Embrace new challenges

I  have always loved this quote:

“Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” – Joshua J. Marine

 

Joggling at the beach

Now that it is late winter with that little hint of spring in the air I decided to go joggling along the beach in Rye.

The water was crazy cold and the sea breeze coming off the Long Island Sound was furious at times to the point that it would momentarily take away all my body heat, but otherwise I had a good time. A fitness routine without challenges is not a fitness routine.

It is a glorious dance with the freezing water and cold wind. Indeed, this may be winter’s last dance until later in the year. Soon, the heat will be the major challenge, but until that happens I will make the most of the ideal spring temperatures.

If you haven’t been doing much outdoor exercise, now is the time. I thank everyone for following me through the cold, dark winter, and really appreciated the inspiring comments. Push yourself to your limits, let your imagination be your fitness guide and above all, have a wonderful spring.

Fauja Singh – vegetarian centenarian athlete

Fauja Singh. Source – Wikipedia.

There are few people I admire as much as Fauja Singh, vegetarian centenarian Sikh marathoner, who recently retired from marathon running just before turning 102. I almost feel like converting to Sikhism because of his example.

According to his biography on Wikipedia:

Fauja Singh was born in Beas Pind, Jalandhar, Punjab, British India on 1 April 1911,[6] the youngest of four children. Fauja did not develop the ability to walk until he was five years old. His legs were thin and weak, and he could hardly walk long distances. Because of this, he was often teased, and had to carry the nickname “danda” (Punjabi: दण्ड) for the next ten years. As a young man, Fauja was an avid amateur runner, but he had to give it up and return to farming due to the 1947 India-Pakistan Partition. It was only after witnessing the death of his fifth son, Kuldip, in a construction accident in August 1994, that Fauja returned to his passion for running, in 1995. The deaths of his wife in 1992, and his eldest daughter who had died from complications after giving birth to his third granddaughter, gave him the determination for this new focus in life.[1]

At 89 years, he took seriously to running and ended up in international marathon events.

Although he doesn’t run marathons any more, he still runs for pleasure. He holds many world running records for his age group. The fact that he learned to walk later than most should quiet the excuse-maker too many of us have in our brains about why we can’t run or exercise on a regular basis. Besides this, he’s a shining example of how a vegetarian diet is more than adequate even for elite athletes. His ability to overcome very tragic life events is also inspiring.

Whenever you have trouble sticking to your fitness routine, keep the amazing Fauja Singh in mind. Although he’s not a joggler(which is hardly a shortcoming for him!), I probably wouldn’t be a joggler right now if it wasn’t for his example.

Change your perspective, change your world

What is holding you back from living the life you want to live? What is stopping you from becoming a fitter person?

Sometimes, changing your perspective can make a difference. For instance, what is wrong with this world map?

Source: Wikipedia

It’s wrong because it is upside down, right?

But that’s just a convention, with the north being on top on virtually all maps. This is why this world map looks “wrong” to you. You’re northern-hemisphere-centric. Just change your perspective(or pretend to be an Australian or New Zealander) and you will realize this is just as correct as maps with north at the top.

How many problems in life are similar to this? Our perspective being limited by what we are used to, and what we are used to being seen as “right”?

Change your perspective, break with convention, and I know it sounds cliche, but “think outside the box”.

As Albert Einstein once said: “You cannot solve a problem from the same consciousness that created it. You must learn to see the world anew.” or it is sometimes phrased as: “We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them”

So think differently, and you may see results.