It's unfashionable today to blame the victim in any situation where the victim appears to suffer through circumstances beyond their control. When people get bullied, for example, it is 100% the bully's fault or 75% the bully's fault and 25% society's fault. It is not hard to argue that the victim shouldn't have to take part in the solution because they didn't actively seek the trouble they are in. Fair enough, if fixing the problem is not your first priority. Unfortunately, the one person who needs help the most in this scenario is left out of the solution. Given that there are a multitude of situations where this applies, and this is a fitness blog, let's stick to the fitness applications of the idea.
What makes performance stars so different from the norm? Other than the obvious considerations of latent talent (overrated) and opportunity, what makes their performances something we aspire to duplicate? What is it about thin that inspires people of all shapes and sizes to be and stay that way? Well, maybe that hits the nail on the head: most of us who aren't thin but wish to be really don't make a constructive effort to get that way and stay there. We don't exercise the one thing we possess that could alter the situation in our favour, willpower
Unfair, you say? In the September 26, 2011 issue of McLean's magazine there is a fascinating interview to do with wheat and its contribution to our ill-health today. Kate Fillion interviews Dr. William Davis, a preventive cardiologist who has seen literally thousands of patients, about the causes and prevention of our apparent obesity epidemic. The content of the interview goes a long way toward answering the burning question, why now? What's changed.
Well, to the point, the very food we eat has changed. In this particular case Dr.Davis singles out wheat, the ubiquitous base material for what is increasingly used as filler material in prepared, or engineered foods. Of course, it is the main ingredient in bread and many prepared cereals. It has been altered to make it more hearty and drought resistant so that yields are increased and, in particular, to increase its growing range, all very advantageous for farmers and processing companies; not so much for you and me. You see, as Dr. Davis points out, the wheat plant has been changed so much that it is literally not the wheat our ancestors have been eating for thousands of years. Now it is something quite different. Now it contains things that make it part of the problem. The solution? radically reduce your consumption of this product (wheat flour) or eliminate it altogether. Exercise some willpower.
Getting back to the question that started paragraph two, there is no secret. It's similar to the old question, what is the secret of success? The truth? there never was a secret. Most of the people who have been what we call successful wrote books revealing all. The same applies for star performers in any endeavour. They all love to share what got them were they are. The information is available. Maybe the real secret is that almost all such people are, or were, disciplined readers. What is apparent is that such people have two key things in common: They had clear goals and they took great pains to develop the habits that would help them achieve those goals.
Look at your habits. I've looked at mine and it is not a fun exercise. What path do your habits have you on? Is this really going help you be and do what you want? One of my favourite newspaper columnists is Margaret Wente who writes regularly for the opinion page of The Globe & Mail. In a September issue she writes about what we have been talking about here. The gist of the article is that willpower, when exercised, is a bigger component in success than we members of modern society would readily admit. According to the research Ms Wente accessed for her Thanksgiving contribution, it is no secret why some succeed and others don't. It is the daily choices each of us make, the discipline we exercise, the denial of all those things that don't conribute to our goals that make for success beyond the norm. It has become fashionable to excuse the individual and blame society. That's our loss. The government can't fix you. Only you can.
Victor Frankl, of World War II concentration camp fame, had it right, I think. The only thing that makes each of us free and different is our ability to control our attitudes. Our habits are a function of our attitudes. Frankly, mine are not taking me where I want to go and are obviously going to have to change. There is the obvious impediment for me of the extra thirty pounds I habitually carry and the amount of bread I eat that supports that condition. How about you? Change is not just a political slogan. It is what most of us need to do. Join me in change?
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