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REFLECTIONS OF INDUSTRY LEADERS
The winner of Australian
Fitness Network’s 2014
Lifetime Achievement Award
ruminates on the power
of change.
WORDS: MARG ANDERSON
hat an amazing weekend FILEX
2014 was. ‘Embracing Change’,
the theme of this year’s
convention, holds a very special meaning for
me. Change has created many experiences
in my fitness career: embracing change has
only enriched it.
The world around us changes constantly,
and I’ve learnt that we have to choose
whether or not to change with it. ‘If you keep
doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep
getting what you’ve always got’ is a quote
that perfectly sums up the need for change.
Over my 30 years in the fitness industry
I have experienced a sea of new ideas and
industry transformation. Where we are today
is unrecognisable from where we were
in the 1980s. At times the amount of new
information and ideas almost overwhelmed
me, and I felt the temptation to sidestep the
constant evolution and stay in my comfort
zone, my safe familiar routine. To have done
so, however, would have been a mistake.
Learning to accept and manage change has
taught me a lot about myself and brought
insight into many situations, a journey of both
personal and business growth and strength.
W
6 | NETWORK WINTER 2014
We often resist change, and don’t realise
that it is constantly occurring all around us.
We can choose to see it as either a positive
or a negative force in our lives. Whether
small or big, forced or chosen, change is
about closing one chapter and opening
another.
Of course, not all changes are pleasant –
but they can bring about positive outcomes.
In my early career there were very few
professionally run fitness centres. Many
operated without ethics, closing down
suddenly and leaving a trail of disgruntled
members in their wake, along with a
damaged image of the fitness industry.
One morning I found myself unemployed
courtesy of one such centre.
Suddenly I was forced into a state of
change. A negative situation that forced me
to reflect, reorganise and make a fresh start.
training business with an emphasis on mind
body and rehabilitation.
Through vision and passion I found my
fitness niche and achieved my long-term
goal. I firmly believe that change is the key
foundation to success. Change creates
excitement and reward and the opportunity
to become a leader. Change reminds us that
anything is possible.
We often ‘fail’ at change because we feel
it has to