Author: annemariedemyen

Warning – This post will be lengthy and it might come off as being kind of ‘know it all’.   So for the record – I am sorry and I don’t know it all. This post is written with my grandkids in mind, the ones who are old enough to read my blog.  I am writing it because I love them, I want the best lives possible for them,  and because they are more likely to believe what they read in a blog than what some grey haired Grandma tells them. 😊

It is ten weeks since I started my spring fitness plan.  I have been meditating every single day and dancersizing almost every day.  (I did substitute a healthy dose of snow shoveling a few times.)  I haven’t been terribly consistent about having a glass of red wine every evening but since we got our new pup  Molly, I have had one Caesar and another one is sounding good.

The bottom line is things are going really well.  My fitness level is amazing and I have no doubt that it will get way better as my program is working and I cannot imagine giving it up anytime soon – or ever.  It is a lifestyle – my lifestyle going forward.

I have realized so many things since mid-February, that I decided to share a few today. 

1.  Living a good life depends on  having  physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and financial fitness.  The best fitness level in all categories possible. It is bizarre how little effort we tend to invest in our overall fitness. Especially, since it takes so little time and effort to make noticeable improvements.

2. Fitness is  so important  that we  believe everyone deserves it.  And somehow because we  feel everyone deserves it, we often feel entitled to it.  Feeling entitled to anything is bad, because then we feel we shouldn’t have to work for it.   We have to work for the things that are worth having, and we have to maintain them, and we have to value them – even if we receive them freely from family, friends, or the universe.    If we do not earn them, or maintain them, or value them – we lose them.   And then we sit around being miserable because we do not have them and it is ALL so unfair because we feel entitled to them! 🤦

3. At any point (even when we are really old – like almost 67) we can turn things around.  And, if we start working on one manner of fitness – physical fitness, or mental fitness, or emotional fitness, or spiritual fitness, or financial fitness – it affects the other fitness categories that are important to us.    It is amazing how that works! 

4.  Everyone  can do something to improve their  fitness levels – excuses won’t do it, worrying won’t do it, blame games won’t do it, and  pity parties won’t do it.   It has to be something constructive – something like physically working out, meditating, praying, getting out in nature, breathing fresh air, reading self help books or websites or seeking professional counseling, making and following a healthy diet plan, making and following a financial budget, spending time with loved ones – or spending time alone. We are all unique, so we all have to find what works best for us. Others can help us, advise us, or inspire us, but no one can do it for us.

5.  Trying TOO hard is counterproductive.   If we are trying and trying and giving it our all and it isn’t working, we are doing the wrong thing or we are doing the right thing wrong.  I did this physically for my entire life – and people told me I wasn’t trying (mostly phys-ed  teachers, but… whatever).   Nobody told me that I was trying too hard, that maybe I was not like everyone when it came to how I was built, that maybe I had to approach physical fitness in a different way.  Finally, as a senior,  I decided that I had to get physically fit – at least fit enough to get some enjoyment out of our approaching spring.   I knew I felt best when I put in my earbuds and cranked up the tunes from my  youth  to do dishes or other household chores so I decided to put in my earbuds and do a bit of dancing each day.  I have asthma, COPD, and bronchiectasis.  I am overweight.  Due to a genetic collagen issue and a lifetime of ‘trying too hard’ I had the muscle tone of limp asparagus.   But I finally took the right step in the right direction (for me).   I will probably never be an athlete, but I feel better AND I have muscle tone in my arms and my back and my core and my legs.  My flexibility, my circulation, and my balance are all better.  I breathe easier and I  have started to lose weight.  And I have moved up from Buddy Holly to full on Zumba.   My physical fitness has improved! Because I stopped pushing my body to do what it couldn’t, and I allowed it to do what felt right for me. This trying too hard can be detrimental to whatever type of fitness you are striving for – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, or financial. Sometimes you have to ease off and rethink what you are doing and how well it is working for you.

6. One interesting (and totally unexpected) side effect of  improving  my fitness levels, is that while I am focused on improving MY fitness levels,  I am way less concerned about judging or changing or fixing other people.   🙄

7. Finally, no matter how fit or unfit we are – life happens.  The good, the bad, and the downright ugly.  Life happens.   The fitter we are, the better we handle it all. The good times are better. More opportunities come our way and we are ready and able to make the most of them. We are in the right mindset to appreciate and cherish them.   The fitter we are, the less we stress the bad times – we are in a position to deal with them quickly and easily.  And the downright ugly times ….  There will be heartbreak, disappointment, pain and grief….  When the ugly happens – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and financial fitness makes all the difference  – for us and for those nearest and dearest to us.  We have what it takes to get through such times and to help others through them. We get past them and move on to better times.

Getting and staying as physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially fit as possible  is the most important personal responsibility that one has in this life.   We deserve health, happiness, love, faith, peace, and financial security. But we have to work for it.   It is never to early or too late to start or expand our efforts to empower ourselves through fitness.    Do it – Your life will be brighter, your future self will thank you, and your loved ones will thank you. 💝

That’s it for today.  Take care and have a great life!