I can't go to gym, I don't have the time..........

What is the most common excuse you have heard regarding not being able to go to the gym or take up morning runs? Funny enough I hardly ever hear people complain about the cost of signing up for gym membership. It is always only about “I do not have the time”. Most people I know always say 

I can't do mornings

My schedule is too tight,

I am too busy,

I have too many things to do after work

I am a wife, I have to cook

I am a mother, I have to help with homework

Etc etc etc

While I do not dispute all these valid reasons, the truth is, people who go to gym all do actually have tight schedules, but they sacrifice a bit of time for gym. I also do not dispute that in some exceptional cases, some people do have very tight schedules perhaps in relation to work. As for the rest I believe where there is a will, a way surely can be found. Gym takes sacrifice, you need to sacrifice an hour within your day to be able to attend to your body. If you can find time to go for tea with the girls after work, surely you can find time to go to the gym, if you can find time to pass by the grocery store after the gym, surely you can find time to go to the gym, if you can find time to rush home and sit in front of the tv and stare at your tv, surely you can find time to go to the gym, of course this can only happen “if you want to attend gym”…………….. 

Personally, if I do not want to go to gym, I can come up with a thousand believable excuses, and yes I can be very busy when I want to, half the time when I am not at the gym, I’m probably at home sitting in front of my tv, eating ice cream. Yes I have chores too, cooking, running after my toddler, But 30 minutes in the gym, surely cannot hinder me from being able to do all that. It is almost like running, you can never put a runner down, if a runner wants to run, a runner will run. A runner will delay departure time of a trip just so he/she can squeeze a morning run before the trip is undertaken. A runner would rather postpone weekend travel to Saturday instead of Friday evening, just so he/she can fit in a long run before travel takes place. Runners have a bit of “crazy”or “cuckooness” in them, you can hardly ever put a runner down, the truth is “where there is a will, there is a way”.  Sacrifice is the name of the game. Surprisingly  some of us who've done this for a while also do come up with excuses every now and then, the most recent one i can think of is normally in relation to the rain, whereby when you wake up and hear tiny drops of drizzle, you quickly tell yourself you're not going for a run because it is raining, when deep down you know that it is hardly raining outside, but since it works in your favour to tell your conscience that you cannot run, you come up with that very convenient excuse. 

When I started gym, some 10 years ago, I used to go twice a day, mornings and evenings, I had no responsibilities then, well I did have curfew at home, so after work I would rush to gym, squeeze in some 40 minutes of training then speed home to cook for my parents in time for my curfew. Now I am a mother and a wife, and I run too, back then I didn’t run, the running has sort of made me lazy in the sense that, I feel there is no need to go to gym because I run, which I believe is a wrong mentality. I almost always have to really force myself to go to the gym nowadays, I suppose I too have that common syndrome of having the “I do not have time” excuse. I prepare my gym bag every day when I go to work, with the intention that after work the trip to the gym shall happen. It does not always happen, however I do try to attend, believe me its not easy, it was easier 10 years ago, the only motivating thing right now is that I’m wiser and hence I know the benefits of gym. 

Unfortunately in our adult life, gym/training is necessary for our wellbeing mentally, physically, emotionally. There is a therapeutic/healing effect that gym/ training provides that is simply priceless. Work can be exhausting, family life can be demanding, life in general can put pressure on you as a person, gym helps you distress from all pressures, known and unknown, gym is not for weight loss only, gym takes effort, gym is for your health, your fitness your wellness, your emotional wellbeing, it is a necessity. If you do not take care of your body, no one else will. 

“You only get one body; it is the temple of your soul. Even God is willing to dwell there. If you truly treat your body like a temple, it will serve you well for decades. If you abuse it you must be prepared for poor health and a lack of energy.”  ― Oli Hille, Creating the Perfect Lifestyle

And it suddenly hit me...........

