Courage to Try

Cowards die many times before their deaths, the valiant never taste death but once.

Julius Caesar

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What is it that makes us individuals, makes us unique?

Truly mind-boggling, at least to me, that there are literally billions of people on the face of the planet, and just as none of us have the same fingerprints, virtually every single one of us has a unique physical and mental makeup, individual traits and qualities.

Some of us – like me, for instance – feel their best, most productive and energetic when we are a bit tired first thing in the morning.  An oxymoron?  Not really.  Let me give you a real life example.  I force myself up at 4:30 AM, groggy and delirious from lack of sleep.  Before I get a chance to panic, I am outside, waking my body up on the road.  By the time I get back home, I am hyper-energetic, I can fly up to the roof, run up and down the stairs, and most importantly – surprise the hell out of my wife by an amazing display of vitality.  I am talking about handling the kids in the morning and taking care of certain household chores – not what you were thinking, I am sure!

But that’s just me.  Most normal people aren’t quite as bad.  They wake up at a normal hour, go through their day and, hopefully, get a bit of exercise in at some point, to keep the body ticking and to fight off the attacking pounds.  The point is – and yes, there is a point to all this – we are all different, and cannot possibly expect the SAME MEASURES to achieve the SAME RESULTS.  If something works for me – does not necessarily mean it will work for you.  And vice versa.

So what’s the secret ingredient, what is that secret mix that makes controlling your weight easy?  I think you already figured it out – no such thing.  No special diet will work for all, no special dietary supplement will help all of us equally.  I used to eat honey buns in packs of 3 a day (!) and lose weight consistently – a fact that somehow miraculously became popular on Facebook… Of course, I was also running like mad each morning, racking up the mileage before anyone even knew it was morning… Anyway – that was just due to a bet I had going with someone….

In any event, Atkins diet may work for 10 people, but will not work for 100.  Does it mean it is wrong?  No, it means that your particular body type may require a more specialized, more personal approach, a program that fits YOU.  But I think it is important to work up the courage to try various things until you find the one approach that does work, and when you do – you will know.

Don’t listen to the generalized, mass-production advice, shared with you at the same time it is shared with a million others – guess what – it will actually work for a percentage of that crowd, but chances are – you won’t be one of them.  Try different things until you discover what it is that makes your body tick.  If for some strange reason it is mid-night push-ups, or it is early morning jumping jacks, or it is staying away from meat, or eating meat products only – whatever – that’s just your personal reaction, and there is nothing wrong with that, it works for you.  And never listen to the critics, it’s all they are good for…

Hey, and since we are doing the quotes today, how about this one: “It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and quiet souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

Keep it running!