Fit For Life: Make Life Happen For You

Sunday, May 27, 2018

Matt Espeut, GoLocalProv Health +Lifestyle Contributor

 

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I listened to a few podcasts this week, and although that’s nothing new, a couple of them delivered the same message in a different way.

One talked about how our thoughts control our actions, and If you want something bad enough or want to be better on any level, you have the capacity and strength within you to make it happen.

We all have the ability to make the changes necessary to do so, it’s a matter of how badly you want to make the changes necessary to accomplish the improvements that you desire.

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If your life isn’t where you want it to be, its because you are getting what you believe you are worth and what you are willing to tolerate.

You need to want change more than you want to tolerate what you are doing, and that's the only way you will take action and make the changes needed to improve your situation.

You won’t change something unless it bothers you enough or you are in enough pain to take action.  A quote I heard said “When you don’t have enough hate, you will tolerate.”

Let us look at an example that relates to your health and wellness.

If you don’t hate being sick, broken down and out of shape, you probably won’t take the necessary steps to make the changes, or commit to doing the work needed to change. You need to want to see results more than you want the instant gratification of eating a donut or sitting around the house watching mindless television.

If you are not unhappy enough with how you look and feel, you won’t get to the gym regularly, or commit to a clean nutrition plan.

If you don’t hate being out of breath walking up the stairs, you won’t invest in a coach or our program at Providence Fit Body Boot Camp so we can change your life for the better.

Ya see, no one needs to be overweight and out of shape, it's the choices that you make on a daily basis that will keep you there, and it isn’t until you are in enough pain, and want change more than your current lifestyle that improvements will happen.

You can tell yourself and tell others that you want to be better, but you are lying to yourself and making excuses for your lack of action.

If you want something bad enough, you will roll up your sleeves and jump in with both feet and get it done. Another quote is “If you want it bad enough you will find a way, if not you will find excuses.

Your actions speak louder than words.

I heard a great experiment from one of the podcasts and it said to visualize a day in your life on film. Then turn off the volume and watch the silent movie. Don’t listen to yourself say “I’m gonna do this or that” but watch in silence and analyze your actions and what you are actually doing to improve in the course of the day.

Pretty powerful experiment, and if you are accountable and self-aware, you will immediately figure out what holds you back from your goals.

Another podcast talked about the ripple effect our actions have on other people. Some of you may not have enough self-worth, or care about what you are doing to yourselves, but unless you are a completely selfish person, we all like to do and help others.

As good humans, it makes us feel good to see someone else do well or be happy, but sometimes we do things that we don’t see how it negatively affects others.

Many folks don’t see that their actions can have a negative impact on others but in many instances it does.

I have a brother that is self-destructive. He knows what he needs to do but won’t take the necessary steps to heal himself. In his mind he thinks his abusive behavior is only affecting him, but he has a mother that cares and an awesome son that is being deprived of a functional father.

If someone in your household is living an unhealthy lifestyle, it puts a burden on everyone around them, and everyone suffers, but it doesn’t stop with the immediate family. When you don’t take care of yourself, you need doctors, and by visiting the doctor all the time you are raising the cost of health care for everyone…. even the people that take care of themselves.

If you are a parent, and are unhealthy and overweight, you are telling your kids its ok to be this way. I don’t know anyone that wants their kids to be sick, but you are unconsciously increasing their chances by setting the example.

When you eat manufactured food, you are supporting big food companies and giving them the power to poison the rest of the nation. When you eat poor quality animal products, you are contributing to the inhumane treatment of animals. When you eat foods with pesticides, you are contributing to the destruction of the environment. You may not realize it, but you are.

Other things not related to health that can hurt others are texting and driving. When you do this, you are risking the lives of everyone around you. It’s just as bad as driving drunk. You may not realize it, but you’re not that good, and if you think you can do both, you are dead wrong.

Not caring about the effort, you put in at work will not only affect your income, but the person you work for and all your coworkers suffer too. You may not like where you work, or may be unhappy with your position, but when you are not bringing your “A” game, you are hurting others around you that actually care.

In conclusion, being conscious of what we do and the choices we make has an impact on not only ourselves, but the people around us too.

Everything that happens to us is usually a result of our actions, and the good thing is that we can always change our course of action and improve our current situation.

Remember in order to change for the better, we have to hate the result we are getting now in order for it to happen.

Always remember that you need to make life happen for you, and not let life happen to you.

 

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Matt Espeut, GoLocal's Health & Lifestyle Contributor has been a personal trainer and health & fitnesss consultant for over 25 years. He is the owner of Fitness Profiles, a one on one, and small group personal training company, as well as Providence Fit Body Boot Camp, located at 1284 North Main St., on the Providence/Pawtucket line. You can reach Matt at (401) 453-3200; on Facebook at "Matt Espeut", and on Twitter at @MattEspeut. "We’re all in this life together – let’s make it a healthy one.

 

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