Adapted from Manly Palmer Hall (March 18, 1901 – August 29, 1990). Here are some great words of wisdom to help you live a better life, run a better gym or coach a better team.
1. Stop worrying
Do not confuse thoughtfulness and worry. The thoughtful person plans solutions, but the worrier merely dissolves in his own doubt. The worrier not only suffers the same disaster many times, but undermines their health and annoys all others with whom they come into contact. There are many things in this world that require thoughtful consideration, but (to quote FDR) there is really nothing to fear but fear itself.
2. Stop trying to dominate and posses your friends and relatives
It is very debilitating to give advice which is ignored or rejected, and equally disappointing to attempt to posses and dominate persons who immediately resent and combat our dictatorial tendencies. We are hurt when they do not see things our way. If we save advice for ourselves and those who seek it from us, and who are therefore grateful, all concerned will be the better.
3. Moderate ambition
There is a tendency to overlook natural and simple blessings while we plunge on toward distant goals. Each individual has certain capacities. If we recognize our own abilities and work with them, we can attain personal security. If, however, we constantly seek that which is not reasonably attainable, we can never know happiness or contentment. It is not necessary to be famous in order to be happy. The ambitious usually pay too much for what they get, and are the more miserable after they get it.
4. Do not accumulate more than you need
There is no real distinction in being the richest man in the graveyard. Many a man who has made a million has not lived to spend it. A rich life can be more practical than a monumental bank account.
5. Learn to relax
The more tense we become, the more stupidly we are likely to act, and, according to the old Buddhists, stupidity is a cardinal sin. Today, many so-called efficient people are perpetually on the verge of a nervous breakdown. This is not so likely to be due to overwork as to unreasonable driving impulses from within themselves. Whether you believe it or not, you are a better producer and a better provider if you do not collapse from psychic exhaustion at some critical moment when you are most in need of good health.
6. Cultivate a sense of humor
The more seriously we take ourselves and our responsibilities, the duller we become. It is a saving grace to realize that, although living is a serious matter, we can take it too seriously. It is the ability to laugh with the world and not at the world. If we must laugh at someone, let it be ourselves. Humor is a spice to living. It adds flavor to workouts. The sincere, happy laugh of kids in the gym is what others dream of. It relieves tension and restores good nature. Incidentally, it makes friends and inspires confidence.
7. Find a reason for your own existence
A simple pattern is to realize that the laws of Nature that put you here seem to be primarily concerned with growth. You are a success to the degree that you grow, and you grow to the degree that you become a wiser, more useful, and more secure person. In other words, we live to learn, and by this very process, we learn to live. Broaden your horizon, develop an interest in all that is fine, beautiful, and purposeful. When you earn something- SHARE IT.
8. Never intentionally harm another person
Never by word or deed return evil for good, or evil for evil. As we look around us, we see the tragic results of individuals and nations that harbor grudges or nurse the instincts for revenge. Even the selfish person realizes that they cannot afford to keep a grudge, and the unselfish simply will not permit grudges to accumulate because they know better and they believe better.
9. Beware of anger
In a moment of anger, we may create a situation which will require years to remedy. Why should we spend our time trying to recover from our own mistakes? If we disapprove, let us state our case simply and quietly. We have all made mistakes, let them know that no one is perfect and get past it. A quick temper is a serious handicap in business or in the gym. It is useless to say that we cannot control anger. This is as much as to admit that we have lost the power to control ourselves. If we resent the unkindness of others and the collective irritability of this generation, let us make sure that we are not one of the irritating factors.
10. Never blame others for our own mistakes
It is hardly necessary. Each of us seems to have an incredible capacity to do things badly and select unwisely. Instead of resenting misfortunes, and seeking to excuse our own limitations, we must face the facts. Either we are stronger than the problem and can solve it intelligently, or the problem is stronger than we are, and the only solution is to increase our own strength. Others are not to blame for our unhappiness. Each of us must seek our own peace of mind, and, as the Arabian Nights so well expressed it, happiness must be earned.
In my gyms I really only have a few rules.
-Don’t be on time- be early
– No one sits down in the gym
– Don’t come to me with a problem without a potential solution
– EVERYONE leaves with a smile (even if you have to fake it)
What rules do you have in your gym? SHARE
