I was given this as a comment on a post the other day and wanted to respond to it.
"I guess I would like to know what is your specific purpose. I see fitness written in many places on your site. Perhaps you could provide the qualitative and quantitative goals."
As for the qualitative and quantitative goals - those are subjective and temporary. I write on this blog about myself and my life, but also try to reach beyond the tangible in front of me. I do have a Goals page immediately under the header for those goals. I will however, do my best to give what my purpose and mission is as I become healthy and fit.
My journey is for me. I understand that part, but I know that my journey reaches far beyond me. I'll get into more of that later.
I have many life goals and things that I want to achieve that were being threatened by my weight. I have a gorgeous, caring, and loving wife that I want to be there for. When I looked into the future as an overweight, exhausted, tired, and temperamental man - I did not see what I wanted. The future looked grim, tiring, and not a lot of fun. How could I give my wife all that she deserved when I couldn't even give myself what I needed? There came a point that I needed a change and the change was for more than just myself.
That's not it though.
My sister was diagnosed with small-cell cervical cancer on June 10, 2006. She passed away of small-cell cervical cancer on July 16, 2006. That fast. It caught us all off guard. It hurt. As some of us get older, we recognize the importance of being healthy and making decisions that will not only have a positive effect on ourselves, but on others as well. No one knows what is in store for the future - but we do know that the future will come with every breathing moment. I strive to be prepared in the best way possible for whatever comes mentally and physically. It is not easy; no one said it would be. It is important though; I say that.
That's still not all of it.
My wife and I want to have kids some day. Actually, we've wanted to have kids yesterday. It has not happened yet. Not many people know this, but we've been trying for over a year now to get pregnant. It hasn't happened. It takes a while sometimes. It's been mentally challenging for us, but we are not defeated. God will provide when He does. When that does happen - I want to be able to teach them good from bad. I want to show them by example how to live a positive life and make positive decisions. I want to out-play my kids. I want to run with my kids. I want to show my sons how to be men of Godly character. I want to teach my daughters how to show up the boys on the basketball court; and also to give them a positive example of how a man is to treat his bride.
Becoming fit and healthy does not guarantee these things to happen, but will definitely help these dreams become reality if given the opportunity.
That's still not all of it.
Many people think that what we do on Earth is all that we do. That is their decision to make. That is not the conclusion that I have come to. God has blessed me in so many ways and way beyond my level of deserving. I attempt to live a life worthy of that call to go and make disciples. America is overweight and lazy; so are the churches. There are a lot of church goers that go on Sunday, leave, and fail to practice what they preach in their "real lives". They call out against those that are caught up in negative addictions, greed, and/or gluttony of some kind. Those are the ones that give the church a bad name.
With that being said, I want to let you know my take on becoming physically, spiritually, and mentally fit in regards to what I believe and live by daily.
2 Timothy 2:3-7 tells me that I need to take a look at three different people. (1) A soldier, (2) an athlete, (3) a farmer. I'm not going to go in lengthy detail as for the reasons, but will give you a brief idea behind it.
1. Dedicated, Focused, Devoted like a soldier...
2. Disciplined, Obedient, and self-controlled like an athlete...
3. Diligent, Hard-working, and motivated like a farmer...
If you have been a follower of my site for any period of time - you should be able to tell that this is the message that I want to convey to my readers. These are the things that I try to live out daily. It is not easy all of the time and I fail often, but I am not defeated when I fail.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:26-27:
"I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified."
Everything we do - we must do it with purpose.
It may be the fitness goal of being able to jump higher than anyone else, lift more than your neighbor, and/or run the fastest mile. Whatever it is, have reason behind it.
This is my journey on becoming fit and staying fit - and it is driven by purpose. At some point I will be able to say that I am fit with a purpose. Right now, I say, I am getting fit with a purpose.
It drives me to become who I am meant to be.
We are only restricted by our negativity. I want to provide a positive outlook on fitness for those that are overweight, in trouble, and struggling to get their life back. This is how I am doing that.
I hope that this answers the question that was given. It may have been more than you asked for too. I believe that Fit with a purpose is not just a blog, but a place - an environment - where we can be pushed further than what we see as our limits, but create new heights both physically and mentally.
That is what this is all about.
Thank you for the question.
