When you understand, it is always at once. When you don’t, it is always postponed.
Day in and day out I pushed my body. I lifted, pressed, pushed, pulled, squatted, stepped, lunged, ran, pedaled, and stretched with a feverish desire to create the body I longed to inhabit. Yet, after these sessions what I placed in my body did not correlate. I drank Dr. Pepper and Mt Dew. I ate fast food, frozen pizzas, macaroni and cheese, pop tarts, etc. Sugar, carbohydrates, sweetness… the effect of sugar is felt immediately, much like a hard set of pull-ups or squat jumps. A seeking of intensity was thus satisfied. It was one speed, one direction always.
Day in and day out I chased an outcome, while unknowingly sabotaging its obtainment. Don’t get me wrong, I was not completely ignorant of nutrition. I knew the proper guidelines, the simple approach to successful body composition, as well as the poisonous effect of sugar. I simply did not believe it applied to me. Not at this time. Maybe not ever. This is the power of the mind. Repetition creates habit, whether positive or negative. I had developed both negative and positive habits toward the same goal. Therefore progress was perpetually stunted.
One day I left my isolated (insulated) world and began a period of exposure to other ways of living. I traveled. Meeting athletes, bodybuilders, yogis, and health practitioners highlighted the power of cultivating a lifestyle. I was exposed. A few key observations: they trained less, but with more intensity; they ate less, but of greater nutrient density; they rested often, valuing sleep and mindfulness as much as training. When your purpose is cultivated as a holistic lifestyle approach the body and mind together become the outcome.
The body displays the consequences of the choices. The image becomes the product of the mind. Alignment is not only imperative to successful outcomes, but it is imperative to harmonious living.
I had to see it to believe it. A person can read, absorbing an abundance of knowledge, yet not act. I was a living example of this. To move forward I had to slow down. What was holding me back was not my genetic potential, but my conflicting lifestyle. So, I flipped the switch. I followed what I observed as effective. Within a few days, I was sleeping better. My skin looked healthier. I felt lighter. I began to try new modalities of training, which expanded my understanding of human movement. This set me on a path of deeper meaning.
The power of movement, mindfulness, and nutrition is available at any moment. Once you decide to wake up you move down a new path. Time does not heal the body. A new mind, a fresh perspective, has the potential to heal the body.
Seek Grace. Desire Humility. Choose Honor.
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