It's a good day, to have a good day.

Sorry for low and bad updates lately. I've been focusing all my time outside work on my Pt studies, and will do so for another week to the max as well. But after that I can promise better updates.

Had my practical Pt gym exam yesterday, and it went well. Feel really quite happy with myself, and I can notice myself how much I've learned since January.

I also want to give a big thanks to one of my best friends Carys, who was my wee guinea pig for my exam. Totally worked her to the max, and I'm pretty sure I heard her say that she hated me some time during our gym session. Haha! All good then!

No, but seriously, thank you C.

Time for my practical Pt gym exam!

Want:

Tights: Skins a400.
Shoes: Nike Free 4.0.
Top: H&M.

Music.

Here are a few of my favourite gym songs, that really gets me awake and pushed for a workout in the gym:

Criticism.

Something I find very important in life is to give and get given criticism. Good and bad. It's also important to learn to give and take bad criticism. How do you turn bad criticism in to something good, and how are you suppose to create the best out of it? It's important to take it to you, and to think how you can turn it to something positive. It's important that someone tell you this, so you can improve.

I was in the gym today, and in the changing room I overheard a conversation between two older ladies, discussing a class they had just been to. One of them said she went to the class to keep her fitness up, but she didn't find it particularly good. She didn't like the exercises the guy keeping the class did, and she thought the time he kept each exercise was too long.

I was so close to jump in to the conversation (which obviously wouldn't have been right), and ask the lady to tell the instructor how she felt about the class. He might think he is keeping a perfectly great class, and that everyone is happy about it. Or, he might actually be holding a perfectly great class, its just that this lady might be doing some of the exercises wrong which makes her not like them, or it makes her uncomfortable? Either way: by not saying anything, nothing is going to change.

I love hearing that I do things right. Everyone does. But I also love hearing that I do things wrong (I learn from it), how I could improve, or simply just get any type of criticism so I get the opportunity to improve. The day I start working as a Personal Trainer, when I start holding classes, or maybe even the day I start my own business, I'm going to ask people for positive and negative feedback.

It's important to hear positive and negative criticism, to be able to grow; as a person, a brand and as a business.

Exam results.

Got my exam results back yesterday, from the exams I did the other week. AND I PASSED!! Which means that I'm done with the first part of my personal training course. On to the next stage now.

Best Friday.

Think today might just be the best Friday ever. Work went great, and so did the gym. And to top it off; Craig is coming home today! Not just for the weekend, not just for a weeks holiday, he is actually coming home. After 18 months of working away, and coming home just every other weekend, he is finally coming home for good!

I can't describe how happy I am, and how lucky I feel to be able to live an every day life just like other people. Craig and I have never really had that. My shifts used to be all over the place, and I was off days Craig was working or in university, and the other way around. And when Craig was in university, he didn't finish his part time job until 8pm, so we never really lived that "normal" life, having dinners together and so on. We have always wished for that.

You don't realise how much those little things in life matter, and you don't appreciate some things until it's taken away from you.

Today is a good day. No, today is a great day. But I don't think I will understand that life from today will be different, and better, until another couple of weeks has gone by. And I will never take Craig for granted, ever.

Action creates opportunities.

I'm quite a happy person. Sure, I have my bad days too, quite a lot of them, but I don't let them take over my life. When a problem occurs in life, I try to solve it straight away. It will only take bad energy from my mind otherwise, that I could have used to create something good with.

People quite often over think things, and play up scenarios in their minds of what could happen, things that probably never will happen. But instead of going to the bottom with how they are feeling about things, or to bring up what's bothering them, they keep it to themselves and hope that tomorrow will solve it.

But nothing changes, if you don't change it. You don't get given things in life.

If you want things to change, you need to address what it is you want different, and act to do something about it. If you want a clean house, you need to clean it. If you want a new job, you need to apply for jobs. If you want money to buy something big for, you need to save up money, and stop spending money. It's as easy as that. You might not necessarily get it all straight away, but you are one step closer than you were before.

Strip off all the big worrying thoughts that you create in your mind when something negative occurs in life, get to the bottom of How to change things and act. Action creates opportunities, thinking about acting doesn't.

Worth watching.

How bad do you want to succeed?

Beat it!

Got a bit side tracked in the gym. Only did about 8 minutes of intervals, and decided to try out the gym challange: to row 500 meters as fast as possible.

The current record in the gym for women was 2.11, and I beat that with my 1.55! :) I felt proper proud! But will keep rowing, and will give it another go next week again. I want to make it 1.45 by the end of march!

Change.

Day off today. Went up at 7am, had a long breakfast and have been studying ever since 8am this morning.

Sitting on the bus on my way to the gym now. Planning an interval session on the treadmill, and to focus on upper body after that. Then back home and study some more. :)

Feeling relaxed and happy today. Feels like I'm actually getting somewhere with my studying and my fitness. If I want to learn and to make things happen with my training, I need to make things happen. That's what I'm doing today.

One hour might be all you need.

I have always been a morning person. I really don't mind getting up as early as 4.45, as I do for work every morning. I like the calmness outside, before everyone else wakes up and starts their day.

On my days off I always have my alarm set between 7.30 and 8.00. It gives me enough time to have a good long breakfast, get the house work done and maybe even hit the gym, all before 11am. I feel that I can get so much more done, knowing I've done so much already.

For people who say that they don't have enough hours in their day, that they simply don't have enough time to do things, I can recommend such a simple thing as going up one hour earlier in the morning. It does really help, and gives you a great energy boost for the rest of the day.

And remember:

Reward.

This is what I'm gonna treat myself with when I finish my PT course:

Six weeks tomorrow.

I know I'm just back from Sweden since a few weeks back, but I happy to say that I booked up to go again in April. It's really hard being away from my family, but what breaks my heart is to miss out so much in my nieces life.

Maja is such an amazing little girl. She learns everything so fast, smiles all the time and is just so amazing being around. She makes me happy.

Lulea, Sweden.

There is so much more.

This is a song by a very talented singer songwriter called Brett Dennen. I've been listening to him since 2006-2007 sometime, and I never seem to get bored of his music, or what his songs mean to me. A few years back I found out that Brett Dennen was coming to Glasgow to support The Fray when they were playing in Carling Academy (now O2 Academy), and I just had to go. Luckily I absolutely adore The Fray as well, so it was double happiness for me.

Here is Brett Dennen - There Is So Much More.

Dear gym, I've missed you.

Haven't been feeling 100% this last week, so haven't been to the gym at all. Although, I've kept my fitness up with power walks and climbing mountains (the last one is not recommended to do while not feeling fully well, although I powered through). But I'm happy to say that I'm back on track!

Got my new personal trainer folder through the post as well, so starting a new chapter in my training this week. This totally boosted my motivation, and I just want to learn it all, and get it all in my head now!

Something that also boosted me is that there is a new challenge set up in my gym. A rowing challenge  To row as fast as possible for 500 meters on level 10. Perfect for me that actually enjoys rowing! Will be doing the challenge this week! More on that later.

This is how happy I was at 9am this morning before my power walk.

Apart from all this gym happiness, I can here announce that spring has finally hit Glasgow! I put up our table in the garden today, and sat out there studying for a few hours earlier. Oh, how I love sunshine, makes me so happy!