people want are good habits and to leave behind bad habits. This sounds great, doesn’t it? It sounds like the goal.
Did you define your bad habits? Do you know them? I know most of mine but it’s not so easy to leave them behind. Most of them had to do with eating or drinking bad stuff. That was simple to solve, get the junk food out of my house. Done. It is still hard, I have cravings and when I am out I want to buy junk food. When we go out to eat I want to order the worst thing on the menu. I try not to, buti’s so hard.
On the other hand, building good habits took practice and repetition. I want to eat good food, buy it and keep it in my home. When I go out look at the better parts of the menu. At home it’s all about availability. If good food is all you have, then it’s all you can eat. Going out is much harder, but if you remain focused you can do it.
The one thing that is really hard for people is to exercise daily. The main reason is it needs a change in lifestyle. For me, I have been going to a gym for the better part of my life. I was raised on a farm which gave me a lot of good habits that I was able to transition to fitness.
One the farm:
- I got up early no matter what.
- I went to feed the animals and help milk the cows on my neighbor’s farm before going to school.
- Went back home, got a shower, and went to school.
- After school, I would go back to work, do my homework, then if I had time, see my friends.
This led me to build better habits when I was out on my own. Sure, I went through times where I let myself go and didn’t care. Eventually, I would look in the mirror and just get disgusted with myself. That is what would get me back on track.
This means that every morning I get up and drink a coffee and then go to the gym. Sure, I check email, do some writing, and maybe plan my day. But, weather permitting, I go to the gym or I walk the park or neighborhood everyday. I am very fortunate to be able to do this.
For years, I raised my kids and worked long hours. This stopped me from any healthy habit I had. At some point in our lives we have to think of our priorities.
We want to take care of our kids, right, that is a huge commitment. It takes a lot of time and energy. It also requires very long days around work.
We have to build our careers, right? We have bills to pay and mouths to feed. We want to retire at some point. We have life events which drain us of savings and take a toll on our lives with stress. I went through divorce, family deaths, personal tragedies, and other things people have to live through. Luckily, we survive or we don’t.
If we die, then it’s over, all our problems are gone, so we assume. My wife gets mad at me because I say things like, he dies, now his worries are gone. She thinks that’s horrible, but in a way it’s a dark truth. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to die, but let’s face it, now it’s up to us survivors to figure out what to do moving forward.
I don’t want to bring you down with that death talk, but as you get older you read the obituaries more often.
Back to building habits. It takes practice. Practice, repetition and will power. All that and you really have to want to do it. You have to know that light at the end of the tunnel is your goal, not a train coming at you.
If we want things bad enough, we can make it happen. Unfortunately it may take a life event to make it happen.
For instance, my brother-in-law had a mild heart attack, and suddenly he was able to change his diet and exercise every day. He had to almost die to make that happen. Even though he was able to do that for a few years, when he started feeling better he fell back into his bad habits. He gained weight, again, and got lazy. He didn’t like working out.
Then he got cancer and suddenly was reminded to be healthy again. Unfortunately he died years later. His body was worn out. I loved him, my sister was married to him for over 30 years. It’s hard when someone passes. On the other hand, all that suffering is over. I pray my loss is his happiness.
I believe this is why on earth we believe so strongly in heaven. We have to believe they are better off. We have to believe they are happier and the suffering is over. It would be so hard for us humans to process that it’s just over, unless you’re an atheist, then I guess you can accept that your life meant nothing. I have a hard time doing that.
This is why I am glad I have good health habits. I know a lot of people with cancer and healthy problems. Even then I want to eat shitty foods because they taste good and my dopamine rush overcomes my common sense. I have seen friends and family die from completely preventable diseases and yet I really want to eat that bag of chips.
If you can, look around, see what your relatives have done and how they are living now that they’re older. That is what it took to make me want to at least try to be better. I don’t want to hobble, have my knees or hip replaced. I want an excellent quality of life into my 90s. My dad was pretty healthy right up until 92, then he passed right before his 95th birthday. That gives me hope.
What gives you hope? What is your motivation? Is it enough to carry you into your 90s?