Every Day in Every Way

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Every Day in Every Way

Posted On : Nov-18-2011 | seen (1339) times | Article Word Count : 1060 |

On again off again is never enough for fitness. Things are good only when our routine is truly part of us.

You cannot dream yourself into a character. You must forge yourself into one. Henry David Thoreau

Fitness is all about habits. It is what we do everyday regardless of how we feel, what we have to do, what we think. It is just a basic part of our lives, like the brushing of our teeth.

We all do our basic habits no matter what. We would even do some of them if we knew that today were the last day of our lives. In fact, that might even make them more necessary because we would want to make the best of our last hours. That may not be true of everything we do, but it certainly is for the brushing our teeth.

Unfortunately, not all of us really feel this way about fitness. To many of us, it is still an unwelcome extra burden-- something we have to do because it is expected of us by others. This is particularly the case if we have been told to lose weight in order to avoid diabetes, or if our spouse has threatened us with divorce. It may also be true if we are trying to get a job and feel that our excess weight is the primary cause for rejection.

If this is where we are at, it will be difficult to focus on the fun aspects of fitness--how it makes us feel and look. These are like the clean-feeling after using an electric toothbrush for the full two minute cycle or seeing that dazzling whiteness in the mirror. Most of us would never dream of not experiencing these at least once if not twice a day. None of us would dream of missing that on the last day of our life or, worse, subjecting anyone to being close without having done it.

We were not born that way; nor did not we get that way overnight. Moreover, we did not get that way because we started a regular oral routine on the last January First. Rather, we have been brushing our teeth from little on. Our parents got us into it, and then we decided to continue upgrading. That is why we have gone from standard toothpaste to one with a whitener, or from a regular toothbrush to a battery-operated, etc. In most cases, we have all gone beyond our parents, and are proud that we have.

Unfortunately, none of us had this same type of experience when it comes to fitness. That is because we were raised by sedentary, three square meal per day, supplement-deprecating good people who knew very little other than a good day's work followed by a good night's rest. Consequently, today we know very little about modern day gluten-free eating, effective supplementing and daily aerobic/resistance-based working out. Those things were just not around when we were little. If they had been, and if our parents took them seriously, we would be entirely different individuals.

But, it is not helpful to dwell on what might have been. That is like dreaming about utopia-- a whole other world--which exists nowhere except in our imaginations. Idealistic and good as that may be, alone, it can never have enough of an effect on us. What we really need more than anything is a considerable amount of our own concerted effort--a forging of ourselves like a piece of iron on life's anvil.

All of us are filled with hopes, good intentions and dreams. But few of us have rigorous follow through. That is to say, we have not made fitness as much a part of us as we should have. Consequently, it does not carry as much weight as the brushing of our teeth, if indeed it carries even a tenth. That is, we do not feel horrified by the thought of missing our workouts, forgetting our supplements or substituting what we call real food for the low fat low sugar variety. Missing or forgetting these fitness essentials is just part of being human, or so we say. On the other hand, missing our morning date with our toothbrush is virtually inconceivable.

How can we get from where we are with brushing of our teeth to where we should be with fitness? Thoreau said that we have to do more than dream. He said that we have to forge our character, much like a piece of iron being pounded by a hammer. That is what he did to himself. As an ardent thinker, he was everyday, every season, every year walking, meditating, reflecting, and philosophizing. In other words, he was relentlessly doing the things that he was all about; and it is doubtful that he would have ever even have been tempted to do otherwise. After many decades, this resulted in one of our civilization's greatest thinkers.

Whatever prompted this man to say what he did in the quote above? After all, it is an alarmingly direct, if not an outright critical statement from the mild man of Walden Pond. Probably he observed far too many people saying they wanted to be a certain way, but never doing the right things to become so. We have all experienced this. And, like Thoreau, we want to simply tell all of them Just do it and do it again until you have forged yourself into the person you want to be.

That is the way that we ourselves have to be when it comes to fitness. We simply have to consistently diet properly, supplement wisely and exercise regularly until it becomes so much a part of us that we can say that it is us. That is how we were made by our parents when it came to the brushing of our teeth. That is how we must now make ourselves when it comes to fitness.

Perhaps all of this raises feelings of impossibility or futility. But that is only because we are starting today after too many years of doing nothing. That is entirely different than starting with a clean slate back when we were in kindergarten or before. Nevertheless, extremely hard is not impossible. We still can make ourselves over, if only we will.

For further thought on making a fitness lifestyle your basic way of being order my e-book "Think and Grow Fit."

Re-Publish this Article

<h1>Every Day in Every Way</h1> Author: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/profile_mark19.aspx'>mark19</a> You cannot dream yourself into a character. You must forge yourself into one. Henry David Thoreau

Fitness is all about habits. It is what we do everyday regardless of how we feel, what we have to do, what we think. It is just a basic part of our lives, like the brushing of our teeth.

We all do our basic habits no matter what. We would even do some of them if we knew that today were the last day of our lives. In fact, that might even make them more necessary because we would want to make the best of our last hours. That may not be true of everything we do, but it certainly is for the brushing our teeth.

