I’ve probably said it before but life is a rollercoaster with ups and downs. The important thing is to not get completely derailed when you have one of your downs. In my opinion, the key to this is having a good fitness regime as a foundation for who you are.
We often look at our careers and relationships to define who we are. If you have a good job and are happily married with children, you feel like you have succeeded in life. And you should. But what happens when you lose your job or your marriage fails? Of course you will be devastated. Some people don’t recover from that but you have to remember you are not your job and you are not your marriage. You are you. Be proud of the person that you are.
One thing that will help with that is identifying the things about you that define you and which nobody can take away. Fitness should be one of them. Even if you lose everything, you should be able to fall back on your health and fitness and that is why it is so important to have a good fitness regime.
I have lost several jobs through redundancy. Last year I lost someone very close to me and just a few months ago I lost another close person in my life. When I say ‘lost’, I don’t mean through death thankfully. But still they are not a part of my life right now. It hurts a lot. But through all these events, I stuck to my daily training. It gave me something to focus on and help me build myself up. Without my training, I’m sure I wouldn’t have been able to cope as well as I have.
Unless I have a nasty accident or develop an illness, my health and fitness is something that nobody can take away from me and it makes me feel strong and powerful, not just physically but mentally. It keeps my self-esteem high. You can have this too. When life treats you bad, keep training everyday and ride it out. You might not feel like it when the wound is fresh but go through the motions of doing your workout even if your heart isn’t in it at first. Day by day your mind will gradually shift back to training with focus and you will quickly be back to your brilliant self.
That is the result of having fitness as a foundation for your life and who you are.
