fit for life (TM)

social inspiration

this is a post for all of you who have found us recently or connected to us from another social networking tool.  i wanted to welcome you and encourage you to comment and share your thoughts on the blog.  i also felt it was a good opportunity to describe brief what the goal of the site is and introduce a new social change initiative that our company is committing to.

the purpose of the everyday athlete site is to share ways to improve your life by applying ideas, methods and exercises derived from fitness training, positive psychology - play theory, expert performance and other disciplines.  i guess you could say that i am obsessed with the idea that we all have a well of untapped potential and that the secret to living a full and rich life is determined by our ability to structure our experience. 

science is just beginning to unravel this process but there’s a lot that already seems to work well and it all begins by us looking inside ourselves, identifying our strengths and structuring ways to enhance and continually challenge them in fun and complex ways.  i found this out when i first started training.  however it took me years to realize the transformative power of this process and a lot of interdisciplinary study.

in addition it appears that our genes play a role in this too.  some people are simply born happy others are not.  even so there’s no blood test for happiness or fulfillment, it’s got to be built by each of us one moment at a time with social connections and sharing being essential to it all. 

and it is here in the social world of the web that I hope to share some of the ideas and practices that could help you lead a more meaningful life.  i hope you will share with me your experiences and comment on the ideas presented in this blog.

finally, i thought it was important for me and the everyday athlete to expand our commitment to helping people improve themselves by supporting organizations outside of our own community.  i picked an organization who’s work is transforming the lives of thousands of people through their support of Women’s Rights and particularly the rights of women who have suffered due to war, poverty and oppression.

the organization is:  women for women

they have done amazing work around the world but particularly in the most war torn places like Congo, Bosnia and elsewhere.  in this 7 minute piece, Meryl Streep narrates film about Women for Women International’s programs in war-torn countries empowering women to rebuild their lives.
 

our goal is to raise enough money over the next year to support 1,000 women through fund raising, special events, and individual sponsorship.  we were inspired by the work of one woman, Lisa Shannon, who accomplish this herself and helped transform a whole community in the Congo.  we encourage you to learn more about this organization and hope that you will help us in our efforts.

thanks and i look forward to your comments.

tomas