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.
20 comments:
We may have different titles, but we have the same message.
run the race before you..
"but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."
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I'm sorry you lost your sister. It caught in my throat reading that.
I'm on my 4th round of cancer and hope that one day I don't have to deal with it any longer. My dr.'s say that my weight and what I eat has nothing to do with it but deep down in my heart, I don't agree with them. I hope to reverse all of this through healthy eating and exercise. That's my purpose for getting fit. Not just surviving but thriving.
I always enjoy your posts, Seth. You are a great writer.
Wow Seth. This is a powerful powerful post. We may never meet in real life but I just have to say I am honored to know you.
Thanks Seth for your excellent and thoughtful response to the question of your specific purpose.
I could say copy-cat except I've never articulated it so well.
Being a fat Christian is embarrassing and I see it as a contradiction of my faith in a healing God. The redeeming feature, God's love reminding me, 'I'm a work in progress.'
For me there is the added desire to show that age is no barrier. (Nor is a trying situation, family pain or any other difficulty). I'll be 71 years old in 4 weeks. I might do the weight loss/fitness thing differently but age is not an excuse to become/stay lazy and fat. I hope that I can stir up older folk, (why when they're not such frequent users of the internet), and get younger ones to realise that if I can, they can.
If I touch and inspire one person that's good but I believe there will be many.
There may be many factors that motivate any one of us to getting fit...but the only reason must truly come from within. Spouses, friends, family are all beneficiaries of our good health, but if we don't want it for ourselves, the others won't have a lasting impacts on our efforts.
Wonderfully articulated post.
Wow Seth!! Goosebumps and teary eyed on this one. What a great post!!
Great post Seth. I can't honestly say that I know what fitness is, but I unfortunately know a lot about what it isn't from years of experience. I've lost 25 lbs since Jan 1, I certainly feel a lot better and more energetic than I used to, and my body fat measurements have dropped to a range very close to what is deemed "fit." But I'm still not sure at what point I'll be able to declare myself fit. I think part of it is a mindset, a long term committment to changing the behaviors that led us to be unfit, and fully embracing that mindset (at least for me) is one of the most challenging aspects of the whole journey.
Great post, Seth! Each of our purposes for our fitness, blogs, etc., are very personal, and it really is great to read about everyone's experience.
I'm so sorry to hear about your sister. I used to work full-time in cancer care, and I still do a lot of volunteer work with cancer-related issues. Your journey to fitness is really a great tribute to her and to your taking care of yourself.
Lovely - great answer to a good question.
I echo many of your sentiments. I'm an older mother (had my son at age 37). I knew I would have challenges from my age, but I didn't want my health to become an issue. It did. A couple of cancer scares, a minor cancer reality (skin - got it all), high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes. I realized that if I continued down this path, I would never seem my son graduate, marry, or have children of his own. I want to be here for that. So I'm working on my health. If I happen to look better when I reach my goals? Well, that's just icing on the cake of my life.
What an outstanding expression of not only your plan but your faith. I grew up a PK. Lots and lots and lots of fat people in churches. It's terrible really because so many of them sit there with their rules and regulations regarding drinking and dancing and other stuff. Judging others through their fat rolls. Somehow the sin of gluttony is excluded.
"Everything we do - we must do it with purpose."
Love that. Making it my thought for today.
Best. Post. Ever.
I can't put my finger on exactly why, but it really touched me. Love your attitude.
Plus, I think everyone should call their wife gorgeous...daily, LOL.
Wow. This was an awesome post. I'm so sorry to hear about your sister; I literally got cold chills reading that, and I just want to go hug the women in my life because that kind of thing can literally happen to anyone. Life is so fragile; we often take it for granted. Well, I shouldn't say we, but I know for a fact that I do. I'm definitely with you in believing that this life is not all that there is, and I've been extremely guilty of being a Sunday Christian many, many times, too.
Love the message that you are sending!!! I am so sorry to hear about you and your wife having issues conceiving. I know so many of our friends that are in the same situation. I will be praying for you and your family!!
Wow, Seth, this was a really awesome and powerful post. I'm so grateful that you shared with us all and are sharing that message/purpose through your blog. Great post.
Wow that was one of the most powerful, heartfelt and articulate posts I have ever seen. You really know how to choke a person up. Whew!
I just love MargieAnn's comment above. She is 71 and doing it! Gotta love it!
Seth, this is such an encouraging post. Thanks for letting your readers know your heart! Hope your realize you are meeting those goals and its amazing. You really looked great on graduation (especially with your beautiful bride on your arm). Keep up the good work!
Wow!!! Really sorry to hear about your sister's illness and death. That must have been just devastating for you and the family.
Keep up the good work you are doing taking care of yourself and living the best life you can.
Great post today!
Wonderful post. I do want to look at soldiers, athletes and farmers. I respect them for their fitness and their dedication to achieving their goals.
I think we're all getting fit WITH a purpose. The purpose is for ourselves. We define and shape our purpose every single day. My purpose is to get fit and healthy so I can live long enough to qualify for Boston, compete in a marathon on 6 continents if possible, and do many other crazy things :)
My weight was hindering me from just going out there and living the life I wanted to live. But with each step forward, I am believing in myself more. And that's my purpose.
I am really sorry to hear about your sister. Sometimes, God works in strange ways but it's always for the better.
I really loved this post Seth. You have summed up what I have been feeling about why I am changing my life for the better.
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