Friday, January 07, 2011

Make Sure to Wear Clothes That Fit

Wear the clothes that fit. That is my life philosophy. It might be good advice for fashion but it’s far more than just how well your shoes fit or whether your belt has enough holes in it. Did you know high collars will make you neck seem shorter? Yep. So, if you’re like me and have a double chin, you’re not likely to get the look you’re after from a high collar. Just as you should never buy clothes that are too tight or short, your life should be a fit for who you are right now. Goals and wishes, places we want to or maybe should be, aren’t what we are right now. Just as we should not purchase clothes based on what we wish we were, our actions today should not be as if we’re accomplished.

This isn’t a defeatist attitude, of course. Life isn’t going to be what we want it to be if we just accept it as it is dished out. Do you want to look good in that swim suit? Then, you make adjustments to your life, set goals – both long term and short. After doing this, you make the daily efforts necessary to accomplish those goals. Establish a plan and follow the plan, doing things in the right order – wearing the clothes that fit.

If I were to set a goal to bench press 400 pounds, I would not start by first lifting 400 pounds. Maybe my capacity would be something around 100 pounds today, 105 tomorrow and 110 the following day. I would do the work necessary to make the goal of 400 and, gradually, I would accomplish the task.

My goals need to be a good fit as well. It is unlikely I would be able to press the 400 pounds by this Friday, requiring a little more time to work up my muscles. I should build them up in a manner that would not injure me and slow my progress. I remember a few years ago, I took a break from my work-out routine (yes, I used to exercise every day). When I started my routine again, I just decided to pick up where I left off. I did some serious damage. “It only hurts when I laugh, doc.” It took days for me to recover. When I again restarted my routines, I established an exercise curriculum that was more fitting to my body’s fitness, working back up to where I was before. Then, I was ready to move on to more advanced goals.

Wearing clothes that fit definitely means making the choice to do what is needful today and then doing what is needful tomorrow. So, that’s a good philosophy, right?