As a first responder, it’s your duty to be your best. You are a warrior, and every single day you MUST be ready for battle. Why? Because your life is on the line.
I believe in you being your best, not just for duty, but also for life. You deserve to be the best version of you that you can be in life. Unfortunately, the stresses of the job can take away from you being your best when you are off duty.
As a first responder, you witness the power of choice every day. You know how one decision can radically impact someone’s life, for the good or bad. And sometimes our decisions (or lack of decisions) can, over time, lead us to a place we don’t really want to be, to that place where we may not even recognize that person in the mirror anymore, and we ask ourselves, “How did I get here?”
I created the 4 Fs to Be Fit for Duty & Fit for Life to provide first responders with pillars that you can choose every single day to be your best. The pillars—focus, food, fitness and family—are about you being the best you, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and relationally. Let’s review each pillar and what you can do to integrate it into your life.
Focus
What you desire is what you focus on, and what you focus on is what you go and get. Being fit for duty all starts with your mindset. Just like you train your body, you can train your mind. Starting today, shift your focus to what is right in your life and no longer focus on what is wrong in your life. Focus on thinking like a winner, speaking like a winner and acting like a winner, no matter how you may feel at the moment.
Fitness
As a first responder, you must be as fit as possible. Building the strongest you physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and relationally is a must. You must be fit in all of these areas to win in life. I meet first responders every day who are losing in their physical body, and this is affecting their performance on and off the job. Not you! Not any longer. Today make the decision to become the most fit you.
Food
With the stresses of your job, it is crucial that you use food for its main purpose—to provide life to your body so that you can have the clarity and focus you need and perform at your highest level. Starting today, make the decision to eat foods that provide life to your body. Being fit for duty takes being committed to your food choices.
Family
Every successful team has players who choose to be their best. The best teams become close, like family. They choose to work together to execute a game plan so that they can accomplish one common goal. As a first responder, you are a part of a team. Your department is your team, your family! Your city of first responders is your team, your family! Are you doing your part to be the best team player and the best family member? It’s important that each player is their best and makes the other players on their team their best. Further, it’s about building the right relationships to help each other excel. Iron sharpens iron. You can have anything you want in life when you are surrounded with the right people in the right environment. Starting today, choose to be the best team player you can be and make those on your team their best.
In sum
You as a first responder are so important in keeping our city streets safe, and I am honored to help you win more in life. Starting today, welcome accountability in your life to make you the best you can be in life. You are only four pillars away from becoming the most physically and mentally strong you so that you can be fit for duty and fit for life.
JONATHAN CONNEELY, aka Coach JC, is the founder of FIT First Responders Foundation, a privately funded program created for police officers, firefighters and EMSA first responders to educate, empower and equip them with the tools they need to win in their physical and mental health. As an entrepreneur, fitness expert, speaker, author and life coach, Coach JC has been blessed to help people from all walks of life win more in life. Coach JC is one of the top strength and conditioning coaches in the nation, and has dedicated his life to coaching and mentoring thousands of people. Learn more about Coach JC at www.CoachJC.com. To learn more about FIT First Responders, visit www.FITFirstResponders.org.