As Easy As Getting FAT

 

(I'll do a podcast on this soon, once my voice gets better following a cold that I have had).

 

 

This graphic came across my social media page earlier today. Yes, I know, it is meant to be light-hearted and funny. Believe me, I DO understand that. I'm not one that lacks a sense of humor!

 

But, I have to be honest with you and tell you that the first thing that went through my mind when I saw this was, "There are LOTS of things that are as 'easy' as getting fat!"

 

Now, first off, for all of you that want to get offended and start sending me all kinds of complaints - DON'T. Listen to me...I have battled the struggle with maintaining a healthy weight for my entire adult life. Been there, done that and STILL have to work on trying to keep things under control. So, due to that, I DO have the "right" to speak on this, o.k.? Secondly, I KNOW that there are certain conditions that cause a person to be overweight (or "fat") that are beyond that persons control. I get that, o.k.? Now, if you STILL decide to get all worked up and upset about this article then you are actually making one of my points for me - and I'll address that point in a bit.

 

There. I hope we have that all out of the way now. Let's move on to the points of this article...

 

PREMISE: Being "fat" is "easy" because, for the most part, is is the result of the habit of taking the path of least resistance. Again, if that upsets you, go back and read the highlighted AND bolded paragraph above, o.k.?

 

It takes DISCIPLINE to make wise food choices. The path of least resistance says, "Eat whatever you want, whenever you want and as much as you want!" It takes DISCIPLINE to actually get up and participate in some sort of exercise while, at the same time, the path of least resistance says, "Exercise? You already DO exercise! You get up out of bed and walk to your chair (or the couch) and then you get back up when it's time to go to bed!" It takes DISCIPLINE to make a decision to make those necessary changes and to actually stick to them and do them consistently. The path of least resistance says, "Don't worry about it. You're just 'big-boned' and there's no real rush with this anyway."

 

Now, with that premise in mind, let's consider that, in fact, there are MANY things that we can do that are as "easy as getting fat". Here's something that will "hurt" to admit with these as you go through them. It's the FACT that NONE of them are of any value! So, I guess, in reality, here's another PREMISE that needs to be set: Following the path of least resistance never leads to anything good or positive!

 

1. GETTING OFFENDED is easy! Too many people get offended too easily in our world today. People seem to get offended by just about every little thing that someone may say - or NOT say. Getting offended is EASY and is evidence of a person taking that path of least resistance! Easily getting offended often leads to arguments and hurt feelings and, sometimes, even worse results. If something DOES offend you, discipline yourself to NOT react and say or do anything at that point. Just because something offends you does not mean that everyone has to know about it. Practice the discipline of NOT responding or reacting and then do some self-examination (this requires discipline as well) as to WHY you get offended so easily by so many things. Yes, I agree that there are times that we MUST stand up and fight and make our voices heard. But, at the same time, I'm also convinced that it is not nearly as often as some people make happen.

 

2. BEING NEGATIVE is easy! Hey listen, I understand that there are things in this world and in our individual lives that we can become very negative about very easily. But, friend, it is a CHOICE that each of us must make and, allowing ourselves to take the path of least resistance (no discipline), will make it EASY to have a negative attitude. Don't you just love being around negative people? Of course you don't! Then, friend, what makes you think people enjoy being around you if you have allowed yourself to become negative? Many times a person doesn't even realize that they have become this way. Ironically, this type of person will often criticize and complain about their coworkers or "friends" being negative, rude and unfriendly because they don't seem to want to interact with them. Hello? It takes DISCIPLINE to fight a negative attitude and it takes DISCIPLINE to do it on a daily (that's right - DAILY) basis. It takes DISCIPLINE to truly pay attention to your attitude and actually allow yourself to admit the amount of negativity in your life and your mind. What's in/on your mind usually will come out of your mouth.

 

3. NOT SETTING OR REACHING GOALS is easy! A goal that is easy to reach is not much of a goal. Wouldn't you agree? The idea of a goal is to cause us to stretch and challenge ourselves to do more and to be more than we are right now. One easy way to avoid the fear of not reaching that goal is to simply NOT SET a goal. What has been said is true, "Aim at nothing and you'll be sure to reach your target every time!". Maybe you are one that has actually set some goals (New Year's Resolutions?) and are struggling. Here's a few things to consider (remember, it takes discipline to do this kind of self-examination) about such goals. Perhaps you set unrealistic goals in the first place. Perhaps you never intended to do anything to reach those goals, you just set them because you always do and everyone else does. Perhaps the "fear of failure" has you paralyzed to the point of making no move toward that goal. The path of least resistance says, "Everyone sets goals and everyone falls short so, why set out on a course of failure?" That's EASY. Discipline will challenge a person to push and grow as they go through their days and get closer to reaching their set goals.

