“The light at the end of the tunnel is not an illusion, the tunnel is.” -unknown
Every time I read this quote it takes on a different meaning. One way to interpret it is that the way we view our health is really is all a matter of perspective.
That despite how dark or cloudy your day may be, if you are open to change, even a bit of light can be found in the present moment.
Granted we often have a hard time convincing ourselves of that. Stop me if you’ve found yourself repeating these phrases:
- “When this work stress blows over then I will start getting healthy”
- “I need to lose 30 pounds. Maybe I will get started on that next month when things settle down”
- “Fast food is all I have time for this week.”
The reality is, every one of us can start working on our health today. And you know what? It is all a matter of perspective.
In my last post, I talked about taking a minute with your breath. For your physical body, you need to go a big longer. You don’t have to go to the gym for an hour, you don’t even have to sweat.
- Studies show that even 10 minutes of exercise a day can make a difference.
- Just 10 minutes of walking may actually help you feel better today. Ten minutes of swimming.
- Ten minutes on that neglected NordicTrack machine in your basement.
And while those 10 minutes may not lead to more on that given day, it was 10 more minutes of health than you were going to have anyway. And at some point soon that 10 minutes will lead to more.
Its simple physics really. “An object in motion tends to stay in motion.”
I didn’t say moving your body is necessarily easy. But thinking about moving does not make moving easier, either. Starting to move does make moving easier. Just move despite yourself!
In other words, the ball rolling down the hill does not know why it is rolling, it is just rolling. (And maybe even having a great time doing it.) Way more fun than thinking about it.
So let’s quit trying to think our way into better acting. Instead act our way into better thinking.
Then we will see the tunnel starting to vanish and the light starting to reveal itself.
Hope to see you on the trails,