Why Your Fitness is Important

Everyone seems to be in a hurry to get fit, but how many people actually understand the importance of being healthy and fit? 

Just about every news story, talk show, web site, magazine article mentions that it is necessary to be fit and to adopt a positive attitude towards our body and its fitness.

Remember, our body stays with us till the day we die so it is essential that we take good care of this valuable asset and keep it fit and healthy.

The health of our body also affects our emotional well being and attitude. You don't have to be a martial arts expert to be fit. A few simple exercises and life style modifications tailored according to your age, circumstance and health condition can go a long way in ensuring that you keep fit and healthy.

Here are a few good reasons to keep your body fit and going:

• A healthy body gives rise to a healthy mind. Our attitude and mental wellbeing depend to a great extent on the state of our bodies.
• Fitness is a saving grace when you are faced with a life threatening situation. You will need to be in perfect shape if you ever need to run for your life.
• A fit and healthy person has a high level of self esteem and will feel confident when compared to his or her unfit peers.
• Exercise and fitness regimens are essential to keep the body functioning normally. You can keep problems like diabetes, hypertension, and heart ailments at bay if you make sure to exercise regularly.
• Free radicals in the environment and those generated by the body, thanks to unhealthy eating habits, take a toll on the body. Exercise helps combat accumulation of free radicals. Your body can handle chemicals and toxins better if you exercise regularly.
• Exercise is a must to keep your heart fit and pumping. Exercise builds up the muscles for the heart.
• Exercise ensures bone and muscle strength.
• If your body is fit you feel energized and your mental sharpness and concentration levels get a boost.

The foods we eat and our lifestyle determine our fitness levels. These are things over which we have a say. It is up to you to make the necessary modification in your diet and lifestyle so that your body stays fit and healthy. 

Your age or physical ability should not be a hindrance in finding a good fitness plan. Keep your body fit and you will find yourself feeling revitalized and happy.

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Believe In Yourself

I recently came across this article by Teresa Proudlove.   It makes very good sense regardless of whatever stage of our lives we’re at and we’re never too young to start taking notice of the principle behind the words:

“A near middle-aged man in one of my last workshops had followed his calling for the past decade with unbounded zeal. Alas, his career had never developed into long-term employment but rather, was fraught with numerous set-backs, lay-offs and even dismissals. With five children to feed and his life passion now shelved this man faced depression and desperation.

“Yet, we could all borrow a page from this man's heroic story as he further explained how he was managing this most difficult passage. He said rather than allowing himself to be crushed by these demeaning events he emphatically reminded himself of his numerous life successes. Through this, he refueled his belief in himself enabling him to persevere with a measure of dignity.

“All of us could benefit from focusing on our many successes. Stop now and list at least ten of your life successes. Reminding ourselves frequently of our accomplishments rather than nagging ourselves with our so-called ‘failures’ is the crux of finding meaning and peace in work and life.

“If we can't encourage and support ourselves now, the ‘ideal job’ will not supply us with the happiness/meaning/fulfillment we seek. If your self confidence is being tested by unemployment, underemployment, a new promotion, a job interview, child raising, or life (!) affirm your successes and renew your faith in yourself. We can't wait for other people to bolster our confidence and nourish our being!

Nourish Your Being

“Turning fifty years old this week supplied me with the perfect opportunity to either nourish or negate myself and my life. As I reflected upon the last decade of my life I found warm comfort in the woman I have become. Not always so. As I reread my ‘Fortieth Birthday’ column, I'd written for a local newspaper a decade ago, I could clearly see how far I'd come.

“Back then, my fortieth birthday reflections led me to grieve. I had left behind decades of broken relationships and lost businesses - all strung together by my deep need to be loved and approved of by others. Within that column, I spoke with somber sadness of not wanting to repeat my broken past in the next half of my life. In closing that Fortieth Birthday column I made an earnest wish for myself, I wished 'to live the next forty years being true to myself.'

“Rereading this column showed me clearly my wish had come true this past decade. This priceless gift affirmed how far I'd grown from that 40 year old woman who had abandoned herself - for decades - seeking inner worth, love and acceptance through external props and people. How remarkable to have unearthed this time-capsuled treasure, written a decade ago, upon my fiftieth birthday!