Unfortunately, not all of us really feel this way about fitness. To many of us, it is still an unwelcome extra burden-- something we have to do because it is expected of us by others. This is particularly the case if we have been told to lose weight in order to avoid diabetes, or if our spouse has threatened us with divorce. It may also be true if we are trying to get a job and feel that our excess weight is the primary cause for rejection.

If this is where we are at, it will be difficult to focus on the fun aspects of fitness--how it makes us feel and look. These are  like the clean-feeling after using an electric toothbrush for the full two minute cycle or seeing that dazzling whiteness in the mirror. Most of us would never dream of not experiencing these at least once if not twice a day. None of us would dream of missing that on the last day of our life or, worse, subjecting anyone to being close without having done it.

We were not born that way; nor did not we get that way overnight. Moreover, we did not get that way because we started a regular oral routine on the last January First. Rather, we have been brushing our teeth from little on. Our parents got us into it, and then we decided to continue upgrading. That is why we have gone from standard toothpaste to one with a whitener, or from a regular toothbrush to a battery-operated, etc. In most cases, we have all gone beyond our parents, and are proud that we have.

Unfortunately, none of us had this same type of experience when it comes to fitness. That is because we were raised by sedentary, three square meal per day, supplement-deprecating good people who knew very little other than a good day's work followed by a good night's rest. Consequently, today we know very little about modern day gluten-free eating, effective supplementing and daily aerobic/resistance-based working out. Those things were just not around when we were little. If they had been, and if our parents took them seriously, we would be entirely different individuals.

But, it is not helpful to dwell on what might have been. That is like dreaming about utopia-- a whole other world--which exists nowhere except in our imaginations. Idealistic and good as that may be, alone, it can never have enough of an effect on us. What we really need more than anything is a considerable amount of our own concerted effort--a forging of ourselves like a piece of iron on life's anvil.

All of us are filled with hopes, good intentions and dreams. But few of us have rigorous follow through. That is to say, we have not made fitness as much a part of us as we should have. Consequently, it does not carry as much weight as the brushing of our teeth, if indeed it carries even a tenth. That is, we do not feel horrified by the thought of missing our workouts, forgetting our supplements or substituting what we call  real food for the low fat low sugar variety. Missing or forgetting these fitness essentials is just part of being human, or so we say. On the other hand, missing our morning date with our toothbrush is virtually inconceivable.

How can we get from where we are with brushing of our teeth to where we should be with fitness? Thoreau said that we have to do more than dream. He said that we have to forge our character, much like a piece of iron being pounded by a hammer. That is what he did to himself. As an ardent thinker, he was everyday, every season, every year walking, meditating, reflecting, and philosophizing. In other words, he was relentlessly doing the things that  he was all about; and it is doubtful that he would have ever even have been tempted to do otherwise. After many decades, this resulted in one of our civilization's greatest thinkers.

Whatever prompted this man to say what he did in the quote above? After all, it is an alarmingly direct, if not an outright critical statement from the mild man of Walden Pond. Probably he observed far too many people saying they wanted to be a certain way, but never doing the right things to become so. We have all experienced this. And, like Thoreau, we want to simply tell all of them Just do it and do it again until you have forged yourself into the person you want to be.

That is the way that we ourselves have to be when it comes to fitness. We simply have to consistently diet properly, supplement wisely and exercise regularly until it becomes so much a part of us that we can say that it is us. That is how we were made by our parents when it came to the brushing of our teeth. That is how we must now make ourselves when it comes to fitness.

Perhaps all of this raises feelings of impossibility or futility. But that is only because we are starting today after too many years of doing nothing. That is entirely different than starting with a clean slate back when we were in kindergarten or before. Nevertheless, extremely hard is not impossible. We still can make ourselves over, if only we will.

For further thought on making a fitness lifestyle your basic way of being order my e-book "Think and Grow Fit."About the Author: Obese 49 years ago; state champion power lifter 1978; in better shape today at 63 than when on swim team in high school

http://blog.foreverfitness.info (subscribe for weekly fitness updates)

Author of "Think and Grow Fit" the no hype guide to getting fit and staying that way forever

http://www.foreverfitness.info  (6.00 ebook or 15.95 softcover from publisher I_Universe, Amazon or Barnes and Noble)

YouTube - mcfitnessguru19

Article Source: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Every-Day-in-Every-Way_106593.aspx'> http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Every Day in Every Way_106593.aspx</a>

Article Source : http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Every Day in Every Way_106593.aspx

Author Resource :
Obese 49 years ago; state champion power lifter 1978; in better shape today at 63 than when on swim team in high school

http://blog.foreverfitness.info (subscribe for weekly fitness updates)

Author of "Think and Grow Fit" the no hype guide to getting fit and staying that way forever

http://www.foreverfitness.info (6.00 ebook or 15.95 softcover from publisher I_Universe, Amazon or Barnes and Noble)

YouTube - mcfitnessguru19

Keywords : fitness, exercsie, diet, markclemens,

Category : Health and Fitness : Exercise

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