Being Active

As most of you know my life has changed very significantly in the last 3 years or so. What started as a hobby that I fell in love with has turned into a full blown active lifestyle. Rock climbing at the Cleveland Rock Gym was absolutely the gateway to life that has brought me very much happiness and peace. The point that I want to make however is that its not something that just happens. I didn't just wake up one morning and was in shape and couldn't wait to get home from work so I could jam food in my face quickly and run out the door to exercise until 9-10 o'clock at night just to get up at 6am the next morning and go to work.  To this day I still don't wake up in shape! :) I'm getting closer and I'm probably in the best shape of my life but still not even close to the shape I could/should be in! I'm no different than everyone else, when I get off work I just want to go home and lay on the couch and do nothing the rest of the night. Most of you know or have an idea of how stressful my job is. The difference now, is that I have made a choice to live an active lifestyle. There are MANY people who are much more active and definitely more healthy but I have found what works for me. That's key not focusing on how you cant keep up with the "Jones" but focusing on how everyday you make the choice to better your life.  It is amazing how much better you will feel about yourself and your life. It is also amazing how many people you will meet that are in the same boat as you. Friendly helpful folks who are trying to make the best of their lives and understand where you are coming from or going to because they are on the same path.  I have met SO many wonderful people on my adventures and in the local communities. Life long friends and hopefully a wife. If you have spent any time on a bike path, rock gym, hiking trail, biking trail,...... you know exactly what kind of people I'm talking about. If you haven't, get out there and do it! I know its intimating! When I started climbing I had to seriously swallow my pride because everyone, i mean everyone was better than me! You may feel like others are judging you or laughing at you but in reality 90% of the people looking at you are thinking of ways to start a conversation and/or give you advice because at some point they were all in your shoes. We all had to start somewhere, for most of us its the same point...the bottom. The point I'm trying to make is that there is nothing different about me that makes me not tired at the end of the work day or fearless in the face of being the new guy. I have just made the decision to become active. The payoff is not only the health benefits and friends you make but the memories that are yours forever! Its the pursuit of these memories and stories that motivate me to get off the couch when I feel like I'm glued to it or drive 12hrs to attempt to hike up a mountain at midnight in negative 40 degree weather. Its the story, the memory of being down on all fours puking half way up because I over packed and over dressed which caused me to over exert myself and over heat....which is why I was puking on the side of Mt Washington in Vermont at 2am in the middle of winter.  It sure wasn't fun at the time but what a memory and what a story!!! It makes it all worth it! I don't want to be on my death bed and look back at my life and see that all I did was work and watch TV. I have realized that to make that happen its a decision you have to make everyday.

 

I have to thank my parents for fostering that adventurous spirit in me as a kid and teaching me to love and respect the outdoors.