I’m having trouble settling on a quote to sum up where I want to go with this post, so I’m going to just include a bunch because there really are no rules.
“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.” -E.F. Schumacher
“The simplest things are often the truest.” -Richard Bach
“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.” -Hans Hofmann
I think sometimes we make life way more complicated than it needs to be. And by we I mean me. And instead of dancing around what I’m talking about, here goes:
- Eating. I know a lot about nutrition–but not everything. What I do know is this–even people who are “experts” don’t know everything. There are more approaches to eating than there are days in a year to try them all. I was also called out on my post yesterday when I said something about how I don’t think I know what the healthiest way to eat is. That’s wrong. I don’t just think I know, I know I know: a combination of common sense, intuition, and getting real.
Sick of not feeling good? GET REAL. What kind of fuel are you running on?
- Boys and girls. If you like someone and they like you, you’ll be together. Real life isn’t the movies–there doesn’t need to be drama. That being said, I think real life should feel kind of like the end of a love story and the people you date better make you feel like you are just the bee’s knees–otherwise you should find someone else who will. Being single won’t kill you…
Someone playing games with you? MOVE ON, with this song in the background.
- Healthy living. It’s funny to me to comment on this because I spent so much of my life trying to be “healthy” or some form of “fit” at the expense of living. I was mowing my grandma’s lawn today when I realized that I felt good doing it–energized and not like I was going to keel over, not ravenous or hangry–both good things. I know a year ago I’d have been in a different spot: I’d have brought my bike along on the trip, gone on a marathon trek all morning, and ended up sitting around on the couch too tired to help out. News flash: if you’re fit enough to ride for hours, awesome. But not awesome at the expense of being able to do chores and the activities that actually require doing. What are you fit for? To recover? Or to live?
Not getting your chores or errands done? USE YOUR ENERGY WISELY. Make time for the movement you love, by all means, but don’t tire yourself out with workouts that you’re convinced you “should” be doing or “need to” do.
- Being fit. In addition to what I just wrote, why are you working out if you feel like crap? If you’re not sleeping well or fueling yourself properly or taking time to recharge, what’s the point in adding another stressor?
Slogging through your morning run? TURN OFF YOUR ALARM AND GET 8 HOURS OF SLEEP FOR A FEW NIGHTS INSTEAD. You’re not gonna lose your “fitness” overnight and you just might realize how tired you are…
- In general. There is so much out there to read, watch, listen to, explore. Life’s too short to fill it with nonsense. Only expose yourself to things you actually care about. Only do things you really want to (or absolutely must)–get rid of “should” and see what happens.
Feeling overwhelmed? TAKE A “IF IT’S NOT A HELL YES, IT’S A HELL NO!” APPROACH. Watch things get simpler…
Tah dah.
Simplify!
Thank you that is exactly what I needed to read. Hell yes!
Beautifully put!
truth! well, most of it. it’d be lovely if boy likes girl + girl likes boy = relationship all the time, but life gets in the way and timing matters more than people think…even without drama. but ah well. I agree though that if you’re creating drama where there is none necessary, well, yeah that’s a problem haha. As for the eating? Hell yes. Eat what makes you feel good (not what makes someone ELSE feel good!), Eat it when you want to eat it, stop once your satisfied. Don’t purposefully stuff yourself, don’t purposefully starve, don’t cut out entire food groups because it’s a fad. Agreed on the workout front too – your training shouldn’t exhaust you so much that you can’t go about your day. People who are better athletes than me or you or the next person can run 130 mile weeks and still have a full time job – if you’re working out that much but have no energy for your life, then either your workouts, your eating, or your sleep (or all of them) need to change. I’ve certainly fallen into that trap before and it’s not fun – life is for LIVING, not for exercisings. workouts should condition you to be able to live a full, active, adventurous life (whatever that means for you)!
“Life is for living, not for exercising.” I love this. And you’re doing it — check out your adventure right now! I hope you get on your merry way soon so you can get settled and find our froyo joint in Boulder! I told my mom I want to go to Colorado and she said, “You know you have a cousin there, right?” …. things are coming together!!!
These thoughts are beautifully put! I particularly love the boy + girl one. Relationship drama sends me running every time. I don’t see why you want to be with someone who just wants to fight and make a big deal about everything. And then the exercise things really hits home. I used to work out too much and then think I was “good for the day” now I just want to try to live actively but not obsess about the planned exercise I did or didn’t get in my day.
Everything about this post is worded perfectly. Thank you for sharing this with all of us
Thank you — it was just my rambling! I’m glad it made sense