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My Four F's- Faith, Family, Friends and Fitness


Today I am writing about the four main parts of my life that equal up to 100% of good spiritual, mental and physical fitness.  This is my list and may vary from what you think are your top four.  For me all of these are necessary for me to live my life with vigor, intent and pursue my dreams.  These four areas are Faith, Family, Friends and Fitness.  I will explain each and how it applies to my overall well being, goals and inner self.  We all have things that drive us, traits, behaviors, beliefs and actions that define us to our family, friends and community.  These four are my main definers and are equal parts to the overall well being of my spirit, mental and physical condition.  

I have not always been focused on all of these and they probably were not equal parts.  My faith defines me and drives my interactions, behaviors and thought process with people.  My family is a priority and taking care of them, being a good father, husband, brother, cousin and all those other roles is very important to me.  I grew up in a strong faith based home with outstanding parents that taught me the value of faith and family as the two main concepts of living a sound life that impacts people and makes the world go around.  My friends are too numerous to mention and of recent I have seen just how much love and respect they have for my family as I have faced heart issues and a pretty severe case of Covid that required a hospital stay.  

Our friends stepped up bigtime sending over food, calling, texting, emailing and sending prayers and thoughts during this health crisis. I cannot imagine life without them, their support, guidance and care.  Some friends you may not see very often, but when it comes time to step in they will be there and you have to make sure you are the same kind of friend to them.  Lastly, I included Fitness as part of the process and that had been very important to me growing up and into my early 30's.  I let myself go with work, teaching, coaching and family obligations for too many years and am now working hard to overcome that lack of physical fitness in my life.  I was always active coaching, working outside and stuff but just did not do the regular exercise needed to be fit and healthy.  

Now, I am working more on that goal with more routine exercise, stretching and eating better.  I am not trying to totally change who I am, just want to become healthier one step at a time so I can live a vibrant life as I approach the best years of my life with my bride of 28 years beside me and my grown kids to enjoy. 

Faith- Faith in a higher power, God or whatever it is you worship gives a solid foundation for overcoming the tough times and acknowledging the many blessings we have when times are good.  

Family- We find strength in our family relationships.  Our brothers, sisters, parents, grand parents and all the others we call family.  Family is important and we should all cherish those daily, weekly, monthly and yearly visits, calls, vacations, holidays and time spent together.  I have already lost my parents and grandparents on mine and the wives side so I will tell you to spend time with them, seek them out and love them as hard as you can.

Friends- I have already spoke about friends and there is not much more to say.  I hear people say they do not have many friends or seek to make friends and that is a foreign concept to me.  Having that community of friends to reach out to, spend time with and care about is a true treasure in life.

Fitness-  For me it is more about my mental, physical and spiritual fitness and the balance I need in each.  I want to be more fit and have set goals for that to be a healthier person.  Being fit of mind, body and soul enables you to live a life of challenge, vigor and be intentional with each days gift.  

I recommend that you take a look at each of these areas in your life.  Determine where you are, where you want to be and how to get there in each area.  One may need more focus than others or you may need to add one or two of these to build that solid foundation for a successful life.  

God Bless!



faith, family, friends, life

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