Life’s Short, Aim High

As I write this, I’m preparing for the season premiere of The Biggest Loser. Yes, I know, it’s cheesy, it’s silly, it’s dramatized to the hilt. And, well, you know, at this stage in the game, this is huge, it’s my inspiration to be the complete opposite of what I see on that screen.

I can hear you now–Oh, no, Ron, not another January article about weight loss and fitness! Don’t be silly, I’m saving that for February, with my “Lose 10 lbs. in two weeks with no exercise and a free trial bottle of Arcadia Berry extract!” article.

I‘m gonna lay it out. The problem is not with our hormones or big bones or hyper-active something-or-others. The fact is this: modern folk simply don’t know how to challenge themselves anymore. It really is that simple. How did you get through college? You challenged yourself to finish, some of you went so far as to demand a respectable GPA. How did you get the dream home? How did you finish Atlas Shrugged (including the 70 page speech by John Galt)? How did you win that perfect spouse? You challenged yourself.

It seems that too many of us got a bit comfortable after those early successes. God didn’t put us here to retire from life at the age of 30. Living a life of fulfillment can’t happen while we’re comfortable.

If you follow the Body, Mind, & Spirit mind frame for lifelong happiness, you can probably assume that most of us here are making decent progress in the Spirit area. A good percentage keep the ol’ Mind rust-free and sharp. So why do we tend to settle for two out of three? Despite the immortal words of that great philosopher, Meatloaf, two out of three ain’t good. After all, what good is that sharp mind and on-fire spirit if we can’t get off the couch to spread our knowledge and faith? Not that a fat guy can’t be an effective minister, but I have to be honest–I’d have paid much closer attention in my early 20s to an evangelist who looked like Anna Kournikova (sorry to be so shallow, but you know, once a sailor…).

So, here’s my new year challenge to you: challenge yourself in all three areas–Body, Mind, & Spirit. Since I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time obsessing about weight loss and fitness, I’ll write some more about that later. For now, though, I want you to think big (or small, whatever the case may be). No one ever climbed Mt. Everest without first saying, “Think I’ll climb Mt. Everest.”

Yes, I know, we’re supposed to set realistic goals, blah, blah, blah.

Life’s short, shoot high.

The worst thing that can happen is failure. And unless your goal is to win a martial arts bout with Chuck Norris, failure probably won’t kill you. And chances are you’ll be better off than when you first started. If you succeed, guess what? You get to set a new goal. Keep climbing, reaching the top only gives you a better view of the new challenges available to you.

Okay, time for Bob Harper and two dozen fat people sweating it out in a gym. That, my friends, is entertainment. And a darned good “scared straight” program.

By the way, if you must know, my inspiration this year is at Bodybuilding.com. Like I said, set the bar high!

Ron

I am a husband, dad, Christian, and writer. Not necessarily in that order. It took me thirty years to turn my life over to my Redeemer. It's taken another ten to figure out what it is He has in store for me. My first novel, Now I Knew You, will be released in March, 2015. I pray that God will allow me to write many more before calling me home.

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