Mind and Body

I’m summoning the inner Marine and waging a war against my own laziness. I’ve been physically inactive all winter. I’ve had a couple runs here and there, but nothing to keep me in shape. That stops now. Been to the gym four times in the past week, and I eeked out a damn good runtime, considering how long I’ve been off my legs: 5 miles in 40:53. Not super-star, obviously, but it is one of the better times from my past few years.  I certainly was pushing my hardest, swallowing and embracing the pain,  and pouring sweat at the end.  I always forget how much better I feel, think, and work when I’m in shape until I’m getting back in shape again.

The conditions of my work demand long hours of concentration.  A lot of work needs to be done, from class preparation to paper grading.  I’ll wake up in the morning and think to myself, “I don’t have time to go to the gym: I need to do work if I’m going to finish on time.  I’ll go to the gym tomorrow.”  But slowly, my body deteriorates, and my body and brain cannot sustain the necessary levels of productivity. I fall further behind, and have more motivation to skip the gym.  I get to the point where I can work for the first hour of the morning, and suddenly I can no longer concentrate. Moments of productivity are rare and unpredictable. Something has to grab me, instead of me choosing to work on something. I can do the minimal amount of work for class prep, but the minimal level is not nearly good enough.

My priority is going to change. Although from the big-picture perspective, being a philosophy, class prep and grading are a higher priority than my own physical fitness. However, from a daily-conduct perspective, I am moving physical fitness to a top priority. I understand that physical fitness is the battery that allows the other things. In the morning, when I have to choose between class prep and going to the gym, I will go to the gym. If I have a lot of work to do, then at the very least, I will go to the gym and get on the track for 20 minutes. Just something to keep me going and to stay alert and productive for the rest of the day. That way, I can be more productive during the fewer work hours and get more work done at the end.

I knew all of this before, but it has not been on my mind lately, not in the active sense. And my habits had completely broken away from what I needed to do.