“Just that you do the right thing. The rest doesn’t matter. Cold or warm. Tired or well-rested. Despised or honoured.” — Marcus Aurelius
This December was a Stoic test without any doubt. It’s the month of the excesses. At the end of every year, most of our modern lifestyle aspects get a radicalisation boost, making us doing a massive effort to avoid certain behaviours.
Meeting with family and friends for lunch or dinner, Christmas sweets, alcohol, parties, lack of workout, consumerist hysteria, etc. You know what I’m talking about.
It’s really hard to escape the social pressure and put some limits on these behaviours because you don’t want to seem rude if anyone invites you to have a beer or simply you don’t want to seem like a boring person because you are going to your workout the next day and prefer to stay at home that night instead of having a party. The truth is that most of our actions during the day follow this pattern of trying to please others above our desires.
This past month I saw myself alone with my trainer at gym classes because people stop to come because of the Christmas holidays. Don’t get me wrong, it’s ok to take a break in your training to let the body rest but not because something external forces you to make that. Giving in to that could mean throwing away all the year's work if we are talking about fitness.
Beware! It’s not about going to the other extreme, making us sad during this special time! It’s about finding the balance. It’s ok if you go out with friends, it's ok if you have lunch with your family at a restaurant. It’s ok if something unplanned makes you skip your WOD. The only thing you need to keep in mind is to return to your path.
Finding your path is critical to be able to shut that inner voice that makes you worry about what other people could say about you.
My goal in taking care of myself is to be able to spend as much time as possible with my children and be in shape for them. That’s my path.