I’m sure we can all relate to this sentiment. As soon as you hear someone mention they are moving, the hair on your neck stands up because you know what follows is them trying to convince you to help. You want to be a good friend, but spending your Saturday morning moving a bunch of heavy furniture with the reward of pizza, drinks, and a herniated disc isn't exactly the dream for you.
This tweet is obviously a joke, but it’s also a reality for many people that an activity like moving furniture and carrying odd objects has the risk of “that old injury flaring up”. If you have experienced a debilitating injury before, it's likely the memory of that pain will linger in the back of your mind when you do activities you used to be able to do without a second thought.
Working out has typically been seen as a means to something surface level like looking better with a swimsuit on, and spending time in the gym appears to be a waste of time if you do not have that goal. You work 40-50 hours a week, have family and friends, other hobbies and responsibilities, etc. and sacrificing time doing one of those things just so you can look better naked might not be worth the tradeoff to you. However, what if the time spent working out made your time at work less exhausting, so you have energy to spend with your friends and family doing activities you enjoy, and even opened doors of opportunity to do things you previously hadn't thought possible for you? That tradeoff sounds a lot more enticing, at least it does for me!
If you have been hesitant to start working out because it hasn't been valuable to you, consider what you have been giving up as a result. From a young age our bodies are resilient, and over time we either raise or lower our body's capacity to handle all of life's stresses. Understanding this has been invaluable to me.
I hope you take the time to think about how your body feels today. And ask yourself; if your friend asked you to help them move this weekend would you have confidence in the resiliency of your body to say yes?
Until next time,
-Nate
“How we live our days, is how we live our lives.”
-Annie Dillard
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