Saturday, January 11, 2014

Truth Moment: Health is always a Top Priority Task

I was about to logoff when the title of one of Ross Enamait's recent blog posts caught my eye.  It was called "Prioritize Your Training".  It definitely struck a chord with me, because I recognize that I have not prioritized my training over the past 3 days.

As I wrote earlier, I've been sick for the past 7 days.  My first 5 days were really bad (Friday, Sat, Sun, Mon, Tues).  They truly did warrant taking time off from the gym, especially since I was going to be working out at home and not going to the big box. At home, I obviously have my garage gym.  It is insulated, but not heated.  So, it's still cold as sh*t in the winter.  This is not ideal when one is sick.  Anyway, I went against my better judgement and did a light workout on Monday night.  I paid the price on Tuesday (fever came back, more coughing, still no voice, etc).  However, I resumed my work schedule at home on Wednesday (from my bedroom, which served as my makeshift office while I was sick).  I put in 14 hour days on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, even with my voice not being restored!

However, I did not work out during either of those 3 days.  I fully intended to.  Even on Wednesday when I was still slightly feverish, I probably could have done a 15-20 minute walking workout in my bedroom.  But I didn't.  I took the necessary preparatory steps each of those days.

* I turned on the heater in the garage to let it warm up as soon as I woke up in the morning.  It was so cold that I thought it best to try for a lunch time or early evening workout.
* I put on my workout clothes and wore them all day.
* My backup plan was to do the day's boxing workout in my bedroom if the garage was still too cold.  I even brought my boxing gloves and hand weights into my bedroom and placed them on the chair in plain sight.
* I told myself that even with a 14 hour work day, I still need to carve out an hour to get my body moving. A little bit of something is better than whole lot of nothing.
* I planned how to be remain active during next week's business trip.  I worked on converting my DVD library so that I could take them with me.

Regardless of all of that, I failed to execute. Not because I wasn't capable. I was sick, but not completely incapacitated.  The truth is that I failed to prioritize my training. I failed the simple task of getting it done.  I had all sorts of reasons, but at the end of the day, it didn't get done because I didn't make the time to do it. I don't have anyone else to blame but myself.  I put other things in front of one of the most important goals that I've set for myself in quite some time.  I have 82 days left, and I failed to take advantage of 3 of them.

I'm not going to give up on myself or on reaching my goal.  I am simply acknowledging that I can execute in a more consistent fashion, reduce distractions, and stop placing other tasks in front of my top priority.  In all honesty, my photoshoot in 82 days is really just a culminating event. The bottom line is that I still have quite a bit of fat to lose in order to reach my true goal of improved overall health.

Are you putting your wellness goals at the top of your list?  Only you know if you are truly giving your best effort.  You are in control.  Find a way to make your personal wellness paramount!  No excuses.

"No one will remember how bad you wanted it. They’ll remember what you were willing to do to get it." --Ross Enamait ‏

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