Mahler’s Monday Morning Motivator # 279 – Fess Up

[Mahler]

Mahler’s Monday Morning Motivator # 279 – Fess Up

Fess Up (11-02-09)

I find it interesting that often-times young people and especially teens think they have come up with something completely new and innovative; in the way they dress, the way they act and especially in the way they speak. Trust me, you can read accounts of the ancient Greeks and Romans bewailing the state of affairs as regarded their young people and it didn’t begin with them. It’s a centuries old battle.

One practice that I find interesting is the often colorful and amusing way people, and especially the young, coin words. A simple way this has been done is by merely shortening an existing, longer or more complicated word. Thus we have “bro” for bother, “blog” for web log, “dis” for disrespect, and so on. Another way is to resurrect an older word and infuse it with new meaning. Thus, the ever popular “dude” which first appeared in the 1870’s now has a completely new range of definitions. Many of these expressions also seem to have a specific shelf life as newer generations eschew what a previous generation bequeathed them. Hell, in the age of instant communication, a lot of these words have a very short life span, indeed. What one says today to sound in the know, may make them sound out of touch in a matter of weeks from now.

The reason this topic even came to mind was because I was thinking about this past weekend and the time of year. A particular expression came to me that has been around for a while and yet is one that gets resurrected from time to time. I thought that today might be the time to “fess up” about the sins of the weekend.
Yes, you read it correctly. “Fess Up.” It’s an expression that goes back to the 1840’s and is, as if you haven’t already surmised, slang for “confess.” Before I go any further, no I was not around in the 1840’s, nor was I one of those ancient Greeks or Romans complaining about their kids.

So let me “fess up” already. This past weekend was Halloween and, like many of you, I probably consumed more crap (which, by the way or BTW, has been in usage since around 1375) than I really had a right to. The empty calories were flowing freely into my body as I devoured those evil little orange, yellow and white triangles. The sugar high was propelled through the roof as those innocent peanuts entered my digestive system, covered unfortunately with a layer of chocolate and a crisp outer shell that melted in my mouth and not in my hands. That seemingly healthy apple was violated with a coating of caramel and nuts, but welcomed to my gaping maw just the same. And I had absolutely no qualms about tasting the rainbow in all of its crisp, yet chewy colors. In short, I was a bad, bad boy, and big time. It was as though I could see in my mind’s eye the inscription over the gates of hell as told by Dante. “Abandon all hope, all ye who enter here. Through me you pass into the city of woe. Through me you pass into eternal pain.”

Well not quite that bad, but I was reminded, most certainly, that we are entering the most challenging time of year as far as health and fitness are concerned. We eat too much and what we eat is often of little nutritional value. We drink too much and fail to realize that the way we feel the day after is nature trying to tell us something about that overconsumption. Hello! We have more demands on our time and can find it very easy to slack off on our training and sacrifice a lot of the gains we have made throughout the year. Let’s face it, it may be tougher than the toughest workout you have ever done, just trying to maintain some equilibrium throughout the holidays. It’s a wonderful time of the year and one we should not make a drudgery by not partaking in the fruits of the season. As for me, I will eat, drink and enjoy, but just keep in the back of my mind that come January 2, 2010, I will have to look in the mirror and fess up yet one more time. I vow, not to shun the goodies, but to get some good nutrition in as well. I promise to find some time among the many demands upon me to take care of my body. And, easiest of all, I will make a commitment to spend some pleasant hours with family and friends, because, truly, what good is my health and fitness if I am solitary in those pursuits to the exclusion of all that I cherish.

Thanksgiving is only 24 days away, and I hope we will all have some good things to fess up to.

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Copyright 2004-2009 John R. Gesselberty. Mahler's Monday Morning Motivators (MMMM) may not be copied or used without permission of the author. All rights reserved.

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Have a Great Week!

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[AFI82]

Nobody says Fess up anymore, John. It's "spill it!"

[FlyinM]

Good thoughts going into the holiday season.

[kingkop182]

Thanks