Midlife Fitness: Stop the Regret and Start Making Progress
Are you living between two thieves?
“We crucify ourselves between two thieves: regret for yesterday and fear of tomorrow.”
- Fulton Oursler
I happened upon this quote while researching the psychology of anxiety and why it’s so pervasive and chronic.
I've heard anxiety defined as, “Regrets about our past and fear for our future.”
We crucify ourselves... With anxiety.
Wow.
The implication? Much of our anxiety is self-imposed.
We’re stuck between two thieves…
Why thieves? What are they stealing? Our joy, happiness, and peace of mind. Anxiety is the opposite of peace. Peace is elusive. Anxiety is ubiquitous.
I was curious about Mr. Oursler. I learned that he was a prolific writer and playwright in the mid-1900s. Two of his most influential works were the books A Skeptic In the Holy Land and The Greatest Story Ever Told.
The Greatest Story was made into a movie that became a classic. It retold the story of the life of Jesus, and had a remarkable cast of A-list actors playing minor roles, such as Charlton Heston as John the Baptist, and John Wayne as a centurion.
OK, so how does all of this relate to increasing your healthspan and improving your midlife fitness?
Anxiety has a way of slowing even the most well-intentioned midlife fitness journeys.
I know far too many who crucify themselves over past failures, poor decisions, skipped workouts, excessive busyness, and such. We stand on the scale on Monday mornings and immediately regret Sunday Funday, or Friday night's burgers and brews, or the workout we skipped on Saturday because we slept in. So much regret... the first thief.
At almost the same moment, the second thief, fear, insidiously burrows in...
“If I can’t lose this weight, I’m gonna look like a cow at my daughter’s wedding.”
“I’m gonna end up with diabetes for sure; my Mom and sister have it. I’m next.”
“It’s almost summer, and I dread having to wear a bathing suit. I can’t possibly go to the beach looking like this.”
Sound familiar? Thought so. Sad. It doesn't have to be that way.
Want to quiet that anxious voice—and put your midlife fitness first?
Our advice... come down off your cross. Stop crucifying yourself. And make peace with those two thieves.
Your mistakes don't define you. Chalk them up to a less perfect you. You did the best you could. Or you didn't. Whatever. It's water under the bridge.
And stop anticipating future suffering. There is sufficient suffering here and now. Worrying ourselves about it robs us of the only thing we really have. The present, called that because it's a gift. Be grateful for it.
Simple enough, right?? Yeah, easier said than done. Anxiety leads to inertia, like a prison of paralysis, mired between our regrets and fears.
So how do we break this doom loop?
We take action. Action is a cure for anxiety. Make an imperfect start. Do something. Then, do it again the next day. And the next.
Inertia works in two ways. An object at rest tends to stay at rest. But, an object in motion tends to stay in motion.
Our best advice for trading regret for progress:
Practically, the best way to move forward in your fitness journey is to:
Keep it simple
Make it fun
Make it automatic
Resist the tendency to climb back up on that cross.
Reach out here if you'd like our help making a less imperfect start.
MidStrong is for life.
At MidStrong, we make midlife fitness fun and accessible for busy people.
Try our online midlife fitness classes + coaching, or our in-person training here at our Westborough gym to start moving, eating, and living better.