Captain of Your Own Ship

When I think about why health and fitness has become such a thing for me, it comes back to gaining a sense of autonomy. Leaning to do something and enjoy the result.

I’ve struggled to improve material conditions all my life, through booms and recessions. I’ve tried to do everything right. They say if you’re smart, educated, care a lot and work hard, you’ll be successful. Yet somehow, I end of working for people who are stupid, ignorant, arrogant and lazy. They are more “successful” than me. It’s been frustrating.

Be The Ball, Danny

I then went through a period of Spiritual Bypassing. A teacher convinced me that I couldn’t fix the world or myself directly, but I could work on my karma. It’s a compelling story: most or all of what you experience is a projection of your own mind, and that projector is loaded with how you treat others. Change what’s in the projector. Sounds great, so I tried it. For ten years. Things got worse.

Where I’m at now is thinking there are things you have no control over, things you can influence, and things completely under your control. Focus on the latter two, and just roll with the first. Or as my favorite quote from my Buddhist studies goes,

“No matter what happens, I will never allow
My sense of joy to be disturbed. 
Being upset destroys your goodness
And doesn’t accomplish your goals.
If there is something you can do about it,
Why get upset?
If there is nothing you can do about it,
Then what’s the point?”
-- Shantideva (~750 AD) 

Personal Autonomy: I’m the Boss of Me

We can do something about our health. Aside from genetics, our bodies are mostly under our control. We can control how we move it. We can control what we put in it. We can direct our focus, and choose how we want to play. We can resist the ravages of old age. We can enjoy the results. We can live longer and stronger. No one can take that from you. Speaking of autonomy, read The Difference Between Training and Coaching. tl;dr: Coaching gives you more autonomy.

In the old stories of being granted three wishes for freeing a genie from a bottle, everyone wonders, “Why not wish for more wishes?” It’s against the rules. Let’s live strong enough and long enough to get more genies, and more wishes.