"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right."
-Henry Ford
I thought I couldn't, I thought my heyday was behind me. I was only 20 years old when I had told myself that I had already reached my prime and that my fitness would never eclipse its previous levels. Within a couple months of attending college at 18 I had become enveloped in the world that is lifting, fitness, becoming better. This attitude and work ethic carried me for 2 years, becoming stronger, faster, and more fit than anything high school sports were able to do for me. However, as I was warned may happen, I hit a lull. I would push myself to go back to the gym, but it never felt right. I would only make it once every couple weeks and it didn't feel the same. Shortly after this, I didn't go at all, and sitting in my apartment I had the internal thought that "I will never eclipse that fitness level." I was a 5 minute walk from the gym where much of the magic had happened.
You may be thinking that this was the moment where I caught myself, where my past self chimed in and said "What the fuck man, you know that doesn't have to be the case." But it wasn't, my mental state towards fitness was not positive. I was worried about school work and never set aside time to go workout. I had found it easier to stay at home, to not push myself, to not become better.
So what turned it around, and what would I have done differently?
Fortunately after school ended for the semester, I had found myself with more time. Although doing some work over the summer, I had much more free time than I did during school which pushed my to fill the time, I decided to fill it positively. I knew that if I could start something when I had time, that it would have the power to influence how I spend the rest of my days, and in turn how I spend the rest of my life. This quote encompasses how I felt about my choice for the future.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
-Aristotle
I made it a habit. To workout, to become better, to use my time wisely. My lesson from this experience is as follows: Make the time, do the work, feel the rewards. It doesn't take more than a week to start feeling the rewards, no matter how small. In that time a habit can also be formed, make sure it's a good one.
Besides forming a habit I had also come to the realization that this is my only chance. I do not believe in an afterlife, and whether you do or not, why not make this life the best it can be. Although I need to extend this train of thought more thoroughly to other aspects of my life, not just fitness, I believe it to be a great starting point. My lesson from this experience was: Don't just live it, own it.
