Aging and motivation

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that those who participate in mid-life crises have been a pain in the a$$ for all of their lives. It just comes to a head when they realize only partially that their lives are meaningless and empty. They don’t really have a complete grasp of their own history. I dare say they also blame others for the rough turns life might have taken. How did they respond? How did they react? Did it crumble them? Was it typically not their fault?

I’m pretty certain I’m at that age where I could have my own mid-life crisis. I’m not getting any younger, I’m exercising to not lose hold on my fitness levels, I’m eager to stay healthy and at peace with how life is going. It would be easier to let everything go to seed, to spill out of elasticized pants, to eat with abandon, to not get enough rest.

But, although it’s the harder road to take, it’s certainly more rewarding to assess life’s challenges and master them. Maybe it’s the kind of crowd I run around with these days — virtually, with my friends in my computer, or those In Real Life (IRL), but I don’t hang with many people who would even consider not pursuing some kind of healthy activity regularly. My friends log in runs, bike rides, climbs, swims and surfing sessions. My friends use high-tech gadgets to track and brag (OK, so do I!). We all get that amazing feeling of accomplishment when we finish a workout. Breathing slows, sweat cools us, endorphins surge.

On Facebook I got a message from a high school classmate after I praised him for looking great in a pic taking post sprint marathon. The guy has always been one of those huggy bear types — big, comfortable, safe. He thanked me for my kind words and told me he had lost more than 80 pounds. And he thanked me for being one of those people who inspired him to do it.

“Decide to get back in shape – as my mid life crisis, as opposed to buying a sports car or getting a new trophy wife,” he told me.

Fistbump, ya know? Like I’ve said before we can change this whole nasty preconception of mid-life crises into a renewal of ourselves, of an intention of living the second half of our lives with more wisdom and certainly deeper love than we did in the first half. You don’t need a new sports car; you don’t need to dump your wife or husband. You need to reconnect all the way back to the time when you made your fresh commitments to each other. Take each other now, no matter how sloppy you’ve become, and start a new journey toward joy and fitness together.

Face it. Seeing ourselves naked in the mirror after 50 can be pretty leveling. Even for those of us who work out frequently and hard don’t see the same tautness we did when we were younger. I can deal with being a little soft, but I don’t have to be sickly. If we’re meant to live every day on this planet to it’s fullest, then taking responsibility for the stewardships of our bodies should be very high on our agenda.

I guess that’s sufficient preaching for today! @;-)