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Attitude Power
By Malvey of
http://couchtocompetition.blogspot.com
“A journey
of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” You’ve heard that line from
Confucius, right? Actually that’s not quite it. A journey of a thousand
miles begins in the brain. You envision a place you want to be, then you
decide you are going to make the journey, then you take the first
step.
Got it?
The journey begins in the brain. The brain, which energizes your attitude,
is the most powerful factor in a lifestyle overhaul. Don’t think so? Try
this: Close your eyes and imagine taking a fresh lemon. Feel the skin, the
texture and then take a knife and cut the lemon in half. Now take a half of
the lemon and hold it up to your nose. Get a good sense of the aroma. Now
look at the lemon, notice the fresh, juicy pulp, then take a large bite of
the lemon and chew it up.”
For most
people, just the thought of taking a bite out of a lemon will set off a
chemical reaction that fires up the salivary glands. These babies (12 major
and tons of minor glands) dump a liter and a half of saliva into your mouth
daily. What happens in your brain is powerful stuff in developing attitude
power.
My
personal journey, from the couch to competition, started when my
cardiologist jump started my motivation by saying, “Your stress test was
irregular.” I had been going around seriously short of breath, having mild
chest pain, and telling myself that I would be lucky to still be on the
planet in two or three years. That’s the brain fueling a killer attitude.
Literally! I had it out with my brain, told it to get on the good side of
what works, filled three garbage bags with junk food, bakery, and frozen
goodies, and headed for the gym with a friend who is really fit.
I heard a
story some time ago that has become a key of the main building blocks in
what I call my “Extreme attitude Makeover.” The story goes this way:
A Kansas farmer found a sick eagle chick in one of his fields. He took the
baby eagle back to his home to nurse it back to health. In the beginning,
the eagle did well and the farmer put it in with the young chicks in his
chicken pen. Although the eagle did well during the first weeks, it began to
grow listless and seemed to be losing its strength. The farmer feared the
young eagle was going to die after all.
Then an
inspiration hit. He packed the eagle in his pickup truck and headed west for
the Colorado mountains. When he arrived at the eastern edge of the Rockies,
the farmer took the young bird deep into the foothills. Then, he held the
eagle in his arms and pointed its head to the mountain tops where the wind
was blowing and an occasional eagle cried out as it traced the currents of
the mountain winds. A strong shudder coursed through the eagle's body and it
spread its wings as a new strength seemed to surge through the bird. It
stood and leaped into the air, caught a strong breeze and soared into the
sky. Misty eyed, the farmer watched as the majestic bird cried out what
seemed to be a farewell.
This story
is a parable of contemporary life. The truth is that all of us can be much
more than we have imagined. The problem is that we buy into the thinking of
the chicken coop and don’t even know about the mountain and the winds We
wind up clucking our way through life instead of soaring. BUT - fitness
doesn't come as an instant miracle cure. That's not an easy thing to hear in
a culture where "fast" is "good." From the nine minute oil change to the
"instant" lottery millionaire, we are bombarded with the idea that life can
change for the good with a "quick fix". The problem with the quick fix is
that when it breaks down, the "chicken coop" syndrome simply gains more
strength. Some of my worst experiences over the past couple of decades have
been those times when I knew I needed to lose weight and shape up. I would
get a brief inspiration, stop eating, go out to run a couple of miles, throw
up in the bushes on the way home, and go home for beer and pizza. My brain
was saying, “Maybe later.”
My extreme
attitude makeover provided the energy and motivation to begin a new
lifestyle. I promise you, that this lifestyle is not about deprivation, it
is about more. More energy, more productivity, more quality, and a heck of a
lot more fun. Eating differently and working out have been powerful medicine
over the past nine months. But there’s something even more powerful in
setting some goals. I can remember seeing the occasional television show on
triathlons. There was this one called the “Hawaii Triathlon.” “These
people are from a whole other planet where insanity rules,” I thought as
I sipped my brandy Alexander and took a bite out of my super-sized double
Giantburger. Although I do not see myself completing this one any time soon
– it is on my list of lifetime goals. Goals are the fuel of motivation and
attitude.
For 2004 I
want to finish my first sprint class triathlon, place for may age group (the
old guys), and go for an Olympic class in the fall. But I have another goal
that is very dear to my heart. I want to help motivate at least ten people,
mid-life and seniors, to cash in their old “killer attitude” along with
their couches and “tri” for a new and better way of living.
One more
note. This web site is loaded with great inspiration. I love Michael Pate’s,
“When Big Boys Tri.” Check us out next month for, “When Old Guys Tri.”
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