Kingdoms, Choices, and Being The Wierdo

Remember our mantra from a few months back, Be The Weirdo? In other words it’s OK if people look at you a little sideways when you make choices that are helping you lose weight, get lean, and look and feel great. They aren’t ready yet, that’s all.

I received this email from my friend and mentor Martin Rooney today that reminded me of this, and since sharing is caring, here you go!

Coach Dean

Which Side Are You On?

There was once a king who was put in a terrible situation.  All of the citizens in his kingdom got their water from a different well than the one from which he drank.  The well of his subjects became tainted and as a result of them drinking from that well, all of his once-loyal followers went mad. Because everyone in the kingdom had gone crazy, they all looked at each other as if they were still normal and that the King was actually the one that had gone crazy.

Even though he tried everything in his power to help his people, his subjects would spend every day attempting to convince the King he was crazy and try different “remedies” to cure his madness.  When the King could not longer face the treatments and couldn’t bear to be so different from everyone else, he decided to give in and drink from their tainted well.  When he did, he became just like them and the country, although all crazy, was happy again.

I saw this story play out again last week.  With the parents unprepared to feed and exercise their children correctly, I felt like the King from the story.  Due to so many others having different beliefs of fitness, I almost had to ask myself who really was the “madman” here? Then I remembered which “kingdom” to which I am proud to belong.

A Tale Of Two Kingdoms

One kingdom of the world has grown overweight, overmedicated and undertrained from the tainted well from which they drink.  They drink not tainted water, but tainted information from slick marketers, spokespeople and governments usually bent on making money or protecting market position.  In just two generations of drinking from this well, once important essential human needs such as regular exercise, healthy diet and adequate sleep have become expendable in relation to busy schedules, a pocket full of excuses and easy-to-make chicken nuggets. In this Kingdom anything is acceptable to eat as long as that something is packaged in 100 calorie sizes, screams the words Light, Diet or Fat-Free from its packaging or is deemed of great value since it has been Super-Sized.   Health care is to take medicines freely and daily even when its advertisement proudly lists known side affects as chronic diarrhea, headaches, dizziness, stroke, loss of hearing, partial blindness, and DEATH.  The pharmacy is the local donut shop or coffee house to buy synthetic energy to get through another day.  Child abuse is not buying the 150 dollar pair of shoes that won’t be used due to hours spent playing video games.

In the other kingdom, 5 hours of exercise a week, a diet full of fruits and vegetables and 8 hours of sleep are taken daily as medicines to inoculate against disease.  Delayed gratification and patience are the energy on which the subjects run and self-discipline is the strength used to make difficult decisions.  As a result of drinking from this well, a proud member from this kingdom may look like the crazy king to the subjects of the first kingdom if he or she chooses to pass on the community “chocolate volcano” dessert or use the word “organic” when referring to food preference.  A member might be viewed by the other kingdom as obsessed if he or she wonders to make his or her children’s food is gluten-free, dye free and grass-fed.  They would probably look insane to skip a barbeque buffet for some almonds, celery sticks and a solid workout.  Child abuse here would be letting the kids play the same video games with a bag full of chips. As a result of these actions, they would become spoken of in the opposite kingdom with a roll of the eyes as “one of those” people.

As you saw from the story, it’s not easy to be King.  When you are outnumbered and long for affiliation, it’s not easy to meet with such Resistance.  Perhaps it would be easier just to drink from their well.  At TFW we remind our students, life is not supposed to be easy.  You will not be measured by the easy decisions you make, but instead by the most challenging ones.  If you are reading this, I know to which Kingdom you belong. We may look and act different, but regardless of the pressure, I implore you to never back down.   Do not forget you are the stronger one.  Fight the good fight and do not drink from the tainted well.

Yours in Strength,

Martin