HARD CHOICES

And the look of tomorrow

Our lives are full of choices when it comes to just about everything. Options upon options for variety of life, right? Sometimes that all can become overwhelming and making choices becomes a chore in itself. 

It's no different when it comes to health and fitness but when you get down to basics it's really just two choices; DO IT or DON'T DO IT. Two options, yet they are the toughest decisions for most. I'm sure you've heard people say about how motivation gets you started but discipline is what keeps you going? And it's right on. Making the same choice day after day; that in itself is really simple. Not easy, but simple. The "not easy" part is why so many fall off the wagon. 

If I had a dollar for every time someone told me being fit and healthy is hard - I would be a millionaire many times over. Being fit IS hard, making healthy choices IS hard especially in today's world of everything-here-now-and-easy; but let's not forget the other "hard". Being overweight is hard, being unhealthy is hard, being sick is hard, being unhappy is hard. Frankly, the latter is much, much harder. Not choosing fitness, means you choose illness. Being fit gives you freedom and endless possibilities, illness limits the most basic of necessities. So why does that simple choice still continue to be so tough?

Our fast paced world is partly to blame... Everything moves fast and results should too, right? Except they don't and we've become so comfortable in our lazy lives with quick fixes for all things - we really do believe we can "do it tomorrow". It's just that tomorrow keeps moving to tomorrow and then the tomorrow after that. Discipline has given way to a docile existence as there is no longer a necessity to move and survive. Life is easy. 

Solutions...

No magic pill here, there never is. The answer is above: DISCIPLINE. 

And no, you don't obtain the power overnight to make every right decision when it comes to health and fitness, of course not. Much like everything else, it takes time, patience and practice. One choice at a time. 

Choosing to walk instead of driving/using transport, booking that morning class because you know in the afternoon you'll feel out of energy, going for active fun instead of the cinema, cooking your own food instead of ordering, sitting in the sun for 10 minutes instead of scrolling on your phone.. The choices and small steps are endless. When you put them all together, that's when the magic happens. The more you do it, the more it becomes habit and before you know it; that's your fit life in the making.

Tough choices today make your tomorrows easier. I can tell you there is no better feeling than waking up knowing you don't dislike what you see in the mirror, or knowing that you will feel physically well and able to handle the day. Being fit and healthy is a life hack like no other - it doesn't matter what the day brings because you don't need to worry about whether you will cope. Fitness opens possibilities which you simply don't have when you're busy dealing with illness.

Everyone's motivation for starting is different, whether it's looking or feeling a certain way, but the desired result pretty much always boils down to the same thing; a happy and healthy life. That's when you truly start to have possibilities and choices.