The Fine Art of Fitness

I recently relocated and during the packing process I took the opportunity to weed out the old clothing that was weighing me down. Sorting through it all was a lot of work at a time when I already had a lot of things to do. Still, it had to be done. If something doesn’t fit anymore, it is important to get rid of it. Maybe the size is wrong or maybe the style doesn’t suit you or maybe it isn’t conducive to your lifestyle. For one reason or another it doesn’t FIT you or it doesn’t FIT your life.

Toss it. Give it away. Donate it. Throw it in the garbage if you must. Just get rid of it.

It is important to get rid of these things because if you don’t, you will be carrying excess baggage. Worse, if you keep these old clothes around you will end up wearing them and wearing something that doesn’t fit is just ridiculous. What does this have to do with fitness and living a healthy lifestyle? Our habits are like the clothes we wear. We accumulate influences that affect our behavior the way we accumulate clothing:

• Some we buy into.
• Some we make for ourselves.
• Some are given to us by our friends and families.
• Some are imposed on us by dress codes.

We accumulate these clothes and we wear them. We often do this without thinking but these clothes have a powerful effect. Think for a minute about the clothing you wear and realize that it tells the world something very important about who you are: the CHOICES YOU MAKE. The clothing you wear creates a context for the way people RELATE TO YOU. The clothing you wear creates and reinforces the image you have of YOURSELF. Your choice of habits have the same effect. Ask yourself what behaviors and beliefs you repeat to yourself and realize that what you think and do creates who you are. Continuing to live with outdated, ill-fitting, unproductive habits puts limitations on you.

If you don’t like the jacket you are wearing, why are you wearing it? Because it’s the only one you have? Because you don’t know what else to wear? Because you don’t think it is important enough to care about? Because you’re trying to appeal to someone else’s taste? Because it’s your uniform? These are limitations that you can choose to accept or not to accept. No matter your budget, there are options. If you don’t know what else to wear, this is your chance to start learning about yourself. You get to decided what is important. Another person’s taste will not bring you satisfaction.

You make the decision about what you put on. That decision reveals how you think and determines what you will become. The dangerous thing about wearing outdated, outgrown or unsatisfying clothing is that as you wear it YOU BECOME COMFORTABLE IN IT. You will become comfortable with anything that you wear repeatedly. To a certain degree, it is possible that the pair of shoes you are wearing will “break-in” but it is even more possible that you will break-in to the shoes. So it is with your behaviors. You will become comfortable with any choice you make repeatedly. If you do not take control of that choice, it will take control of you. Be very aware of this and very selective about what you keep in your collection. Is it what you want to repeat? Does it reinforce your vision? Does it communicate your message? Is it you?

I’m not going to make a list of healthy and unhealthy choices here. My point in this post is to get you to think critically about your wardrobe of habits. Ask yourself:

• What choices are you making today?
• What are you thinking today?
• What habits are you reinforcing to today?
• What kind of person do you see yourself as?
• Are your choices moving you toward the life you want to live?

It is a lot of work to take an inventory of your current habits and you probably feel like you already have a lot to do. Still, it has to be done. If something doesn’t fit anymore, it is important to get rid of it. One of the best ways I know of for accomplishing this is to adopt new, proactive and healthy habits. You can’t just throw away your clothes and walk out into the world in a pair of socks. You need to make sure you have decent things to wear in place of what you discard. Going cold turkey with bad habits leaves you vulnerable to relapsing. Instead, bring in a new behavior today and start repeating it. As the positive habit becomes more comfortable, add another. The old habits will become crowed out in a way that they aren’t even noticed. This makes the “letting go” process much more manageable. Stay aware of your habits and commit to letting go of baggage that isn’t doing you any good.