What If I Told You That You’re Not That Pretty?
Would it hurt your VANITY a bit?
If so, I wouldn’t be sorry.
Let me explain.
The vast majority of the methods in health and fitness are based on three emotions – VANITY, FEAR, and PAIN.
VANITY – “Coach Alex, I just want to looked good naked!”
Great. Who doesn’t? But every physical body eventually breaks down. Your body — six pack or no – will be food for worms. What good is it to look good naked– and how long are you going to be able to manage that? Not long enough to outlast your motivation to keep trying- I can promise you that.
Our efforts to make the most of our bodies can’t be solely powered by VANITY for long and we all know it.
We’re not THAT pretty…
FEAR – “Coach Alex, I don’t want to die of a heart attack like others in my family.”
Yeah, me neither. But mortality is a truth that we all face whether we eat healthy or not. There is no amount of push ups or miles you can run that will bring you peace with regard to scary things in life.
Our efforts in health and fitness can be informed by our FEAR but we can’t avoid what we’re afraid of forever.
PAIN – “Coach Alex, I don’t want to suffer anymore and believe health and fitness is the way.”
Suffering is terrible. But it is one of the fundamental truths of life. Like, death, there’s no escaping pain completely. Sure being healthy can help us be more resilient to it and maybe even bring healing to some unnecessary dysfunction. But when the PAIN strikes – and it will, you’ll need something bigger than avoiding PAIN to keep you on the straight and narrow.
I hope your journey leads to less pain, I really do. But no one can promise you an end to pain in this life.
I’ve often found that my journey in health and fitness has been JUST AS PAINFUL as if I’d laid around and eaten junk while playing video games instead. Maybe even moreso…
All health and fitness industry marketing is base on these.
VANITY, FEAR, and PAIN.
Every time you’ve tried before and failed in health and fitness, it was powered by one or all of these three emotions.
Search yourself and be honest. You’ll find it’s true.
The answer to a health and fitness journey that reaches beyond VANITY, FEAR, and PAIN – is this:
A practice based on the DISCIPLINE of AWE
Very different.
And it boils down to AWE.
AWE is the strangest and most important ingredient in what makes the Better Daily process unique – producing unique results.
According to Dacher Keltner – the leading researcher of our time on the subject – AWE is emotion we experience when we encounter vast mysteries that we don’t understand.
“And Moses saw that the though the bush was on fire it was not consumed – so Moses decided to go and see this strange sight, why the bush was on fire but was not burned up” – Exodus 3 : 2-3
None of the other 3 disciplines we practice – INTEGRITY, GRIT, GROWTH – would be lastingly possible without the discipline of AWE.
AWE is the regular practice of spending time and energy to acknowledge the grandness and connectedness of things and our relatively small but amazing place among them.
AWE is the discipline of cultivating a respect for natural beauty, a recognition of the moral striving in ourselves and others, and a commitment to serving a purpose greater than ourselves.
AWE is a healing balm for trauma, a driving force for true transformation, and the never-ending fuel for the perpetual fire of BETTER.
AWE imbues our minds and bodies with the power to become something beyond what we are now.
AWE is the fire that makes us new.
The 1% associated with AWE in Better Daily inspires us to hunger for the things that really matter and pursuing meaning and goodness over pleasure and comfort.
Through the practice of the discipline of AWE our health and fitness pursuits are embodied in a meaningful story worth telling while we engage in the everyday work that brings out the best in ourselves and others.
The thing about AWE is that reaches beyond VANITY, FEAR, and even PAIN.
Science teaches us that in this present moment – at the very least – every one of your cells is on fire and yet you are not consumed.
In fact, you are made of trillions of mini metabolic furnaces (mitochondria) that are powering the amazing process of cellular reproduction (nucleus) while hampering or unlocking the genetic potential you were given at conception (epigenetics).
You are – quite literally – a burning bush.
Even while you are learning to feed the best in you (INTEGRITY), stick with the journey when things are difficult (GRIT), and to become everything you were made to be (GROWTH).
You are being renewed.
Is it pretty? Not always.
Is it scary? Often, yes.
Is it hard? Most definitely.
The DISCIPLINE of AWE teaches us – mind, body, and spirit – how to fan the flame of our life and shine our light DAILY.
And thus far I’ve not found a health and fitness pursuit that operated BETTER than this.
Coach Alex On AWE:
“These are some actions that will help you achieve BETTER through AWE.”