Mahler’s Monday Morning Motivator # 192 – Decorating Me

[Mahler]

Mahler’s Monday Morning Motivator # 192 – Decorating Me

Decorating Me

This past weekend and, as a matter of fact, the weekend before, I spent countless hours performing the annual ritual of decorating the house, inside and out, for the Christmas holidays. The innumerable trips up and down the basement steps and again up to the second floor, as well as the multiple ladder climbs and step stool maneuvers, gave me a leg workout that rivaled the best that the trainers could throw my way. Add to that the lugging of heavy boxes, the reaching and stretching, the one leg balancing acts that would make Barnum and Bailey proud, and you get some idea of the process. I am sure many of you have similar holiday workouts as you prepare your homes for the arrival of that fat cookie-eating elf, decked in red and white, who steps in at the last minute and takes all the credit.

Yes, there is quite a bit of effort involved in preparing for the most loved and often the most hated of annual holidays. I, personally, have reserved a place in hell for the man that invented the miniature lights that are supposed to stay lit when one bulb goes out. No punishment is too great for such a monumental, angst causing lie that has raised the blood pressure of millions since its inception.

Add to that, the pure frustration of carefully coiling strings of lights one year and neatly putting them away, only to find that they have somehow come to life in the darkness of their storage period and tangled themselves beyond all reason in the performance of some demonic rite designed to test the patience of mankind.

But, you know, with all the hours of work and all the setbacks and frustrations, there is that moment when you flip a few switches, plug in a few plugs, then step back and take a gander and think how great everything looks and how it was all worth it.

Of course, you know where this is leading and there is a distinct connection. Our fitness journeys are like decorating for the holidays. At some point in our existence, whether early or late, we have pulled out the boxes from the basements of our lives. We picked up the weights, put on the running shoes, mounted the bikes, dove in the pool or done any number of things. And, what were we doing? We had commenced “decorating me.”

Like preparing for the holidays, we had selected our decorations of choice and painstakingly began the process. Yes, there were the frustrations and setbacks, just like those damned lights that don’t seem to work the way they are meant to and, yes, there were those countless hours of effort. But, somehow, we got everything untangled and working properly and either now or in the future we will be able to step back and take pride in how we have decorated. For we have decorated me, inside and out. We look better, feel better and function better than before we started. But, my friends, the real payoff is that, unlike the holidays, we don’t have to take down the decorations, ever. We can keep decorating me and it never seems to get over done or gaudy or tiresome, like the red and green does after several weeks. We can keep decorating and wake up each morning knowing that every day, for the “me” in all of us, it’s Christmas.

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Have a Great Week!

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[GG300]

Interesting analogy John.

I get to finish my decorations this evening.

[Deserve]

Hopefully, my fitness endeavors will last longer than the month of December. Nice work John.

[Phaedrus49er]

Let's just hope that self-decorating doesn't involve slathering the roof in lights with a staple gun

[kingkop182]

I was centimeters from falling out of the loft with a box of decorations yesterday, lets hope the squat rack is less perilous when I’m 'decorating me' tomorrow morning.

Thank You as always, John

[ninja]

.

[Sign]

Add to that, the pure frustration of carefully coiling strings of lights one year and neatly putting them away, only to find that they have somehow come to life in the darkness of their storage period and tangled themselves beyond all reason in the performance of some demonic rite designed to test the patience of mankind.

This part made me laugh out loud, it is so true.

[Mahler]

Jebus, I can't even compete with "The Economic History of Abs" this week. Guess I'll just have to be satisfied with outlifing most of you younguns.

[Lost Dog]

ouch

[jj]

Nice comparison John. I always enjoy how you put the world of fitness in comparison with things we do in our daily lives. Thanks as always!

jj