The Ancient Greeks Wanted You to Work Out!
World history has always been particularly interesting to me. It's not something I spent a ton of time engrossing myself in since that I'm not in school anymore, but I have always found it fascinating in terms of tracing the themes in writing and literature and how it correlated to everyday life at the time.
The ancient Greeks had two major sayings in their society and they are still extremely, extremely useful to people now just as they were then.
One of the very first things I tell people when they commit to a healthy lifestyle change is that they have to accept and embrace their own crap and bad habits in order to circumnavigate them. In other words, you need to acknowledge your own beautifully hand-crafted bad habits and hangups so that you don't start out in a hole from the get-go.
Example #1:
One of my "Know Thyself" traits is that am naturally lazy. Yes, people, I'm like anyone else. I love to do nothing. Nothing is... glorious to me. I am tired as hell and extremely lazy after a day of sitting on my butt at the office. If I go home before I go to the gym, I KNOW I'm doomed. If I sit on the couch even once, forget it- I'm not leaving the house again. Especially if it's winter time.
I learned years ago that I MUST pack a gym bag and bring it with me to work so I can go straight to the gym after work. I know that my own fatigue from work and desire to be lazy will keep me from leaving the house again, no matter how much my body is itching to train and move. My laziness will overrule me if I allow it to.
Example #2:
If I'm preparing for a contest or a shoot, I KNOW that I cannot attend happy hours after my coworkers because my willpower becomes paper thin.
If you (like me) love tater tots, sweet potato fries, jalepeño poppers, and cheap beer.... you have to ditch the happy hours. It's okay once in awhile but when I'm contest prep mode, I literally can't go.
Don't put yourself in a position to fail or disappoint yourself. 99% of the time, it's avoidable.
As far as "Nothing in excess", doesn't that just hit the nail right on the head? You can't eat cheat food all the time, nor is living on contest food nonstop with no cheats particularly realistic. You have to find a balance. You can't train 7 days a week with no breaks. You also can't have every day be your "off day". We've all heard that moderation is key for success, but being excessive on either side of the spectrum is extremely detrimental to your physical and emotional health.
Health, wellness, and clean eating are wonderful. But you also need to be able to kick back once in awhile! Enjoy a glass of wine or a creme brulee when you're out with your friends. You're not going to die or fall off the wagon from having treats. Have realistic expectations and plan ahead and you'll be surprised at how much less anxiety you have!
Bring on 2013, and make sure you go in with a plan!
The ancient Greeks had two major sayings in their society and they are still extremely, extremely useful to people now just as they were then.
- Know thyself
- Nothing in excess
One of the very first things I tell people when they commit to a healthy lifestyle change is that they have to accept and embrace their own crap and bad habits in order to circumnavigate them. In other words, you need to acknowledge your own beautifully hand-crafted bad habits and hangups so that you don't start out in a hole from the get-go.
Example #1:
One of my "Know Thyself" traits is that am naturally lazy. Yes, people, I'm like anyone else. I love to do nothing. Nothing is... glorious to me. I am tired as hell and extremely lazy after a day of sitting on my butt at the office. If I go home before I go to the gym, I KNOW I'm doomed. If I sit on the couch even once, forget it- I'm not leaving the house again. Especially if it's winter time.
I learned years ago that I MUST pack a gym bag and bring it with me to work so I can go straight to the gym after work. I know that my own fatigue from work and desire to be lazy will keep me from leaving the house again, no matter how much my body is itching to train and move. My laziness will overrule me if I allow it to.
Example #2:
If I'm preparing for a contest or a shoot, I KNOW that I cannot attend happy hours after my coworkers because my willpower becomes paper thin.
If you (like me) love tater tots, sweet potato fries, jalepeño poppers, and cheap beer.... you have to ditch the happy hours. It's okay once in awhile but when I'm contest prep mode, I literally can't go.
Don't put yourself in a position to fail or disappoint yourself. 99% of the time, it's avoidable.
As far as "Nothing in excess", doesn't that just hit the nail right on the head? You can't eat cheat food all the time, nor is living on contest food nonstop with no cheats particularly realistic. You have to find a balance. You can't train 7 days a week with no breaks. You also can't have every day be your "off day". We've all heard that moderation is key for success, but being excessive on either side of the spectrum is extremely detrimental to your physical and emotional health.
Health, wellness, and clean eating are wonderful. But you also need to be able to kick back once in awhile! Enjoy a glass of wine or a creme brulee when you're out with your friends. You're not going to die or fall off the wagon from having treats. Have realistic expectations and plan ahead and you'll be surprised at how much less anxiety you have!
Bring on 2013, and make sure you go in with a plan!
Comments
Post a Comment