This was originally published on Medium.com. To read it at its original place, hit this link.
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I may be wrong, but bear with me on this one.
It can’t be due to a “lack of willpower” when people gorge on deep-fried chicken wings on numerous occasions per week. It just can’t be.
It can’t be a “lack of willpower” when people succumb to the smell of the fries when driving past a McDonald’s on the way home from work after skipping lunch. It just can’t be.
It also can’t be a “lack of willpower” when people choose to deny fresh air and movement on a day-to-day basis. It just can’t be.
The lack of willpower versus the ‘oh, you must have really strong willpower to work-out and not eat ice-cream every day’ argument has to cease. It’s got nothing to do with it.
Of course it might seem to someone that another individual possesses “strong willpower” when they do walk to work or walk the stairs instead of the escalators. But it’s not so.
The person that is viewed as having “strong willpower” is exactly like the one judging them. They may in fact also love to eat pizza, sit on the couch all day long, and catch up on the latest fad TV show.
But they don’t.
And it’s got nothing to do with willpower. Only one simple thing.
A choice
They’re choosing not to. They’re choosing to look after themselves. They’re choosing to feel good. They’re choosing to look good. They’re choosing to be confident when they go to the beach — to be confident when they have sex.
No matter what level they’re at on the spectrum of ‘I am confident to run down the street naked’ and ‘I will not leave my house’, they’re confident enough to be able to look into the mirror and say things ranging from “well, hey, I’m trying” all the way to “fuck yes”, rather than avoiding the mirror all together.
Avoidance
Avoiding their ability to choose to do something about where they’re at is never a good thing. You see, they’re choosing to succumb to their guilt. They’re choosing to succumb to the fallback of “oh, it’s just too hard”.
We need to make (or take — I couldn’t decide) a stand.
Take a drive down any busy street. Count how many people are overweight. Count how many people are choosing to not put themselves first. Count how many people are choosing to not live a fulfilling life. Count how many are choosing to not be the best they can be.
It truly makes me sad. It makes me frustrated. And it makes me think of how much people could do — how much they could give.
Judgmental?
Of course it’s all well and good for me to say all this from one side of the computer. But hey, when it comes down to it, I’m exactly the same.
I mean, you don’t think I wouldn’t love to choose to eat pizza on any given night? You don’t think I would love to choose to down an entire 2L of chocolate milk? You don’t think I would love to just chill and finally get GOT done?
Despite the fact that I would be lying to say I wouldn’t, I would be crazy to say I don’t do these things.
But it’s way too easy to go to that side of the fence all the time. It’s way too easy to choose to not take the whole perspective of what life has to offer in.
Hold up
Am I saying that I’m there though? That I’ve reached my maximum? That I’m insanely confident to run down the street naked? That I’m any better than anyone else?
Hell no.
Of course not.
Every day I battle with where I’m at. In more ways than just my body. I battle with where I am, where I’m going, where I want to be. It’s a constant uphill battle.
But, I would rather face it than choose not to. I would rather die trying and failing than not ever giving it a go.
Willpower or choice, is it the same thing?
I don’t know. I’ll leave it up to you to decide.
But think about this: every day when you wake up, you have a choice. You have a choice to do what you want. To choose where you’re going in life. To choose what you do.
Every single waking moment. You always have the power to change anything. You hold the key to wherever your life is at and wherever it can go next.
“Better to try and fail than never try at all.” — William F. O’Brien
Ps. I made a short video on the choices we humans make daily. You can check it out by heading to this YouTube link.