Life is Yours for the Taking

We are all guilty some way or another. I can’t believe I weight that much. I can’t believe my pants don’t fit. I can’t believe my butt is this big! Muffin top! Yikes! It’s one of those days and you just feel gross. Fat. Chunky. Bloated. Off your game. Yucky. Everything is pissing you off. Everyone is getting in your way. It’s cardio day. You get on the stairs. After five minutes, you get off. I hate the stairs. You get on the Arc Trainer. Five minutes. This machine sucks, too. Off to the treadmill. Run three minutes. Walk one. I hate this one too. See the pattern? These machines are the same day in and day out. It is YOU that is the problem. You have this negative cloud over your head and anything or anyone to cross your path just plain sucks. You are about to walk out of the gym in a huff when you see a young girl in a wheelchair working out with a trainer. She can barely get a weight up, huffing and puffing, but smiling. You feel guilty; your life is just not as bad as you are making out to be. You have both legs, both arms, you are blessed. Everything happens for a reason. Tough days are reality. Reality is life. Life is tough. Meeting tough head on makes you stronger. Stronger makes you healthier. Healthier makes you and your life better.

I am guilty of this negative cloud. One slight thing can throw off my whole day. I get sensitive. I think everything in the universe is working against me. I just can’t win. These are the days, I force myself to stop. If I keep going without confronting this negativity head on I will just keep moving backwards, why would I want to go back when I have been working so hard to get ahead? I stop and put life into perspective. Am I healthy? Yes. Do I have a roof over my head? Yes. A family that loves and supports me? Yes. Friends that are there for me no matter what? Yes. Is everything pissing you off today? Yes. Why? I have no idea. Do you think maybe it is your reaction that is pissing you off? Yes. If you have the power to change your own outlook then why don’t you? I can and will.

There are two ways to look at things: in a positive light or in a negative darkness. This is not to say that you are supposed to be skipping through the gym with balloons and rainbows every day, but you just have to assess yourself from the inside out. Is the fact that your pants are too tight anyone’s fault but your own? Did you have a fun time packing on the 5 extra pounds? With hard work at the gym and cleaning up your diet can you get them off relatively quickly? Then what is the big deal? I always tell my clients if their weight is the one thing that is ruining your day, then you own it, face it, and change it. Your current health didn’t happen to you; you did have something to do with it. Genetics do play a role! For example, I am Greek. My legs and booty are short and stumpy. It took me a whole two years to even look like I had any muscle on my upper body. Was it frustrating? Yes. Were there times that I would leave the mall crying because I really wanted those boots but they didn’t fit over my monster calves? Of course! But if that was the worst thing that happened to me that day then I am in good shape!

There is always someone in a worse situation than you and I don’t mean fatter than you or slower than you. There are people out there who cannot use both legs or don’t have all ten fingers, and you know what? They don’t let it ruin their life, let alone their day. They learn to be thankful for what they do have, because they know what its like to not be in control. They try with all of their might and not be able to use their right leg because its not there anymore.

One of the most humbling experiences of my life was when my own father was in a coma for 16 weeks and in rehab 8 weeks. I never faced the fact that my family might not be there one day. Even though he was pronounced dead after being Medevac’d in, my family would not give up. We worked in shifts to never leave him alone just in case he woke up. We worked together as a team, and our positive thoughts brought him back to health. My dad had to learn to do everything over again, walk, eat, speak, you name it. He definitely could have felt sorry for himself, but he had a completely positive outlook. He was thankful for each day and each baby step he was making back to health. If he let negativity and pity take over his days, he wouldn’t be able to conquer his challenges. I am proud to say that today he works out with me in the gym and is my inspiration every day.

The next time you find yourself in a bad mood and thinking that your day couldn’t get any worse, stop. Assess your own situation. Write down the things and people you are thankful for, your talents, everything you love about yourself and your life. Then write on another sheet of paper what is bothering you. Look at the list. Face it. Then crumble up the piece of paper and throw it in the trash. Life is yours for the taking. Make the best of it! You deserve a healthy and happy life, so make one for yourself!

Toni
www.facebook.com/public/Toni-Perdikakis
www.maxperformance.com