Hello all! I'm slowly getting back into reality and it's time to resume my mission to save the world one person at a time!
I wanted to share something I noticed while in Spain that I feel is extremely relevant to everyone. Some of the buildings there are up to 1000 years old! That is hard to comprehend, at least for me personally. You can feel the history when you walk around them. The thing that struck me the most was the detail and size of some of these buildings, mostly churches.
A few of these took between 100 and 200 years to complete! All the photos on this post are of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona that has been under construction since the 1880's and is stil being finished! That is quite unbelievable in today's impatient culture. Basically a group of people set out to begin something they knew could not be completed in their lifetime and maybe their grandchildren would not even be around to see its completion.
What drives someone to set out on a path that they will never reach the end of? They KNEW they wouldn't be able to finish and yet they started anyway in the hope that others would continue their work. The time put into building these structures shows in how long they stand and how magnificent they are. Now we can't be bothered spending 20 minutes organising dinner.
This may even be hard to understand from the photos. Unless you've seen something that took such an astonishing amount of time, effort and planning whether in Europe or any other part of the world it may be hard to grasp the energy of these places. What it comes down to is if you truly put in the time you will get something incredible that stands the test of time! Of course I'm talking about your health although if you want to apply it to architecture then you're welcome to.
We often think about health in terms of weeks and months. "I can work hard for 2 weeks (or even 20 weeks) to lose those few kgs or win that race and then I can go back to normal". Health needs to be thought of more in terms of years, decades or even generations. "How can I give myself the best shot at being active and able to keep exploring life when I'm 80, 90 or 100!" or even "what can I do now to give my children and grandchildren the absolute best opportunity at a healthy, long life". How you express your genetics before you even have children will play a large part in their lives.
These buildings wouldn't last if the foundation was rushed or some of the key structural components were ignored. We need to spend time on these things also; everyone wants to jump into running a marathon or lifting a mountain. Lay the foundation, pay attention to the key details - food, movement, sleep, relationships; and enjoy the process, enjoy building your masterpiece. The foundation of movement alone may take years. Don't expect your masterpiece to just appear.
What I am working for is ultimately happiness and fulfillment. Unhealthy people are generally unhappy. So are people who look outwardly healthy but are obsessed with the way they look...
I'm not suggesting that health needs to be at the forefront of your thinking every day for the rest of your life. I'm sure even those majestic buildings in Europe were left partly done many times over the years. The key is that the end goal, the dream, was never given up on and no matter what obstacles came up over those 200 years (wars, earthquakes, fires, death of those in charge of the project, etc) people just picked up the pieces and resumed the process. Besides, it's more healthy to enjoy a laugh and a drink with friends on occasion and "stop and smell the roses" rather than continually pushing forward for some impossible perfection all the time.
Did these buildings end up exactly as they were originally planned? Almost certainly not. Things change, opportunities are taken and lost, time passes, existing ideas become impossible and new ideas take their place. These are the same challenges you will have with your health. You may have to go the long way or you may find a shortcut but it will be a work in progress every day of your life. Get used to it :). You may find yourself travelling down a different path than you originally intended but as long as you're enjoying it and still heading in the right direction then embrace it! Don't beat yourself up for going away from the plan.
To wrap this up, what I'm suggesting is that complaining at the first sign of hard work or the first inkling that you may have to be more patient then you first thought is the most counter-productive thing you can do. Also that it is very worthwhile realising right now that you will be active when you're 80, it may look different to a weights and cardio program but it's the only way you'll ever get the most enjoyment out of life. Lay the foundation, build your masterpiece. It will take more hard work than you want to give, you will have to have more patience than you ever thought you would need but you are capable and it is achieving in these conditions that brings happiness and fulfillment.
