We get caught in a certain level of comfort. It’s not uncommon for the masses. We find a place where we have comfortable stress and adequate finances. We have friends and family that have accepted us as we are, and those associations are comfortable. They don’t think we are overweight, because the look no different. Besides, 37.9% of men over the age of 20 are obese. So healthy weight is NEVER a topic of discussion.
Something in human nature tempts us to stay where we’re comfortable.
Fred Smith
You do not like what you see in the mirror. Even worse you convinced yourself that you don’t care. But, you do. Deep down you really do care. You want to be better for yourself. You want to be better for your wife. You want to be better for your son. You don’t feel comfortable in your skin anymore and you are afraid that your kids are picking up on your lack of confidence. If this keeps up, he may grow up with the impression that on the Hierarchy of Needs (thanks to Abraham Maslow), Esteem is not really that important. At last, he had no examples of it from you growing up.
You might not have put much thought into it, but the moment your son was born he instinctively sought to fulfill his needs. Be it breathing air, water and food through milk, shelter from the environment, or sleep; everyday of your newborn son’s life revolved around all these Physiological Needs. Ask your mom, and she will tell you that you did the same. As your Physiological Needs were continuously met and you matured, your needs also matured. Your needs developed into the need of Safety. The need of security, resources, employment, safety of your family and of your HEALTH. As you worked to satisfy those needs, somewhere along the way, some of these needs were substituted. Somewhere along the way the need for the Safety of your Health was swapped out for the need for COMFORT.
You reached a level of success and comfort in life. You have a job that pays good enough, you have a roof over you family’s head, you have food on the table…. you’re comfortable. Your kids are healthy, occasionally happy and have all their needs provided. You are comfortable. Your wife is comfortable. The whole family is comfortable. Now you are overweight.
Take care of your bodies, take care of your mentals, and take care of your chickens.
Marshawn Lynch
Time
Your current state didn’t happen overnight. Being overweight did not just spring itself upon you. It happened over time (Time flies when you’re having fun!). In the same sense, you can not take a short term approach to improving your health through Physical Activity. It will take a long time. Shorten the distance through the Compound Effect.
Obstacles
Depending on how you look at it, fatherhood can be seen as an obstacle. Fatherhood can also be a source of ENDLESS motivation that propels you and compels you to think different. So you don’t have three hours to spend Prioritizing Physical Activity as you did before; think creatively. Take your kids with you for a jog. Take your kids with you on your next hike. Go to the local track and field and run a few laps while they run around too. Don’t let the joys of fatherhood be your excuse!
price
Regardless on which path you choose, there will be a price to pay. The path of Prioritizing Physical Activity will not only positively impact you, but your son as well. Your current path of perceived comfort will leave a lasting impression on your kids. Check out “But Why Daddy? Because Our Kids Are FATTER Than Ever!”. You may think you are comfortable now, but if the good Lord blesses you to see your 50s, 60s or greater, while you are making the same choices, you will pay the price.
Choices
The choices you make everyday either start you on the right path and advance you, or start you on the wrong path and limit you. Bad choices put you on a path of limitation. The choice to skip a month or 10 of a five-day plan of brisk walking that you swore you would do as a New Year’s Resolution will not positively benefit you. New Year, New You, right? You have a choice to make right now!
The apex
Like any good Investment Advisor will tell you investing now will pay off later. Likewise, if you make the CHOICE to see OBSTACLES of fatherhood as opportunities to be creative, pay the PRICE now by taking the TIME to Prioritize Physical Activity, it will absolutely pay off in the future. Before you know it your Esteem needs will be gratified, and your son will bear witness of his father at his highest point of Self-Actualization.
Focus on T.O.P.C.!
Start little by little. One success building off the other like a cartoon snowball rolling down the hill into a snowball the size of a boulder (check out The Physical Activity Snowball Effect).
No more sucking in your gut! No more tugging at your shirt to cover up your belly sticking over the waist of your pants! Let’s do something about it now!
So take care of your bodies, take care of your mentals, and take care of your chickens.