Facing The Toughest Foe
When I awoke this morning, I looked the toughest foe I've ever faced in the eye and he almost stared me down.
I was of course staring at myself, in the mirror and that foe was and is me. It was just before five in the morning and I was getting ready for my first day back in the gym. I have had a number of first days back in the gym since recovering from knee surgery last year, but for some reason this one feels different. Maybe because I stared down my foe and actually got out the door and went. Perhaps because I am slowly but surely realizing that this is a battle about making a choice where I have everything to lose and everything to win and no one else is going to influence the outcome but me.
Oh yes, the doctor is involved here and her lectures have had some effect. I did lose 30 lbs over the summer without exercising in order to reduce the stress on my enlarged heart, but that is not enough and I know it. If I want to live the quote long and healthy life unquote that I still can have, then I have to make the right choices and one of them is to do the exercise work that is required.
It was cold outside. My bed was warm. There were good things to watch on television. Any one of a number of excuses would have done the trick. Or even just that old stand-by, postponing the start for just one more day. After all, what is one more day against the rest of your life? The answer is that it could cost you your life if it isn't just one day but an indefinite series of one day postponements. I told you that the foe in the mirror was a tough one and it is.
My goal was to do 30 minutes on the stationary bike and I managed to crank out those minutes and five more for cooldown to boot. Then, after stretching out my now very tired and sore legs, I drank some more water from my water bottle and headed for the door.
Today, I won the battle. The first skirmish. Oh, the day is hardly over and that foe of mine has other skirmishes and battles in mind. He will tempt me with fried foods at lunch and dinner. He will tempt me with sweets throughout the day. He will tempt me to skip the afternoon constitutional that I know will needed if my legs are to be able to make it through tomorrow's ride on the stationary bike on day two in the gym.
For from this point forward every day is a new day of battling that toughest foe. What makes today and the days from this point forward is that I have a better idea of the foe I face and that better idea is going to make it just a little easier to win the battles and skirmishes that will lead to an ulimate victory. The victory won't be when I fit into a pair of jeans I haven't been able to wear for years, or when I can shop for clothes without having to visit the "Big Man" aisle.
Victory will come when I no longer stare into the mirror and see an opponent. It will come when I look into the mirror and just see myself. A self I can be happy with. Until then, I will do battle, and seek victory in each and every skirmish. I will not cry or berate myself when I lose a battle. I will pick myself up and move forward, ever onward.
To those of you fighting the same fight, I wish you strength, courage, and victory!!
I was of course staring at myself, in the mirror and that foe was and is me. It was just before five in the morning and I was getting ready for my first day back in the gym. I have had a number of first days back in the gym since recovering from knee surgery last year, but for some reason this one feels different. Maybe because I stared down my foe and actually got out the door and went. Perhaps because I am slowly but surely realizing that this is a battle about making a choice where I have everything to lose and everything to win and no one else is going to influence the outcome but me.
Oh yes, the doctor is involved here and her lectures have had some effect. I did lose 30 lbs over the summer without exercising in order to reduce the stress on my enlarged heart, but that is not enough and I know it. If I want to live the quote long and healthy life unquote that I still can have, then I have to make the right choices and one of them is to do the exercise work that is required.
It was cold outside. My bed was warm. There were good things to watch on television. Any one of a number of excuses would have done the trick. Or even just that old stand-by, postponing the start for just one more day. After all, what is one more day against the rest of your life? The answer is that it could cost you your life if it isn't just one day but an indefinite series of one day postponements. I told you that the foe in the mirror was a tough one and it is.
My goal was to do 30 minutes on the stationary bike and I managed to crank out those minutes and five more for cooldown to boot. Then, after stretching out my now very tired and sore legs, I drank some more water from my water bottle and headed for the door.
Today, I won the battle. The first skirmish. Oh, the day is hardly over and that foe of mine has other skirmishes and battles in mind. He will tempt me with fried foods at lunch and dinner. He will tempt me with sweets throughout the day. He will tempt me to skip the afternoon constitutional that I know will needed if my legs are to be able to make it through tomorrow's ride on the stationary bike on day two in the gym.
For from this point forward every day is a new day of battling that toughest foe. What makes today and the days from this point forward is that I have a better idea of the foe I face and that better idea is going to make it just a little easier to win the battles and skirmishes that will lead to an ulimate victory. The victory won't be when I fit into a pair of jeans I haven't been able to wear for years, or when I can shop for clothes without having to visit the "Big Man" aisle.
Victory will come when I no longer stare into the mirror and see an opponent. It will come when I look into the mirror and just see myself. A self I can be happy with. Until then, I will do battle, and seek victory in each and every skirmish. I will not cry or berate myself when I lose a battle. I will pick myself up and move forward, ever onward.
To those of you fighting the same fight, I wish you strength, courage, and victory!!
posted by me at 6:35 AM
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