We all go through it. At one point or another, we all want to change our lives. Whether it’s lifestyle, cosmetic, or health related, we have at our core a desire to improve. What we don’t all have is a guarantee that things will get better.
Sometimes that is what stops us. Why should I stop eating take-out every day? I’ll never be skinny. Why should I exercise? It doesn’t make a difference.
I know. I’ve asked the same questions and said the same things for the better part of the past two decades. Why should I try? There’s no guarantee that it will work.
I was wrong. There is a guarantee. It will work.
The problem is I wanted it to work on my terms. I wanted it to work NOW. At the very least I wanted it to work SOON. I was ignoring what I knew to be true, that “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty.”
It has been three months since I started on a journey to change my life. I have struggled with my weight since I was 19 years old. I injured my back playing football at Princeton and suffered a serious concussion. I no longer had access to the football training facilities and the fraternity of weight lifting brothers who supported each other there.
Exercise had been a way of life. I played football through high school. I wrestled. I trained at home in my parents’ basement. I ran a mile and a half a day in my neighborhood. I trained with Rocky and Apollo Creed bouncing and shadow boxing until I collapsed into bed.
College was different. I did not own a television, so no Rocky. I had roommates and was not comfortable training in front of people I didn’t know. I felt exposed, threatened, and afraid. I did not have the courage to step out of my comfort zone.
The campus gym wasn’t any better. I was self conscious, and embarrassed that I had become overweight. I felt out of place.
I sought comfort in the one place I fit in, the dining hall. I could enjoy 12 flavors of ice cream, 6 different cereals, and cheeseburgers every day. Eating made me feel better, even though I was too ashamed to admit it.
Three months ago, I took action. I had slowly been gaining weight, and had climbed back up to striking distance of 400 pounds. It was affecting my relationship. I could feel her disappointment and I wanted that to change.
I had another motivation. You see, I had just become a foster father. After 38 years, I was responsible for another human being. I had heard people talk about how they fell in love with their children. I never understood it until I started caring for my own foster child.
The real shock was when I experienced chest pain while replacing a toilet tank bolt. I knew what that meant, and immediately began tracking my steps, counting my calories and carbs, reducing my alcohol intake, taking the necessary medications and supplements, and lifting weights.
There was no putting it off until tomorrow. I needed to make changes immediately, because I wanted to be there for tomorrow, and the next day, for a very, very long time.
These three things, my sweetheart, my foster daughter, and my chest pain scare, were what I needed to make a permanent change in my life. The truth is, the first two were more than enough to get me going. I could have done without the chest pain.
We all need to find our why. We all need to find our motivation that keeps us honest when we plug our calories into MyFitnessPal, or spring for a FitBit. We need to find the motivation that gets us out of bed at 8 pm and takes us to the gym, wherever that gym is.
So find your why. And if you can, do it before the health scares.
