03 October 2008

Pushing Yourself

With rugby season on the way, time to get serious again about fitness, so last night I ran/walked 3.5 miles in far less time than I've ever done before, then spent some time with the weights. When I was done my shirt was completely soaked, and I ended up falling asleep almost as soon as the kids did. But the endorphins were pumping and it felt really good. I couldn't have done this a while back when I'd let the self-discipline lapse more than I'd like to admit. But I wasn't going to let aching muscles or gasping lungs be the boss. I'll give myself a day off today to recuperate, then hit it just as hard or harder tomorrow. A buddy of mine who's a trainer is going to join me and really kick my butt to get me into top condition. I'm excited.

I don't remember being eager to be so rigorous with myself when I was a kid. Everything was all about self-indulgence, having fun, satisfying the particular cravings of the moment. I feared the difficulty and the pain of stretching myself like this, and assumed it would always take some outside authority to make me try. Understandable for a kid or teenager. But if (yes, if, some guys never do it) you become a man, you gradually put away childish things. You learn the satisfaction of self-discipline, of pushing yourself to meet higher goals, of overruling yourself in order to achieve something you previously thought you couldn't. And when you achieve it, you discover a type of satisfaction that is deeper and more satisfying than a self-indulgent kid or teenager could imagine. I try to communicate this to my little son in hopes that he'll at least catch a glimpse of the vision and learn sooner than I did how to apply these lessons to his own life. I'm no pinnacle of perfection in this area; we all have weaknesses and lapses and most people have trouble holding religiously to any given discipline for long periods without any fluctuation. But the place we're at is usually not as important as the direction we're heading, and at the moment, I'm glad I made the decision to push myself the right way.

1 comment:

Bror said...

Keep pushing bud, and push me as well. It is a good thing.