“Yeah, whatever”— That’s what I thought
Until He Changed Our Lives
What follows is a story of strategic change.
One mile per day. That’s all.
Slow and steady tends to be unfashionable.
But it’s the tortoise — not the hare — that wins in the end.
I’d like to take credit, but all I did was follow my husband’s lead. I was the lone nut’s first follower. Shhhhh — It took me a full year to seriously join the movement. I watched, rolled my eyes and did my fair share of light teasing.
He ignored me.
I two-stepped his dance a couple of times, but always fell back into old habits. I’d sit at the computer munching bagel chips or slip into my pajamas and grab a book while he exercised his strength — mind and body. He refused to succumb to my ice cream eating ways.
This morning when I read my free daily book summary from Blinklist, there was a statistic that resonated so strongly I had to write this story. Here — read this statistic from The Wisdom of Life by Arthur Schopenhauer:
Health accounts for nine tenths of our happiness.
Nine Tenths!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You know that thing we sometimes say when bad things happen — Well, at least we’ve got our health? I’m not sure how serious we actually take that — until something is wrong with our health. Why wouldn’t we do everything in our power to take care of our bodies? We only get one.
Some guy named Aristotle said:
Life is movement.
For so many of us these days, life offers Get Out of Activity cards — even when we don’t want them. For the love of donuts! I can simply push a button in my vehicle and the back hatch opens and closes automatically. Sweet, but not sweet — our bodies are begging for simple movement — not necessarily marathons. It’s time we take matters into our own hands (feet, legs, arms — ooooh! and core — especially our core.)
This! My husband and his actions taught me this — it only takes small changes. Small changes eventually add up to big improvements — like not having to give away my favorite pair of jeans because they no longer fit.
So I bet you’re ready for the big reveal — am I right?
Here’s the story:
A couple of years ago, my husband got a new job. It requires him to spend countless hours per week sitting behind the wheel of a car. He leaves the house early and gets home late. He’s fatigued and tired when he gets home.
Six months into the job, he started to gain some weight. He didn’t want to buy new suits. Suits cost a lot of money and do not serve any fun purpose. He set himself a goal. He said he’d run ten miles per week — ten miles per week sounds doable, right? The problem was he’d get to Friday night or Saturday and still have five or six miles to go before Sunday. It became a real drag.
Don’t tell him I said this, but in addition to being determined, my husband can be a pretty smart guy. Like any wise strategist, he revised the plan when it wasn’t working.
One Mile Per Day — — — — — — — — — — — Just One Mile
You’d have to be pretty lame to not follow through on one mile. It only takes about ten minutes. It’s just one mile.
Sometimes, there are nights when he runs at eleven with a belly full of pizza and beer. In fourteen(ish) months, he has only missed one night — because the dentist said he couldn’t run after having his wisdom tooth pulled.
I know, lame, right?
Long story short, he’s in about the best shape of his life — at 52.
But that’s not the amazing part! Let’s talk about me…..
I tried and failed the program twice. Both times I was out in under a week. Now who’s lame?
The thing is, if you are immersed in a culture long enough and surround yourself with people doing good things, it can’t help but change you. Your unconscious is fully conscious to its surroundings — and like it or not — you become that which surrounds you. You are the potato chips you don’t eat….hmmm, not sure if that works, but I like the way it sounds.
Last December I got with the program, but tweaked it to suit me. Everyday, I do some-thing. I gave myself my own rules — ten minutes of something aerobic — run, jump rope, slide board or any combination of the three. The great thing is that once I accomplish that, I’m often motivated to do more. I’ve started lifting light weights. I hear that’ll help to keep my bones strong. Who doesn’t like a girl with strong bones? Not to mention strong, defined muscles? And did I mention movement is also good for the mind?
And here’s more good news— our kid has also joined the program. A trifecta!
How cool is that? My husband changed the culture in our household by running one mile per day.
