The other day I was a guest at another club in town, and in the locker room there was a sign posted that read, ” Exercise helps us enjoy the things we love to do even more!”
The entire day that saying kept repeating in my head…. exercise helps us enjoy the things we love to do even more. . . .exercise helps us enjoy the things we love to do even more.
Those of you that know me well, know that I can’t seem to let something as simple as this saying just rest peacefully. It needs to be analyzed, scrutinized, and dissected to death!
I know what the author of this statement was suggesting. He was suggesting that having a healthy body makes everthing we love to do more fun, more enjoyable, less tiring, more meanigful. I know that. You know that. We all know that! I mean honestly, it’s too simple not to know. Who wouldn’t know that exercise and healthy living makes everything that much bettter!
Do We Really Know?
Hmmmm…..but do we really know the meaning of this simple statement? Here’s my question to you. Here’s my question to myself. “Does knowing and agreeing with the meaning of a viewpoint equate with doing the action? More clearly, let us ask ourselves if we ever tried to diet and or exercise, following all the literature quidelines for healthy living, and then just failed miserably after a few weeks?
How could this happen?
We read all the literature. It says eat an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables. Eat fish, Eat whole grains. Eat legumes. Eat good heart healthy fats! Exercise daily. Strength train for bone and muscle health. Increase your flexibility. Do yoga. Reduce stress. Develop strong relationships. And the list goes on and on. You know all this! I know all this!
The Real Question
However, the real question we need to ask ourselves is this: “If we know all this, then why can’t we change?”
Here’s the answer. I hope you are ready. I’ll only say it once. Ok maybe twice. Ok, I’ll probably repeat it 10,000 more times, but that is it!
It’s not that we can’t change
We can change. Think about this. You are off to a good start knowing so much about healthy living. It’s a start though. That’s all. A beginning point for healthier living. Necessary? Absolutely.
The secret, if there is a secret, is in understanding fully that healthy living requires effort. In the beginning the effort will be quite demanding, but as behaviors change, life gets easier. It gets more fun. More invigorating. More interesting. And more satisfying by far.
If I may offer one suggestion it would be to cease looking for the magic bullet. There’s work to be done by all of us. Know that you are not alone in your efforts, so roll up your sleeves and get going. And, if by chance you need assistance in putting healthy living into action, you are in luck, as that is what I do. I’d be happy to help.