You’ve heard the catch phrases that are tossed around so easily, “you are what you eat”, “your body is a temple”, and so many more. Most are anchored in truth but what do they really mean?
We are, at once, products of both nature and nurture. We start out with traits build on the combined DNA of our parents. Our bodies are initially impacted by the health and activities of our parents, most particularly those of our mother during pregnancy. That’s nature.
From the moment of birth outside forces take over: what we eat, where we go, what we are exposed to. Initially these things are controlled by others. They are mostly outside of our control and they effect us beyond our ability to comprehend. We are, in the developmental stages of our childhood and teens mostly in the hands of others. That’s nurture.
As we mature we begin to make more choices for ourselves. For most of the first 20 years or so of our lives we lack the full capacity to make proper, responsible, judgements. Perhaps that’s why so many of us make such crazy, and often wrong, choices as teens.
That, too, is mostly nature. It’s actually about brain development, with little we can really do about it. We just have to wait for the frontal lobe to fully mature, which happens in most people in their late teens or early twenty’s. There is, of course, nothing wrong with good guidance, sound advice, and a mentor along the way, to help us through those difficult times.
But for most of us participating in this 60 day challenge, however, we are past that. Our capacity to judge between right and wrong, good and bad, what is best for us and what is not, is now fully developed. We no longer have that excuse. But, like almost everything else, judgment needs exercise and practice, and a little guidance is still not such a bad idea. Each of us need to regularly leave behind the bad choices and reinforce the good habits. It is the way we move forward.
Each day you need to wake up and begin thinking about the choices you will make and why you want to make them. Consider the places you want to go, the things you want to do, the foods you will choose to eat. Some people keep a planning diary, noting in advance the things they intend to do each day. Some write lists or notes to help them stay on track through the day.
We are constantly bombarded by influences, both good and bad, from outside — advertising, friends’ advice, song lyrics, magazine articles, television and movies — but it is us, each of us, who make the choices that effect our personal lives. Find a system that works for you and then work it. Take control — keep control — of your choices and your life.
We can’t change what we have done in the past but we can choose how we build upon where we are today and move positively into the future. The choice is always yours.
Your friend in health,
Coach Adam Cobb