“Never again”, we promised ourselves when our beloved cat, Tigger, departed this world last year after he was run over by a car…Six weeks later Chloe, a black and white furry bundle of joy was prancing around in the living room. Never say never. What do Whoopi Goldberg, Miley Cyrus and Ne-Yo have in common? They all should be living in Canada or Europe after vowing to leave the US if Donald Trump was elected President. But they`re not…Some hastily tweeted U-turns when Trump was elected, others went quiet and hoped nobody would remember that they said he would NEVER win…
In his 2011 movie “Never say never” pop icon Justin Bieber is very believable when he relates how he NEVER wanted to be famous, and that he only put his videos on YouTube for friends and family because he liked doing it. Fame wasn’t a dream of his because he really didn’t think it would happen. But it did, and the rest is history…
”Never say never”, famous writer Charles Dickens wrote in 1838 in his very first novel, The Pickwick papers. You may not even know the name Bill Morgan, but his story is one of the best confirmations of Dickens` theory. Morgan, a truck driver from Australia was one of those firm believers that only fools buy lottery tickets. One sunny day in 1999, after his girlfriend had agreed to marry him, he bought a scratch card on the spur of the moment. He won $17 000. For some reason Bill decided to buy another scratch-card. That card won him $170 000 dollars…Never say never.
When I grew up, the word “never” was a swearword in our household. My Mom always said that the reason we should stay clear of it is because of the finality it carries. One day when my sister said “I’ll never do it again” after spilling milk, Mom replied that we had our whole lives to live yet, and at some point in life we were probably all going to spill milk again! We’re human.
“Never say never about anything, because if you do, life has a way of humbling you”, said actor Mike Colter recently when his Netflix show “Luke Cage” was cancelled. That`s exactly why I encourage my members to rather steadily change their lifestyles than go on strict diets. Saying you’ll NEVER eat a Kit Kat again or NEVER drink coffee again is like setting yourself up for failure, chaining yourself up and depriving yourself from something that you might change your mind about in the future.
“Don’t burn bridges and don’t write people off. Don’t say that you will never do something because you don’t know what will happen down the road – we cannot predict a particular outcome 100% of the time”, was my grandmother’s motto. Rather not scream you will NEVER wear V-E-L-V-E-T!!!! – it might just become a fashion trend again…Rather not say you will NEVER send your kids to a certain school, or that you will NEVER join a certain fitness club, or that you will NEVER become a member of a certain church congregation… Because you NEVER know…
In his book “Identity and the life cycle”, American psychologist, Erik Erikson, identified the theory that we all experience stages of psychological development. Each of these stages occur at a specific time in our lives going from infancy to late adulthood, and throughout these stages, we reach a new level of understanding about life. As humans we are ever-changing, ever-growing. We become emotionally invested, we change our minds and we take on different perspectives. The more we experience, the more we learn. And the more we learn, the more we grow.
Think back to your younger self. Remember promising yourself that you will NEVER move back to the suburbs? Or NEVER allow your infants to sleep in your bed? Remember when you first join the gym – you thought that you would NEVER be able to touch your toes? Or that you would NEVER be able to do 10 burpees?
If someone told me 30 years ago that I would have my own fitness club, I would laugh in their face and say NEVER…“I will never master this”, numerous members have said over the years after a first step class. Today they occupy the front row in class and step like pros. “Never is a long, undependable time, and life is too full of rich possibilities to have restrictions placed upon it”, said actress Gloria Swanson after her star performance in the critically acclaimed movie “Sunset Boulevard” in 1950.
Life works in mysterious ways. Maybe we should all decide to ban the annoying NEVERS from our lives. NEVER limits our potential and stops our paths from unfolding in the most divine ways. If you want to do a handstand, go on that trip, lose those last 5 kilos – get your mind out of the way. And if you want to win the R210 million rand Powerball lottery jackpot – buy a ticket…who knows? YOU might just be the next lucky fool…☺
Yours in fitness
Mirna
082 779 0507