Daily Improvement
I'm intrigued by the commercials I see on TV portraying our youth as they progress from young kids attempting sport and failing over and over again, yet persisting in spite of setbacks until they conquer their sport to the point that they now can train to become an Olympian.
What intrigues me is their persistence. They develop determination to overcome failures until they become competent. How many of us are willing to do that on a daily basis? Because we WILL fail frequently in our daily attempts to watch portions, choose wisely, and exercise. We have families to look after, work to do, sleep to get, finances to balance and a myriad of other life issues that continue to deflect our desires to improve our lifestyle.
Time and energy are two great enemies to our success. There is time, but it's a matter of using it efficiently that seems hard. Hand and glove with this is energy; after a long, draining day at work it seems much easier to order in food and avoid exercising.
At the same time, I know that the athlete, no matter his or her sport, must get up early, go through a very hard workout, eat well and train later. Often he or she too, is balancing work or studies and friends/family.
The difference is in the goal. For the athlete, especially an Olympian, they know that they cannot miss a practice; that they must eat well, otherwise their goal to compete at a high level is lost.
For you and I, what is the ultimate goal in eating better and exercising regularly?? Can't it all wait for another day? There is no finish line, no gold medal, nothing but the knowledge that we are healthier, have more energy, feel better about ourselves, have a better enjoyment of daily life, and have a better ability to look to the future and face it knowing we are working to prevent chronic illness.
We have no coaches by our sides demanding us to get up and exercise. No one is there, forcing us to eat well and improve our body composition. Given this, we must learn to empower ourselves. Somehow we must be self-motivated to make choices that may not be the easiest, but we know they are the best for us.
The mechanics of eating well and exercising are pretty straightforward; what is hard is that internal motivation to change. Ask yourself though, ‘is it really that hard to change?' It's NOT about starvation or deprivation. We just have to choose better but that choosing has to be consistent: daily, monthly, and yearly. Truthfully, is it that difficult to find 30 minutes to move? When I say move, it means something more than just sitting, especially at night watching T.V. (Could you sit on a Swiss Ball while you watch? Could you use some bands and strengthen your arms and shoulders even as you sit? Could you get up and walk around during the commercials? I'm sure you could; it's not difficult, yet I find that a lot of us prefer very easy over slightly difficult—we must change this mindset).
Don't ever give up, just keep on trying to come up with solutions that fit into your life, and do them. Become healthy. Learn to be proud of small successes that you've achieved.
Dr. Doug