I hear it all the time … I wish I was more like you. I wish I had the discipline and the genetics and the time and the metabolism and the body that you have. Wow! Maybe some strapping verdant genie will show up and grant you some freakin’ wishes and you’ll be on your gay way. Or maybe you’ll just have to put a sock in your piehole, stop making excuses and start creating your own streak of good luck. I have your attention. That’s a good start. Get out the pad of paper and take some notes.
I know many people think that it is so easy for me to exercise because that is what I do every day. It is a habit, so it has to be easy. The majority of people would thus be wrong in that assessment of little old me. I have made it a routine and a priority in my life to engage in physical activity frequently. It requires schedule adjustments, sacrifices, and planning. It requires waking at 5 a.m. to run six miles. It requires sweating while lifting dumbbells. It requires that I exert energy and keep a commitment to good health. It certainly is not easy, but it can be very rewarding.
I know it is the mindset of some that I am able to exercise because I do not have the physical impairments that they have. This is another in a series of cop-outs for these folks pleading their cases in poppycock. You can always find a way to accommodate whatever condition or disability you have. There are people who have no legs that are able to run. There are people who have severe asthma that competitively swim. There are people who have AIDS that bicycle ten miles per day. You can do it if you dream it.
I know many people think that good ole God gave me the best darn set of genes this side of Pope Francis’ capacious bungalow in Vatican City. There are some Olympic marathoners out there but I am not one of them. That means that we have to do the best we can with what we have at the time we have it. That means now. Stop blaming your overactive thyroid for your three chins. Stop blaming your bequeathed low metabolism for your cottage cheese legs. Stop blaming your spare tires around the midsection on great-grandpa Grover’s family curse. Get out there and make the best of your genetic code.
I know many people will insist that it must be easier for me to exercise and stay in Chippendales shape since I do not have the four kids, the nagging significant other, the three hour commute, or the sixty hour workweek. We all have our cross to bear and I will spare you the horror of hearing mine. I struggle every day with adversity. There is always a way to make it work if you want to make it work.
Write down all your best excuses and then affix this compilation to your stainless steel refrigerator with that magnet from Guido’s Pizza Palace. Check this list each day and each time that you feel an urge to excuse yourself from exercise and good health. You can make life happen for you if you want. Close your eyes, click your heels and repeat after me: God helps those who help themselves.
This wellness article is brought to you by that guy who knows he’d make a swell alternative lifestyle President in 2032. That guy is Ron Blake and you can send campaign contributions to rblake5551@hotmail.com.