“We can all give ourselves this priceless gift of affirming our lives and nourishing our being by pondering our past and seeing how far we have come. Our mistakes no longer have to be something we punish ourselves for. Now, we can make an effort to have compassion for ourselves and give thanks for the lessons learned.

“By performing these small rituals of remembering and affirming our lives, we nourish and build our being. It is in here, inside, we build a strong, solid foundation that can help us weather the storms of life. Through building a strong sense of self we can find a new freedom.

Freedom at Fifty

“The slogan ’Freedom at Fifty’ takes on a new spin when I think of how free I am now compared to when I tried so hard to please everyone. The disease to please, often driven by feelings of insecurity and unworthiness can be chronic and life debilitating if left unchecked. Do you balance your needs for quiet, private time with the needs and demands of work, career-search, family, friends, life?

“A client of mine, aged fifty-something, regularly stops and asks herself, ‘What do I want/need here?’ She went on to say that now, in her fifties, she is able to set boundaries with her family as never before. We both affirmed we have discovered a real freedom in our fifties.

“Before you accept that next job, take on another task, commit to someone else's agenda - stop. Take some time and ask yourself, ‘What do I need here?’ How can we hope to find our Way if we do not listen to ourselves or find time for ourselves?”

Learning From Mistakes

Picture this: While walking in the mall, you see a toddler struggling to walk properly. In your mind you think, "Isn't she so cute ... oh, come on now ... walk steadily ... yes, that's right." You’re anxiously waiting to see her make those few more baby steps but in the next few seconds, she falls and lands on her backside.  She then leans forward with her hands on the ground, pushing her body upward to a balanced position before she can stand properly again. That's the spirit of the toddler - never give up. You deservedly say, "Well done baby girl!"
 

How often in the adult world when we fail in achieving something, or simply make mistakes, do we lose that spirit which once infected us when we were young?

Most people are afraid to fail. They worry constantly about not meeting expectations, making a mistake, or trying something new. Because of this, many never get started on the path toward reaching their goals .. and thus they assure themselves of the very thing they are afraid of .. failure.  In order to become a successful entrepreneur you will likely have to 'pay your dues.' You'll likely have to fail a few times, learn from your lessons, and only then be able to come through a winner. While you don't have to take wild chances, you do have to take calculated and educated risks.

In the world of academics, mistakes are perceived as bad and to be avoided. For the first twenty-two years of your life, you are taught that mistakes are bad and embarrassing .. when in fact mistakes are simply opportunities to learn something new. The more mistakes a person makes, the more they will have learned and the greater chance they will have of succeeding on their next try. The key, however, is to learn from your mistakes and not make the same mistake twice.

Thomas Edison would have never invented the light bulb if he had not taken this principle to heart. Edison failed more than 10,000 times before he found the filament that would create light for a sustained period of time. He did not view these as failures, however.  Do you think that on his 6,635th try to find a proper filament for the light bulb, he saw himself as having failed 6634 times?  Of course not: he simply reframed the situation so that to him he had successfully eliminated 6,634 possibilities, refining and narrowing his search as he proceeded, drawing him closer and closer to his goal.

Two other failures you may have heard of are Levi Strauss and Christopher Columbus. Strauss headed for the gold mines of California in hopes of gold and glory. But he found none. Instead, this failure gave him new knowledge of a gap in the marketplace. He began selling pants made out of canvas to those miners that were succeeding. Today, we've all heard of Levi Strauss jeans. Columbus failed miserably on his goal to find a route to India. However, in failing that he ran into a new opportunity.. that of discovering the New World.

By taking action and learning from your mistakes and failures, you'll gain new knowledge and become aware of many new opportunities. When you come to the edge of what you know, it's time to make some mistakes.

If you have reached the edge of your career after a number of years and are feeling enormously tired, it's time for you to make some mistakes. Try making some daring approaches to your work. If the only solution is for you to seek another new job, do it. If being enterprising is what you desire, go for it.  To put yourself in a catch-22 situation will not help you move on.  If you keep doing the same thing, you will get the same result.

Anthony Robbins said that insanity is when you keep doing the same thing and hoping for a different result.  An instant mistake that will reap you a new learning experience is certainly much better than years of clinging on to the same old mistake and doing nothing at all.

Author: Aaron Loh