Make Your Own Change

I think people these days have the entire wrong attitude about life. We feel we are owed everything. We feel self-entitled to whatever we want.

Get over yourself! The world owes you nothing. In fact, you probably owe the world something because you are here using it’s resources, and more than likely you’re stepping all over people to get what you want, where you want, when you want it.

Now, don’t get me wrong. We have a right to pursue happiness and all that jazz – but the idea here is that you must actually pursue it. You don’t have the right to be handed happiness for doing nothing. You’ll find that you value “happiness” more when you’ve worked for it, anyways.

I’ve found that habits and ways of living aren’t usually formed by sheer will-power. It’s a matter of changing perspectives. If you don’t understand why you’re forming a habit or change a behavior you’ll be much less likely to continue the trend. Sometimes forming the habit or changing the behavior gives us the perspective we need, other times we have to see the new perspective before we begin. Sometimes it’s a mix – for example, I knew educationally that working out would make me feel better. It’s what made me get through the first month or so of training at the gym (i.e. getting the habit started). Now I go because I have experienced the truth of it. I don’t need to keep reminding myself of why I do it, because it reminds me every time I go. I had to have an open mind to believe that killing myself for an hour at the gym would eventually make me feel good later on.

Was I owed a naturally athletic body by the world? Hell no. Are there some that are privileged with a naturally athletic body? Yes. Life isn’t fair. What do I do about it? I earn the better body I want, instead of crying at home about it while eating potato chips and watching soap operas all day, wondering why I don’t have the toned curves.

Our situations aren’t always so obvious. Of course if all I do is laze around eating food all day, it is highly unlikely that I will be in shape or that I could jump up and run a marathon. Take a minute to think about the things you think you are owed in life. Are you sitting on the couch waiting for your killer athletic body to kick in? Guess what – it’s not going to happen. You have to do something about it for yourself.

Photo cred: erinn.coventry@flickr

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