When I started cross country as a 13 year old, I just did it because the leader of our crew said we should do it, and I wanted to hang out with my friends. I hated the actual running.
By the end of high school, I’d started to associate a feeling of pride, and also definitely noticed that I felt better after I worked out consistently.
I did zen in my twenties and my discipline got better. Then I turned 30, and my body started getting a little more fragile. And then an interesting thing happened: my motivation, my ability to push with my will, became stronger than my body.
For instance If I sprinted all out, with everything I had, my knees would be in pain for a few days afterward. Or if I ran as long as I wanted to, which could be hours, of which everything after the first 10 minutes was incredibly pleasurable. Pushing as hard as I could against a weight would easily pull a muscle.
And after that moment I’ve had to regulate myself. I don’t get to use my body to the max unless I’m willing to take the sacrifice of an almost certain at least minor injury.
So if I found myself in my six year old body, that is made of rubber and can heal super fast, I’d just enjoy the process of advancing my will into that fresh nervous system, building athletic prowess to match the level of commitment I can give now.
I’d push my body so much harder when it’s young.
When I started cross country as a 13 year old, I just did it because the leader of our crew said we should do it, and I wanted to hang out with my friends. I hated the actual running.
By the end of high school, I’d started to associate a feeling of pride, and also definitely noticed that I felt better after I worked out consistently.
I did zen in my twenties and my discipline got better. Then I turned 30, and my body started getting a little more fragile. And then an interesting thing happened: my motivation, my ability to push with my will, became stronger than my body.
For instance If I sprinted all out, with everything I had, my knees would be in pain for a few days afterward. Or if I ran as long as I wanted to, which could be hours, of which everything after the first 10 minutes was incredibly pleasurable. Pushing as hard as I could against a weight would easily pull a muscle.
And after that moment I’ve had to regulate myself. I don’t get to use my body to the max unless I’m willing to take the sacrifice of an almost certain at least minor injury.
So if I found myself in my six year old body, that is made of rubber and can heal super fast, I’d just enjoy the process of advancing my will into that fresh nervous system, building athletic prowess to match the level of commitment I can give now.