It's easy to associate health & wellness with, "looking better" and "being healthier". But, what exactly does "being healthier" mean? Who judges whether or not you're, "looking better"? Being healthier often translates into looking better, but looking better doesn't necessarily mean being healthier. In general, you dictate how you feel each day. You juggle the factors that carry over into your well-being. You get to decide today, tomorrow, and 30 years from now. Walking down the street, passing random people, you're not considering, "Hey, I hope that person is feeling alright today". So, do it for yourself because frankly, nobody else really cares.
Like I said, it's easy to look at the ways fitness can impact you physically, but rarely do people think about the indirect impacts. Fitness has has taught me a number of things; namely, consistency, the importance of goals, confidence and recognizing weaknesses. Each of these has had a significant carry over to my life. In terms of consistency, making sure I am going to bed, waking up, and walking into the gym at about the same time each day keeps me organized and productive. Finding that key balance between consistency and adapting to the changes in my life has been a game changer.
Next, the importance of goals and the confidence that comes along with achieving them. I started to write down my goals this past summer and nothing has come but a series of positive outcomes. If you want something, why wouldn't you go get it? The way I think about it, if you cannot find an obsession to achieve your goal, you probably don't want it that bad. This isn't to say that you need goals to be successful. All I am trying to say is that one of the easiest ways to practice seeking a goal and ultimately achieving it, is through fitness. You don't have any outside pressure, it's enjoyable and most importantly, it's all for your own benefit. The confidence you get from progress is an intrinsic reward that's tough to replace.
The last, and perhaps most important area I want to touch on are weaknesses. Everyone has them, whether that's in life, or at the gym. Recognize them, set goals and use consistency to overcome them. I learned that it takes maturity and an ego check to address these, especially in exercise. Nobody truly likes facing them, but if you're concerned with who you are as a person, long term, its key to take a step back and seek ways to improve. Like I said earlier, without external pressure, using exercise to practice addressing a weakness could have a positive carry over to your life.
Maybe fitness isn't your thing. If it isn't, I challenge you to seek out what it is that will have you jumping out of bed in the morning. The impact(s) fitness can have on your life are, at times disguised. But, they're there if you want to explore. That being said, there's more to fitness than being healthy--it's a character builder. Set some goals and see what fitness can teach you, because the benefits are for you and only you.