This morning as I was taking care of my breakfast needs I realized something which one can easily take for granted. On my way to work i stopped by some street vendors to buy me some avocados, I bought 3 to be exact, i thought they cost more than they actually did, only to find they were much much less, anyway, there was to be about 6 bucks change then I decided let me buy peanuts which were sitting there looking very miserable, they cost 2 bucks each, so I took 3 packets. You should have seen the expression on the woman's face when I bought all that stuff, yes 20 bucks worth of stuff, its like she had hit a jackpot.

It suddenly hit me, while I am worrying about what I think are big problems, she is just wanting to sell her merchandise so she can put food on her table and probably her kids and grandkids etc. She even gave me a sweet as a bonus for me, yes she happily gave me a sweet, a sweet which I cldn't care less for, I threw it somewhere in my car where I am sure my son will find and will probably be very excited for.

Let us try and be thankful for what we have, someone out there wants that job you have, or the life you have, or simply the most basic things in life. I am blessed, truly blessed, I thank God.

End of year bonus- Should you????

Its that time of year again, while the stores are running specials and sales, others have already received their "13th cheques" or "bonus" whichever word you use for it. Then I find myself wondering once again, how much should I give my helper as a bonus, Can i afford to give my helper a bonus? Are you planning to give your helper a bonus? Is your helper's bonus dependent on whether or not you receive a bonus from your work place? Should her bonus (if there is one) be dependent on you receiving yours from your employer. If you do give your helper a bonus, is it a full 13th cheque or just a percentage? Is it realistic to give your helper a bonus, does she deserve it, is the bonus performance based? Should your helper not be rewarded for great work just because you have not received a bonus from your work place. 

Do you know that E200.00 which could be meaningless to you would mean a whole lot to your helper, chances are that E200.00 is on average 25% of your helper's salary, so while you are beating your employer up for not giving you at least 25% bonus or a full 13th cheque, your helper's day could be made by a mere E200 from you. Does it really make sense to not give your helper at least 25% bonus as Christmas bonus, of course you could give her more, I'm just making an example with the 25%. Lets put things into perspective, your helper, regardless of her performance, is the one you leave your home, belongings and children with. She is the one in charge of everything in your home during the 8 hours you are in your place of work, and any extra hours you decide to be away from home thereafter. 

Others say they prefer giving bonus in January when its school fees time, to avoid helpers not returning for duty after Xmas break, I suppose that is fair. I for one am a victim of that, 2 years ago I gave my helper a bonus, it was my first time giving a bonus, well I guess she was my first full time helper i ever had, I gave her 2 weeks break and a bonus after only having worked for me some 4 months, yap she never returned for duty. She never mentioned that she won't come back, I realised on the day she was supposed to return for duty, which was day before i was supposed to return for duty, that she is not coming back. Should i have then held this against my next helper?? Would it be fair to do that???? #FoodForThought

I always find it awkward when a person says I won't give my helper a bonus because my employer is not giving me a bonus, I do not see how the 2 are related. While I understand issues of affordability and value for money, I always try not to lose focus of the fact that, my helper, though never perfect, is the custodian of my child at this very moment as I write this. Now that ought to be worth something. While I would like to afford more things in December which my employer may or may not reward me for, I want to believe that by making Christmas merrier for my helper, by that act of giving her at the very least E200 over and above her salary, I might just trigger some shower of blessings on myself now or in future. That by getting her that clothing gift voucher from jet, I wd've made a great xmas for not only her, but for her kids too who she probably will be spending all or most of her money on. Think about it, lets not make it be only about us, sometimes you don't need to give much to make a difference, E200 for my helper I believe is 2 return trips to her home, yes all that is just bus fare. Let us try not make it too much about us, but more on the spirit of giving side, heck you can make it E100 if you think E200 is too much, if I have my way, I will give her more, I am planning to give her more, I'm not sure where I will get that money from, but if I have to forgo my gym subscription for the month of December just so I make her Christmas merrier, that is what I will do.