For some reason, this is a common sentiment among those I interact with at my gym. Very few people are overly-excited about working out and exercising. I mean, it’s hard work! It’s difficult, painful and time-consuming. Half the time, you don’t feel much like doing any of it. Then there’s trying to eat the best way for the workouts you’re performing and the goals you’re trying to attain. Aging is an annoying reality that doesn’t help matters much either. It is a fight against the flesh and the body’s slow and natural process of deterioration. Nothing about it is easy – or, at least, it shouldn’t be if you’re doing it right. But those of us who do it, know it’s for our own benefit, so we do it despite all of this.
A typical exchange when I arrive at the gym can go something like:
“What’s up, Lee? You must be finished,” I say. Lee’s on his way out, still sweating from what was obviously a tough workout.
“I’m on the good side of the workout, Joel,” he replies. “Time for the shift change.” This is his way of telling me it’s now my turn to hit it hard.
“Yeah, I’m trying to find some motivation, man,” I reply. “Hope I’m able to get in a good one.”
“Do the best you can, brother,” he says. “Remember, it’s better than the alternative.”
In other words, be thankful that I’m able-bodied enough to workout at all; an important detail that should never be taken for granted.
Also, among the older generation at my gym, I commonly hear things like:
“I’m still on this side of the dirt, so it’s a good day,” and, “I’m just glad I’m still able to come in here and do something.”
The funny thing is, once you push your way through the workout, you actually feel better: better about yourself, about life in general and for accomplishing something you set out to accomplish. I know it sounds like I’m going to continue on about the benefits of exercise, but I’m not. I’m going to shift gears a bit. This post is not so much about working out as it is about finding the concealed wisdom within the overall thought process of working out, which can be transferred to other things in life.
Life can be difficult; very much so. Sometimes, it’s our own fault – we do something that causes our lives to be harder than it should be, whereby we create the chaos and bring undesirable things upon ourselves. Other times, it’s completely out of our control. The chaos finds us when we least expect it and we’re forced into a situation that we must deal with whether we like it or not.
This brings my brother to mind. Chaos definitely found him a few years ago. He has an autoimmune disorder where his body, basically, attacked his liver as if it were a foreign object within him that needed to be destroyed. He fought it for years with medication to slow down the attack, but eventually, the only thing that could be done to “cure” the situation, was for him to receive an entirely new liver via a transplant. Easy enough, right? Not really. This is an absolute last resort where the patient will die without a transplant. Worse even, is that someone else (who is a match) must die first, of other causes, in order for a healthy liver to be donated. Fortunately, for him, a donor was found in time to save his life. Unfortunately, though, another family was forced to suffer the loss of a loved one.
During the time leading up to the transplant, he was going downhill rapidly, health-wise, but maintained a relatively positive attitude; which was key. He focused his thoughts on how much better things will be after the transplant instead of worrying about the possibility of there never actually being a transplant. Being a husband and a father of two children, he had no desire for his life to be over; he had too much to live for. He is a man of strong faith, which I know helped pull him through it all, but living through those days with his failing liver was still better to him than the alternative: death. Now that he’s on the other side of it all and doing well, he sees life differently. He’s more appreciative and savors each day with a vibrancy he hadn’t realized prior.
This is an extreme example, but the principle I’m referring to remains. Except for the most punishing and, nearly, incomprehensible of situations, the things that we find ourselves having to go through, are still better than an even worse alternative.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson recently shared a video on his Facebook page where he was visiting his old neighborhood in Hawaii and reminiscing about the struggles of his young life. He said that if you’re going through it [difficult times], you need to stay strong, have faith and keep pushing through, because on the other side of struggle is always something better.
Where we put our focus is important, especially when going through a difficult time. I’ve heard it said that you should always guard your thoughts, because what you focus on expands. Your thoughts have the ability to create (and alter) your reality. That is, the way we think has the power to shape our situation; making things better or worse – depending upon our thoughts. It’s difficult enough to force yourself to think positively under normal circumstances. It’s especially difficult when you feel your world is crumbling around you.
I’ve also heard it said that if you stress too much about something before it happens, you basically put yourself through it twice. So, our thoughts can make things worse for us even before a dreaded event takes place. And, typically, what does transpire is usually nowhere close to how we imagined it would be. Even Mark Twain is quoted as saying, “I’ve lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.” Meaning, he worried about many things in his life that didn’t actually unfold as he thought they would.
There is a wide array of terrible things people find themselves going through in life that affects them physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually or even a combination of two or more of these. When something difficult comes your way (and it will, eventually) be sure to guard your thoughts. Don’t make things worse in your mind than they really are, causing them to become worse in reality. Force yourself to focus on the positive, no matter how miniscule; there’s always something to be thankful for. Stay strong, push through and realize that, even though things might not currently be good, they are still better than an even worse alternative. And, to echo what Mr. Johnson said, on the other side of struggle is always something better.
At least, that’s my opinion.
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