For me it took a crappy looking holiday photo with my top off –
gut hanging out
and the onset of moobs
….before I sprung to life.
Up to that point I had been drifting through my 30’s in 2nd gear.
I count myself one of the lucky ones.
Other guys don’t have one of these ‘realisation’ moments until
much later.
For some it happens in their 40’s.
For others it happens when something really serious goes down.
Heart attack.
Cancer.
Stroke.
They always used to be ‘old people’ diseases. I remember growing
up and my Mum and Dad’s friends would be lost to any of the above.
I’M THAT AGE NOW!!!!
Those things now happen to my friends…and friends of friends.
Those that survive a major scare seem to change though.
They no longer take their health and their bodies and their lives
for granted.
They appreciate and understand their own mortality.
It almost wakes them up from ‘normality’
Bucket list items start getting crossed off.
More travel
More fun.
Making time with spouse and kids – rather than spending it all work.
….and ultimately a new zest for getting and staying healthy.
Dropping body fat.
Building muscle.
Looking and acting 10-15 years younger again.
…in turn leading to having the ability to enjoy more adventure.
Why Wait?
Why should it take something major though to discover this zest?
Why should it take waking up one day with a 40″ waist, unattractive
man boobs, and having the energy of a sloth before sorting it out?
Worse case scenario is a failed marriage (spark gone), lost years with kids
(too much time at work), or an inability to exercise properly again (health
too poor).
Having gone through this journey myself and experienced both sides I
can honestly say that being healthy and feeling young is loads better
than being unhealthy and feeling like crap.
The by-product of all of all of this?
- Improved well being.
- More focus at work
- Inner belief that anything is possible
- Sense of adventure
- Inspirational role model to kids
- Better relationship with spouse
- More energy
- More fun
- Sense of gratitude for what we have
- Much better chance of living longer
….and probably a load of other stuff that I can’t think of right now.
That beats the alternative doesn’t it?
Now if someone had showed me this blog post when I was at my lowest
a few years ago (before I saw that photo), I would probably have been
thinking
“yeah, but it’s not that bad for me”
Our brains are clever little things and are able to convince us of anything – positive
or negative.
I always used to do a bit of running.
a bit of cycling.
…and kidded myself that this was enough.
We only see what we really want to see.
So when I was looking in the mirror I was seeing a fairly skinny
guy with a bit of a gut but by knowing that there were plenty of
others out there worse than me, I was fine with it.
Relationship with wife – fine given that we both worked and had
2 young kids.
Work hours – fine. given that I was an ambitious guy in his 30’s
that wanted to make it in the world. Gotta work hard right?
….and anyway this is just part of getting older.
We get out of shape.
We get less mobile.
Our backs go.
Our relationships become mundane.
We get fatter.
We lose our hair.
We get grey hairs.
We get nose hairs and ear hairs (WTF is that all about by the way!!)
SHAKE YOURSELF OUT OF SAYING ALL OF THIS
Fine vs Great
I would love this article to get you thinking.
To hit a nerve.
To get you to take that first step.
To set some goals and to follow a plan to smash them out of sight.
To NOT have to wait until something major happens before
you sort yourself out.
To help you realise that the mediocrity of ‘fine’ is no where near
your true potential.
To help you realise that you’re capable of so much more.
Yeah, but…..
There will be some reading this that will be nodding their heads
in agreement with everything and then saying to themselves
(albeit without even realising)
“yeah, but…….”
and then finishing that sentence with
“I have to travel for work”
“Our kids are still so young”
“I don’t have the time”
“I can’t afford it”
“I’ve got a bad back”
…..blah, blah, blah!!!
There is a solution to every single one of those
objections.
….and you know it.
5 Step Action Plan
Let’s keep it simple with my little 5 step action plan:
- Set a realistic 6 week goal
- Commit to exercising 3 times per week for anything between 20mins and 45 mins
- Cut down on eating sugar and wheat
- Try to eat non processed foods (stuff from trees, out the ground and animals /fish)
- Drink at least 2 litres of water per day
If you do nothing else other that the above you will notice a huge difference in energy
levels and waist size within just 6 weeks.
Regardless of what first step you take – just make sure you do something.
Don’t wait for something too serious to happen first.
Good luck and hit me up in the comments below if you have any questions,
Ricky