 

4. BEING CRITICAL is easy! This is closely related to #'s 1 and 2 in this list but I still want to address it separately. Do you know anyone like this? Could YOU be that person? It is EASY - by following the path of least resistance - to criticize anything and everything and everyone around you. It is EASY to always find what is wrong about something or someone. It is EASY to always voice your critical opinion on these things. It takes DISCIPLINE to "hold your tongue" when tempted to be critical. It takes DISCIPLINE to work on a better idea - if one even exists. You may find that coming up with good ideas and solutions is not as easy as being critical. In that case, it takes DISCIPLINE to compliment and encourage those that must come up with these ideas and solutions. It takes DISCIPLINE to not allow yourself to take that path of least resistance by being critical instead. Here's another heads up for you: NO ONE LIKES BEING AROUND A CRITICAL PERSON.

 

CONCLUSION: Living an undisciplined life of least resistance leads to many problems in our lives and in our world. Crime, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, sexual gratification - regardless of one's marital status, along with many other addictions and vices, can be brought back to taking the "easy" road or path of least resistance. I know that some of you would want to argue that point on some - or all - of these issues. But, I won't argue with you on this. Again, I'm not saying that this is 100% true in EVERY situation but, overall, I believe this to be true a majority of the time.

 

So, bottom line, perhaps the original phrase in the graphic should be, "I wish everything of value and worth was as easy as getting fat." Some still may not like the comparison, but it would be closer to the truth.

 

Please share with anyone and everyone that you feel would benefit from these thoughts as well as the many others that you find on this blog page. You can also find the links to my podcasts below. Again, once my throat gets better, I will be doing a podcast to go along with this blog.

 

Until next time, always be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Future You University   FYU on Facebook!   Podcast on iTunes   Podcast RSS feed



Difficult Before Easy

You KNOW that it's true, right?

 

There are so many examples that we could talk about and discuss but, let's just boil it down to this: think of anytime you have EVER tried something NEW.

 

Yeah, remember now?

 

So, let's keep this short, o.k.?

 

Don't give up just because something is difficult. Whether it's relationships, employment, parenting, leadership or improving yourself in any way, DO NOT GIVE UP!

 

Remember, all things are difficult before they are EASY!

 

Stay strong, fight through it and do NOT quit! You may quit just as it was about to become easier and friend, you'd never know.

 

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

 

Mike

 

 

Future You University     "Like" FYU on Facebook!     Podcast on iTunes     Podcast RSS feed

                                         Start your home based business HERE

 

Challenge Brings Growth

Wouldn't it be great if that big, red "easy" button actually existed?

 

Wouldn't it be great if everything always turned out the way that we wanted them to turn out?

 

Wouldn't it be great if we found "that perfect job" for our lives the very first time and that it was easy to move up in that business without any stress or hard work?

 

Wouldn't it be great if.....by now you're likely saying something like, "Uh, yeah Mike, that WOULD be great but we all know that's not going to happen the way that you are describing!"

 

BINGO. But let me continue...

 

Wouldn't it be great if getting into shape and staying in shape was easy and required no hard work or discipline at all? Watch the advertising and you'll see more and more that a lot of companies are trying to pretty much promise that very thing in their advertisements. But, bottom line is that it just won't work!

 

GROWTH IS NOT EASY!

 

You can put that into any category of growth that you'd like and it still comes out the same - IT'S NOT EASY!

 

"Easy" is staying where you are and accomplishing nothing.

 

Easy is allowing others to do everything for you and literally take care of you in every area of your life even to the point of physically clothing you, bathing you, grooming you, etc.

 

Come on...you KNOW that's not what you desire for your life!

 

"Oh Mike, you're getting a bit extreme with your examples."

 

NOT AT ALL!

 

GROWTH IS NOT EASY! It requires learning new things, doing new things, stretching and challenging yourself physically, mentally, emotionally and even spiritually.

 

But do not ever forget this point: GROWTH BRINGS LIFE!

 

Simple illustration: Ask your mother (if she's still alive - if not, ask any woman that has experienced this) if going through pregnancy and the delivery of YOU was easy? Though not easy, GROWTH BRINGS LIFE!

 

So, friend, take that "easy" button and throw it in the trash! Because in this situation "easy" = LAZY and DEAD!

 

Stay focused, stay strong and KEEP ON GROWING!

 

And, as you do so, be sure to...

 

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

 

Mike

 

Future You University     "Like" FYU on Facebook!     Podcast on iTunes     Podcast RSS feed

                                         Start your home based business HERE

 

Making Yourself Better

(be sure to check out the podcast on iTunes or on the RSS feed)

"Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better." - Jim Rohn

We've talked a LOT about the fact that we live in a world that craves "easy". A lot of people - it seems especially so with our youth - see other people being successful in many different ways and they want to have the same thing without doing anything to "earn it".

Young boys (and girls) of all ages want to become a professional athlete but aren't willing (and don't even understand how much) to put in the hours and hours and years of hard work in order for that to even be a possibility. For years now I have watched young couples get married and go immediately into a lot of debt so that they can live in as nice - if not nicer - house than their parents and have at least as nice - if not nicer - furnishings IN that house. All the while not realizing that it took their parents years in order to provide those things for themselves and their family. Thousands of people flock to Hollywood or Nashville hoping to be the next great thing. They've read stories of some that were discovered working as a waiter or a waitress or while singing on a street corner and they think that it really IS that simple and easy. They don't realize how FEW that "few" really is when compared to the thousands that seek the same fame. It's not easy so they quit and give up.

"Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better." What a great quote to have posted on the front of every high school yearbook or, better yet, diploma.

Easy is easy. Wow, that was obvious, wasn't it? But, because "easy" is so easy, ANYONE can do it and many ARE doing it. "Easy" is the job that is labeled "entry level position" and usually has the lowest hourly wage attached to it. Interestingly enough, even though ANYONE can do it, there are many that will NOT do it because it is "beneath them". They want the "management" without the hassle of WORKING their way up to that position. They want the bigger paycheck but without actually EARNING that paycheck.

Does that describe YOU? I hope not but, let's be real here, it's not just the young people in our world that follow this "easy" philosophy - many times they learned it from us in the first place!

This is the lure of the "get-rich-quick" schemes that are so prevalent today.

Now back to the diving board scenario that I have used all week long. Many will watch a skilled diver do some amazing things as they leap from that high dive and enter the water with very little splash. Yet, again, not many are willing to put in the hours of work that it took that person to develop that skill. Here's a hint - when things LOOK easy that usually means that someone has put in the time and effort to develop the skill to make it appear so!

Whatever it is that you are searching for...whatever it is that attracts you...seek to become BETTER in order to succeed rather than wish for it to be EASY. Remember, anyone can do easy. Is that what you really want? I didn't think so.

Join me again tomorrow as I finish out this week's articles featuring quotes by the late Jim Rohn. But, until then, be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day!"

Mike

Skip the EZ Button!

(be sure to check out the podcast on iTunes or on the RSS feed)

"Don't just read the easy stuff. You may be entertained by it, but you will never grow from it."  - Jim Rohn

We live in  a "make it as easy as possible" world! Hey, I have to admit that I get impatient with the microwave! We have some marvelous appliances and other gadgets in our homes that, indeed, make life easier. And,  no, I'm not "bashing" the fact that we have these things in our lives.

However, in a world where you can call anyone in the world and get information from all over the world in the palm of your hand, we have become to expect this type of ease in all areas of our lives. Wouldn't you agree?

We have "instant" EVERYTHING and, that being so, why not have "instant success"? Isn't this what we see advertised with so many "opportunities" out there? "Retire in 6 months with only 1 hour a day!" - EASY!  "Learn to make MILLIONS while you sleep!" - EASY!

We'll talk more about these types of ideas of "EASY" in the next day or so, but for now, let's turn to this same idea that we find when it comes to reading, listening or absorbing quality material.

Again, I know this doesn't apply to ALL young people today but, from my continued experience working with teens, it applies to a LOT of young people...they don't want to be challenged in any way at all. When was the last time that you tried to get a teen to actually READ or LISTEN to something that wasn't animated or part of some video game OR some lame television show?



When was the last time YOU spent time reading or listening to something that actually had value? If you were not following along a couple of weeks ago when I did the series on TIME then be sure to go back and discover how much time you waste each day and how much of that time can be "re-purposed" for something more productive!

There's nothing wrong with some mindless entertainment from time to time but, just like eating a few sweets from time to time, you CANNOT make your diet contain large quantities of either of these examples. Garbage in, garbage out, remember?

As Mr. Rohn emphasized, some things are entertaining but they do NOTHING to help us grow. When was the last time that YOU were challenged and, as a result, you grew?

Have you ever worked out? Have you ever started a routine that involved running, walking, weights or all of the above? When you first begin it is DIFFICULT because your body is being CHALLENGED to do something that is not as EASY as what you have been doing = NOTHING! However, with time and consistency, your body begins to adapt to the challenge and you begin to accomplish more and more as you do so. Your muscles begin to "grow" due to the RESISTANCE (not the easy way out, right?) that they have faced.

NO RESISTANCE = NO GROWTH!

Now, let's go back to the diving board scenario I talked about yesterday. Perhaps you still find yourself standing on the edge of that diving board looking down at the water...waiting...thinking...talking about what you WILL do but still standing and waiting. Perhaps you have seen someone else do it and it LOOKED easy or someone else TOLD you that it was easy. Oh, by the way, I'm talking about the HIGH DIVE, not the low one that pretty much anyone will jump from.

When you get to the edge of the HIGH diving board it suddenly looks different than it did watching someone that knew what they were doing, doesn't it? Maybe now you realize that the reason it looked so easy was because they put HOURS and HOURS of work into their skill. They didn't quit the first time they stood where you are now.

Sure, you can jump now. You may get lucky and not even hurt yourself but, at the same time, you just may do a "belly-buster" or, worse yet, a FACE-buster! And, if you do, you have a choice to make...quit or learn how to improve and then WORK at getting better.

Skip the "EZ BUTTON" and go for the growth! You'll be glad you did.

Be sure to join me tomorrow for another great quote from Jim Rohn and, until then, be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike