Newsletters

News from Mr Grady

23^rd November 2023

Hello Everyone,

It occurred to me this week that as we approach the year’s end I can actually say, with confidence that the New-Year’s resolution I made on 31^st December 2022 will be one of the very first that I have actually maintained across the entire year.

It was, if you remember, making sure that at least twice a week I completed my weight-training class.  (I say “if you remember” as if you are all avidly reading these newsletters and compiling detailed notes, cross-referencing comments I’ve made and waiting eagerly for the next instalment.  Please don’t burst my bubble.) Anyway, I can honestly say that I am arriving into the last month of the year having achieved and maintained this resolution.

It was easy early on, in January and February when I shared this resolution in assemblies because pretty much whenever I ventured out of my office I’d be greeted by a host of students cheerily asking “have you done your weights?” And let me tell you, there’s nothing better than the eager faces of 11 and 12 year olds having faith that you’ll do something to really buoy you up and help you to do it.

Like anything this drifted to a close, but in March and April, as the days got lighter I was able to keep the positivity, and maintain my weekly sessions.

By May and June, I could actually see the effect of doing the weights (not in some six-pack development of abdominal muscles – the weights aren’t that heavy) but in my eagerness to make sure that I did the sessions each week – they contributed so much to a positive mood, and actually meant that I also felt like I had more positive energy in general – the endorphins clearly doing their work.  July and August were actually the hardest months, as it was so hot, completing a weights session did feel like quite a challenge, but with that half-way mark of the year gone by, it felt like a very good thing to keep going.

Returning to school in September, I was able to mention my continued weights to students, which gave another month of them checking in, and keeping me motivated, and so here we are: Weight sessions continuing to be undertaken, and my keyboard is now really struggling to cope with the improved bicep action my typing fingers now rely on.

I now don’t need to worry about “will I keep going?” as I know I will, it is part of my routine, and gives me a lift each time I do it. 

You can see though, that the motivation and the drive changed across the year, and one has to keep reflecting on the different push and pull factors that drive you to do something, or, more importantly get in the way of you doing something.  Daily life is hectic and it’s so easy to let something slide a couple of times, and then one is back to having to re-establish good habits.  Positive choices are not always easy choices, but we DO KNOW what is good for us, and taking the time to make those choices really does pay off. 

My aim was never to look like Captain America, it was to make a positive choice about my own lifestyle, so that I could ensure other aspects of my life were easier to manage.  By being a bit fitter, I have more energy, by being a bit fitter I sleep considerably better, and by being a bit fitter I have to ensure that I choose a positive diet to support it.  So, actually from one small positive choice, and taking the time to try and keep on it, I feel like I’ve improved life for myself in other ways I hadn’t even anticipated.

As we move towards the end of the year – you may have managed to maintain your own positive choices, or you may be reflecting on what other ones you could make.  Now’s the time to consider that one small change that will see you through the rest of the winter months and into the next year with renewed vim and vigour! 

Stay well and safe everyone,

With all best wishes,
Mr Grady