my blog readership doesn't count to making the world a better place, it was just my ego that thought this was important. What does matter is using all the experiences and learning's from my life to enhance the lives of others.

In 10 weeks time I am returning full circle from this time last year. I am willingly going back to the corporate world to help the people I turned my back on 12 months ago. This is proof to me that is about the journey and not the destination. It is also proof that my experiences and medals are not there to make me famous; it never was about me.

Lisa