Let us imagine a woman—a real woman or at least a model of one that I’m sure you’ve all met. She worked her way up the ladder going through years and years of tough times, making less money, fighting for more respect, a corner office, her own secretary, etc., etc. She gave her time, her much needed sleep, her relationships suffered, her stress level rose, her feet hurt, her back hurts, she developed carpal tunnel and tennis elbow (without ever playing tennis).
She worked on Saturdays and gave her weekends away; she has weeks of vacation time she may never use. She did all of this while also finding time to get married, have children, buy a home, volunteer for the PTA, volunteer at the soup kitchen, make Halloween costumes, and send the kids to college.
OK, maybe you don’t know this exact woman, but you probably know a variation of her or maybe you are a variation. This person has worked, slaved, given blood, sweat and tears to create a life they are happy with. Now, they have found themselves unhappy with a certain aspect of it; their health, weight, cholesterol, whatever. So tell me why is it that for money and “success” we will work like maniacs, give up everything “good” and work hard for what we want but when it comes to longevity, health, weight loss, more energy, higher self-esteem, lungs that don’t wheeze, clearer eyes, better sleep, glowing skin and a massive endorphin high, we bitch and moan and cry about how hard it is, how we haven’t got the time, how we just “can’t”.
I absolutely REFUSE to believe that you (you who will work like a demon to succeed in other aspects of your life, be it relationships, career, family whatever) “can’t” do anything. You CAN do anything as long as you set you mind to do it. So for the love of everything you work so hard for, work hard for your health.
It isn’t easy! (I’m hoarse from saying that) It sucks, it’s hard, it hurts, you may be sore in the morning, you may be tired, you may hate sweat and gyms and movement and weights and treadmills and bikes, and pools, and stability balls and yoga and Pilates. You may get ill at the mere mention of vegetables and fiber and lean chicken. You may have a bonafide addiction to chocolate and sugar and ho-hos and big macs. You can either find something you enjoy doing/eating or you can suck it up and work hard like you do for everything else in life. It isn’t a holiday so stop expecting it to be.
Eventually, you might find a healthy lifestyle to be fulfilling and actually quite easy. It’s always the hardest to begin; remember how difficult your first job/kid/mortgage/credit card/relationship was? Do you remember anything in your life being difficult? How did you manage to get through it?
If you slacked off at work, left early, spent too much time emailing friends, turned in reports late and generally messed about, well it wouldn’t be a surprise when someone else got that promotion. Why does it surprise you that you aren’t losing weight if you eat whatever you want and never work out?
I am normally not this harsh but sometimes a Drill Sergeant is what people need.
Think about what you want, and what you have done in the past to achieve things you want. Now apply that same determination to your health! Stop moaning and get it done.
