A surprising side benefit from my recent addiction to running has been my attention to my health. It was fun to see my weight drop and my body become more defined, but I never planned on changing my diet, practicing yoga or looking into things like heart rate variability. But all of these and more have been some of the side effects from marathon training.
I previous wrote and even designed a poster about my first, great realization. That being how the things that really matter merit daily attention. I realized after running four marathons over the past year, not only the benefits from consistency, but the stark contrast of that which is done daily, and early and without multitasking as compared to the things that are pushed to the afternoon or things that we do only a few times a week.
Never in my little life have a noticed such a dramatic and sustained positive change as that from running six days a week, every week for almost an entire year. That experience brought such illumination and personal conviction about how growth happens, that it affects every other goal or desire I now have.
The idea of doing something… say only weekly is ridiculous, that is, it’s a ridiculous if I actually want to see growth. Saying I’m going to do something in the afternoon or before I go to bed is like saying I’ll be on the intersection of 71st Street and Memorial Avenue precisely at 4:37pm in 4 years. There is no way to know for certain what will happen in four years, or at the end the day when you life is filled with responsibility and family and business needs. But to say I’ll do this as soon as a wake up, is 10x more likely to happen.
The Quick Fix
Anywho, let’s get back to the original idea. As my title eludes, I’m learning to develop the ability to seek out and recognize what brings sustained health or wellness vs what is only a quick pleasure. The fact that I’m becoming a fitness junkie, has heighten my awareness of my body’s needs and changes. I’m more sensitive to aches and subtle pains like never before. As I experiment with low-carb, vegan and paleo diets, I’m even noticing how food affects my body and mood…
Certain things produce a quick jolt of pleasure to my mouth but then bring an energy crash in minutes or hours later. Some foods will cause my stomach to feel bloated immediate after or in the morning. This growing sensitivity with aspirations of improving my physical and mental performance is helping me to develop the discipline of eating better.
So the initial idea here is… To reach my physical and energy goals, I need to increase my attention to my body and what it needs and what it reacts to while minimizing addiction to the temporal pleasures that may come and go… But looking a little deeper, I am seeing an additional application.
The same way I learned about consistency and change from reflecting on marathon training. I am seeing a similar connection in quick pleasures vs sustained wellness. There are some things that are easy to access and bring quick pleasures all while sabotaging another area which is the most important.
As it turning out, the tongue or mouth is intimately connected to my emotions or surface level reality. When I eat something sweet either in response to stress, boredom or hunger there is an immediate and tangible boost. But this initial satisfaction can often be antithetical my long term needs.
My primary application or realization of this applies to information or knowledge gathering. The ultimate goal is living life with purpose and passion and according to my design. How did God make me, what was I built to do, how can I make an impact, etc. But when looking at where I am and where I want to be, there is a large gap. Therefore, the logical step has been to go learn, go study, download an audio book, subscribe to a podcast, fill my mind with experience and wisdom of someone who’s made it.
There is of course, nothing wrong or unhealthy with this approach. This is actually quite logical. However, when you have your eyes on the end result of what you want, and assess whether your approach is actually moving your forward, backwards or nowhere you may think differently.
It’s like when you are hungry and then eat, but 30 or 60 minutes later are once again hungry. What you ate may not have been junk, but the fact that it only satiated your for an hour should indicate that what you digested didn’t really give your body what it needed.
Here is the principle. There are two different aspects of yourself that can be fed or effected. One of them is quick and easy and immediate. The other responds slower, is not as vocal, but it is a better gauge. Only when are looking and questioning your actions and results will you see the difference.
Individual Fulfillment
In my experience, the mind is simple and easy to please. An intellectual itch, caused from a lack or question about my life can be scratched with few key strokes in Google. From there I am drowned with a plethora of ideas and can fall into a glutton of information. In one sense I’m am stuffed, but in another more important sense, I’m just a stuck and unsatisfied. No progress was made. Only an busyness and energy spent.
There is a verse in the Bible that says God’s wisdom is completely different than wisdom of the world. When we are dealing the issues of the heart and trying to bring fulfillment to our souls, we need a God perspective. Not a general principle of seeking first the kingdom or loving God, but a specific, individual idea like, “Peter, feed my sheep… if I want John to remain alive until I return what is that to you? You must follow me.” ( John 21: 17,22 paraphrased)
We can go through the motions of general principles or following the footsteps of others but never step closer to our purpose. We need to know ourselves better and distinguish what is acceptable and immediate to what is ultimately satisfying. Some people will avoid pork to eat a whole-wheat and turkey, but never grow to be aware of their issue to dairy or glutton. They are fixed on a general idea and numb to their unique needs.
I believe there are simple, specific and individual ideas that God has shown each of us. Little discrepancies and differences of how we are to live. Some of us are not watch certain TV shows other types of visual or imaginative stimulants. Some of us need to be aggressively jealous about guarding certain time slots of our day, dedicating time to writing or being around a mentor or participating in our children’s or parents lives.
But following after other people, looking for quick fixes or a simple check lists will only build a habit of surface level change and mediocrity.
There is no universal formula, Biblical or business that can blindly applied and proved beneficial on an individual level. Look beyond the surface, persevere and reflect longer-term. Realize that if you really want to see growth and change, you need to be aware of the subtle effects of your efforts. Find the personal formula or God idea that works for you.