My motivation and how I use it

Image from Flickr, by Jimee, Jackie, Tom & Asha

I'm 39 years old.  To most folks, that doesn't mean a whole lot.  For them, it just means that I'm older than a 38 year old, but younger than a 40 year old.  It's not like the age of 38 means anything special.

It's also the age that terrifies me.

Over a decade ago, my uncle - a man who was more like my brother than an uncle - dropped dead at the age of 39.  He wasn't the first family member to die at that magic age either.  He was just the latest in a long line of folks to die at 39.  Of course, good healthy doesn't exactly run in my family either.

So, despite rationality, I'm terrified of being 39. 


Some people become debilitated by fear.  Not me.  I used it.  It's that fear that got me started along this path some time back. 

Fear isn't necessarily a bad thing.  The trick is to harnessing fear and directing it towards a noble purpose.

It's easy to let fear take hold and run you ragged.  Some in my position might end up over training, or trying some fad diet that would cause as many problems as what they were trying to get rid of.  It's imperative that if fear is motivating you, you simply must be smart about things.

First, do not try whatever.  Educate yourself about the human body, nutritional basics, principles of exercise, and then keep on learning stuff.  Make up your own mind on what to do, but be smart about it.  Don't over do it.

The truth is, fears like mine aren't rational.  For some of you, it may just be.  Maybe the doctor told you to lose some weight or risk a heart attack.  Maybe he said to lower your blood pressure or face a stroke.  I understand.  However, going off half cocked isn't a useful strategy either.

Embracing the fear doesn't mean you let it run your life.  Instead, you keep it in the back of your mind.  Remember it when you reach for that ice cream or package of cookies, using it to put them back on the shelf.

This may not be the best way to motivate yourself, but it's what I have.  If that's what you have, then use it.  As long as you are traveling down the right trail, who cares how you got to the trail head?