Train Like A Kid
Step 10: Live life as an adventure
By Douglas Pieterse, Co-Founder & Head Personal Trainer
"It may be simple but not always easy"
For the average person life can become a series of boring routines consisting of putting food in our mouths and providing for our families. As much as we want this to be enough to fulfill our life, we still have a strong desire to seek meaning to all the shenanigans of life. While some people seek their meaning through religion, others might seek theirs through ideologies from different medium.
There is certainly a better meaning to life than a process of suffering from birth to death. Unfortunately, the search for meaning is a life long journey and we might not be able always find an answer to. However, since we’re here already, we might as well make our life an adventure to be explored instead of a problem to be solved.
There is certainly a better meaning to life than a process of suffering from birth to death. Unfortunately, the search for meaning is a life long journey and we might not be able always find an answer to. However, since we’re here already, we might as well make our life an adventure to be explored instead of a problem to be solved.
It’s Sunday morning, you get up, half-awake you make your way to the bathroom for your “morning watering ritual”. You look down and instead of seeing what you’re doing, you only see your two feet poking right past your round belly. You think to yourself, it’s time for a change, you know it, I know it and I’m sure anyone you ask along the way would probably agree. But knowing what exactly to get started with and finding motivation to workout seems so daunting. With the abundance of media messages and options that all promise to deliver results to everyone else’s body but yours.
We should shift our focus to the journey of life a little more and enjoy the path we are on, instead of getting caught up with the destination we are all heading towards - death. Children are masters of this because they know how to live in the moment, and this is achievable by adults as well if we facilitate our imagination with an open-mind. What a win-win situation, you put your children in the right environment and they will teach you how to have fun in life! For instance, if you ask an adult to stay in an empty room for 2 hours, it is very likely they will sit there and wait for the end of the 2 hours. However, if you ask a child to do the same, they might use their imagination to create a game, an empty room can become a cave named “The Bunker” with pirates who could attack, all they need is a little bit of passion and imagination. Before you know it, they have a 5-bedroom cave house in the rocks and sea creatures as pets. All it takes them is the freedom to explore without the limitation of fear. Keep in mind that most missed opportunities, whether it is for our career or love, happens due to the limitation we set for ourselves as we age.
While some can afford the opportunity to kayak across the ocean to explore those deserted islands, others might only be able to go to the park downstairs, but that should not limit our freedom to live in the moment. Take your children to a random location, whether it is your living room or a local park, ask your children to create a game of their own and facilitate your imagination with them, soon you will learn there is no limit to having fun when you have a heart for adventure. Tattoo the joy of adventure in your heart and implement it into your own life, dodging and weaving through crowds or sneaking through the office like a ninja. People may think you are a little crazy, but craziness may just be the thing we all need!
The more you learn to live in the moment, the more wonderful instances you will be able to find in the midst of a far too serious life. Remember to spend time with your children, for we can learn from them just as much as they will learn from us in this journey of life, and they will love you for it. They will learn the meaning of a good time from you, and who knows, you might even find you have the most energetic gym partners who make every workout enjoyable.
The is the end of Step 10 and hopefully it becomes your step into your most fulfilled, fittest, and happiest life.
The is the end of Step 10 and hopefully it becomes your step into your most fulfilled, fittest, and happiest life.
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