The biggest war that many of us continue to have is the fight within ourselves to be happy with who we are. I don’t 
mean somewhat happy. I mean TRULY happy with who you are and who you see staring back at you in the mirror. A friend of mine once told me, “Kyle, when you become content with yourself, you stop improving who you are. You stop losing weight and stop working out as hard.” I can see the validity of his statement, but I can also see the dangerous pitfalls in it as well, as I have lived it.
The majority of the people I have come across in my life have been unhappy with some aspect of their appearance. Whether it’s their nose, their weight, their eyes, or their muscles, they are unhappy with themselves. Even I find things that I am unhappy with. When I was in highschool I had 7% body fat, worked out 2-3 times a day, ate 6 small meals a day, and did crunches when I was reading or watching tv. I was still very unhappy with my appearance. I was under the sphere of thought that if I ever became complacent or content with how I looked I would stop pushing myself to be faster, stronger, or better. This was the cause of much unhappiness throughout my life.
I’m here to tell you that you can be content, complacent, happy even, and still push yourself. It shouldn’t be the hatred for oneself that pushes them through fitness, but the love of fitness itself. If you allow yourself to be driven by your dislike for yourself you will reach your fitness goals. However, this will only foster an environment that rewards you for negative behavior and cause you to find other things you dislike about yourself. Believe me, I’ve been there. Finding things to improve upon is much different than finding things you don’t like about yourself. If you get into fitness to have a healthier life, to be fit, and for the love of fitness itself, you will find that, not only do you reach your fitness goals, but that you also are much happier and have a sunny disposition. We must do good things for the right reasons because not always do the ends justify the means.
I encourage everyone to look inside that mirror and, as silly as it may sound, give yourself daily inspiration. Realize the power, grace, and dignity that is you. Don’t just jump into fitness out of hatred for yourself or an aspect of yourself. Do it all for the right reasons, because if you don’t, you will soon be 85 and still fighting the reflection.
[ Photo : Myspace ]