“Who Says You Can’t Teach an Old Dog a New Trick or Two”

Throughout my past I have tried to externally motivate myself every which way to get into shape and stay in shape, but to be completely honest none of my past attempts ever lasted.

Oh ya there were times when I was able to stick at it long enough to run a marathon, or long enough to bring my body fat down to 8 or 9 %, BUT to transform those behaviours into a long term lifestyle – well that was going to take a completely different mindset.

I’ve met many people that the doctor told them if they didn’t quit smoking they would die – did that make them quit – NO. I have met many people that the doctor told them they must lose weight or they will die – did that make them eat less – NO. Why – because as Scott Peck stated in “The Road Less Travelled” we as human beings are innately lazy and it is our destiny to destroy ourselves.

Now ain’t that the kicker. I can hear you now – NO WAY! I would never destroy myself.

Well just think about it for a second. — Ok you done!

Look we are all the same – we all have countless excuses why we do what we do and why we don’t have the time or the energy to love ourselves and make every effort to care for our self. Yes I said care for our self. 

So how do we do it; well we must find it within ourselves to truly value who we are and what we offer to the rest of the world. We must learn that exercise is the key to inner beauty and shed this facade that it’s all about external looks. Face facts, we are all going to die and we are all going to lose our youthful look – BUT – if we attain good health and true inner beauty we will never lose it. Key word NEVER!

Love is an act that is reciprocal – but not in the way most people think. Love is an act we must give away to get back – we do not get love from others. So if we are going to care for ourselves we must act – we must give away love and it will come back to us. Confused?

I hear it all the time, I just want to find someone who will love me for who I am – HEY STOP – the person you are really looking for is yourself and once you accept this you will remove all these unrealistic requests from your parents, children, friends, significant other or spouse.

The next thing I needed to understand was what I was really trying to accomplish with my exercise. In the past it was all ego driven – all about external looks – like great pecs or a six pack, which was a reflection of my lack of self worth and insecurity. Now it’s about health, being healthy enough to be happy so that I can give away happiness on a daily basis. I walk where I can, workout when I can and try to watch what I eat – BUT most importantly went I slip up now I forgive myself and accept that a one day slip is not the end of the world, all I need to do is get back on the horse the next day. Whereas in my past I fell victim to my overly zealous ego and threw up my hands immediately stating “What’s the use!”

So there you have it plain and simple – exercise for all the right reasons and you won’t end up with so many internal battles that you just can’t win!