I’m not sure what caused the epiphany. Maybe it was the brief moment I had sitting in crisp fresh air marveling at the lake and mountains nestled in the Swiss Alps. Perhaps it was processing time from long hours of driving. Or something I was reading, I cannot recall.
But on that day, I knew that I was making a decision that would impact the rest of my life.
So I started.
And I’ve done it every day since.
That was 1301 days ago.
Back in October 2013, I decided to exercise everyday for the rest of my life. Which I am aware sounds way more amazing than it actually is.
So here are my two secrets:
First, because I love freedom, I have a very loose definition of exercise. Exercise for me can be the hard, less fun, stuff like running 10km, or going to the gym. Exercise is also going for a walk with my wife, having a walking meeting with a co-worker, or playing basketball with my son. And on the bad days when time is short or I’ve been sick, exercise might be something as simple as some press ups.
To exercise means “activity carried out to improve your health”.
That’s pretty loose.
So why over complicate it?
My second secret. Doing it every single day. (The only leave pass I will give myself is being in a coma.)
Doing anything daily sounds exhausting, but I actually find it rewarding (particularly given the low expectations I have). Once the habit is established, it is significantly easier than trying to remember to do something X times a week.
And I enjoy it.
So what could you do, every single day?
If you made the rules loose enough?
∴
I’m not disciplined. My life experiences and various psych tests prove that.
I also take a photo everyday. When I did the photo of the day, the first time for a year I found it exhausting because I had a bunch of rules. When I started again on my birthday back in 2013, I decided I had no rules. Just take or get a picture.
SO MUCH EASIER!
I’m not disciplined, but doing 1 thing, intentionally, everyday.
Proves to me, that I can be.
And it could prove it to you to.
I can’t imagine what it’s like to go to war.
When I was a kid, before you could ‘google maps’ the entire earth, I day dreamed of exploring the vast pacific ocean and discovering some distant new island.
A few weeks ago three people, over the course of a week, reached out to ask why I wasn’t blogging? One example is from a young reader who private messaged me, “I was just wondering what happened with your blogs – I really enjoyed reading them”
“You don’t understand,” I said partly in jest, “It has nothing to do with their fear of change. It’s ALL my own insecurities.” As soon as I heard the words leave my mouth, even though I was meaning them to bring humour, I knew they were true.
Around our house we have duties that everyone has to do each week on rotation as a part of being in the family. Then there are the tasks like mowing the lawns which I can do for free, or the kids can do for money.
“What day is it?” asked Pooh.
“I hope all the leaders of the world can try and do good” Abdullah Kurdi says a year after his two sons and wife drowned trying to flee Syria.
I’ve sat in this cafe at least a dozen times over the last year or so and never noticed how diverse the lights. They are different sizes, shapes and strength.
It took the entire history of mankind up to the 1800’s before the world reached a population of 1 billion people. Nowadays we add a billion people to the population every 13 years.