Now that we are well past the New Year and all the resolutions and good intentions that accompany it, including those perennial promises to exercise more, eat less, lead a healthier lifestyle, I was thinking that what really counts is what you do with each day. You get up, go to the gym (maybe); if not you set some intention to take one small step toward meeting reaching your goal of taking better care of yourself and making 2009 a healthier year.
If you are like me you may look around the gym and think of all the things you can't do anymore. You're not as fast or as strong; it takes you longer to warm up and it's harder to keep up. Everyone around you seems to be younger and fitter. Or you can shift your thinking and appreciate what you can do. Let's face it, just getting up each day and working out is more than what most people accomplish. It may not seem like enough but acceptance of what you can do and gratitude for the ability, means and time to do it are important.
There will always be times when our personal and professional lives are not where we'd like them to be. But the tipping point, the fulcrum that determines whether you are headed up or down is your degree of self-acceptance and gratitude. Focusing on what you have and can do, rather than on what others have or can do, leads to thankfulness and appreciation, which in turn provides you with the energy to keep going and to achieve you goals.
So the next time you envy someone for their athletic skill, prowess and accomplishments - as I did today when I saw Lance Armstrong et al flash by during the Tour de California - give yourself some credit and be grateful for what you can do. For you it is absolutely perfect.
