January 16, 2006
I am sitting on my rooftop overlooking San Francisco. It’s late Monday afternoon and I can see the highway slowly building traffic from the rush of people trying to get home or to the gym or to dinner.
I used to wonder about the lives of other people all the time…when I was little I would peer at other people on the freeway and wonder where they were going, what they were doing, what made them excited about living. I knew that one day I would grow into an adult and participate in the same rush hour event that takes place at least five days a week.
This past week was what I would like to term Back to Basics. Getting back to where you came from allows you to move forward because we are always springing forward from the same core foundation that motivated our bodies to come into being.
In my personal journey through life I started perfecting my definitions of terms. For example, when I worked out, instead of running 2 miles, a good workout consisted of cardio and intense weight training totaling 1.5 hours. When I ate: instead of eating moderately, the ideal meal was 25-30 grams of lean protein and complex carbohydrates. When I looked in the mirror, instead of having proportioned curves, my ideal body had 17% body fat, defined muscles and housed in a size 0.
This disease of perfectionism really drove me to become very critical of things that weren’t up to par to my expectations. The more I excelled, the more I accredited on the steps right before my success as my mark towards achievement, but in reality, it wasn’t just the strict dieting and exercise that marked my success…in essence, it was earlier choices: the choice to eat healthy and workout, to become a member at the gym and not end up like everyone else that contributed to my achievement. By looking further back at the first initial steps towards actualization…I was able to mentally advance in my life performance.
The First Step is the Most important Step. Because I forgot to give credit to that first step…I kept on ‘tripping’ on my walks today. For everything in life is a process – a step, a journey leading to the next. It’s so important to never forget your original step – your original intention.
This past week I got back to basics. In this process of self healing, I realized that in order to change. I needed to redefine what was real to me. I needed to get back to when things were just basic. When living was being able to do what you wanted when your favorite parts of the day was when you enjoyed a meal or played outside. Instead of being incredibly anal on my fitness program, I decided that I wouldn’t be. I took old group classes again, I ate old diet foods that were once banned, I worked out at off hours of the day…ultimately, by breaking the rules and feeling content with my basic actions, I was able to constantly unearth the intrinsic value of my being.
The definition of certain words refine itself as you live on…but hopefully, in the end, the very first definition: the feeling and effort you had when you first went to school, when you got your first A, when you completed your first fitness goal or was able to lift past your max weight….hopefully, that single feeling of simple accomplishment will always stay with you.
I realize that nothing is real in this world. Everything is in the perception of your mind and what you feel is real. The anger your employer gives you, the criticism you place on yourself, the pressures to be something in this world is all an illusion. If you allow the physical world to penetrate your being – it will. But if you stay grounded strengthen your spiritual core and remain conscious of the true nature of the environment around you….you can begin creating an environment that is real, real to you. And when you create a life game based off of your own intentions all those around you will see what it will take to win with you and eventually they will start playing by your rules. That is power.