And so another year draws to a close, with the restful excitement of Christmas to intercede before the popping of champagne corks at the close of 2017.
What kind of year has it been for you, with a particular focus on the health and fitness front
Inevitably, as Christmas looms and New Year waits on its shoulder, thoughts turn back to the start of the year that is about to pass, and to the journey that has brought us to this point in time.
Which in itself can be a sobering pause for thought.
It is also only natural at such a point to focus unduly on the lack of success, the failure to reach targets and the opportunities missed in the year that is passing. We can find ourselves at this point considering our weight, flexibility, muscle mass and stamina, rather than considering all these data points as part of a more nuanced measure of our overall fitness.
By which I mean our fitness for the purpose of life, if you will, when this is actually what really matters (together with our happiness and security in our network of relationships).
So this year dispense with any lingering guilt over the indulgences enjoyed and the potential pleasures to come, and instead take pride in the dedication to fitness and to health which drives (or at least should drive) our regular attendance at the gym and the exercises we undertake.
Because it is this that is actually more important than any statistical outcomes.
It is the will and the purpose, the effort and the enthusiasm, which in the race of life draws us eventually across the finish line as the winners that we actually are.
Enjoy the holidays!
Julien