The perfect lunch for feeling awesome

The perfect lunch on a cold, dreary, rainy day is NOT a bowl of spinach and tuna.

That's what I had today. Not what I wanted, but what I had.

Yesterday I gave in to my deeper desire for immediate gratification and french fries. I went to Wendy's and had a nice, warm, salt-ridden serving of cholesterol and fat. And it was delicious.

Until it was gone.

The rest of the day, I felt like crap. That oh-man-why-did-I-eat-that crap.

Crap is the opposite of awesome.

Later in the evening, I was tired. Really tired. Lethargic. Not just from my stupefying lunch. It was a long, slog of a day.

All I wanted to do when I got home was plop down in front of the tube and waste the evening. And maybe drink.

Instead, I drug my ass to Hot Yoga for Runners*. Why? Mostly out of mindless loyalty to my training program. It says right there... "Monday: Yoga". Kinda like when my calendar says "Dentist: 9:00am". I don't want to go, but I go because the calendar says to.

When I got there I realized I'd forgotten my mat. "Ha! The universe is telling me to go home and veg. See ya, suckers!"

I was out the door.

Halfway back to my car, I stopped.

A tiny, soft, whispering voice inside my head said, "Hey, you. Yes you, jackass. I thought you wanted to feel awesome. If you go home now, that just means one more day of feeling like crap."

That stupid, sensible, and kinda rude little voice really pisses me off sometimes.

I turned around. I went back in. I rented a mat. I sweat my ass off for an hour.

And today, I had a salad for lunch.

It's easy to say that you want to do the right thing, the best thing for you. Everyone wants to think that that's what they want.

The moment, or moments, of truth, are when we decide if we really mean it.

In those moments we have to fight against our habits, our urges, and our fears. We have to summon the courage, strength, and good sense just long enough to side-step our base desires.

And those moments come everyday.

When you're faced with deciding between immediate gratification and one tiny step toward long-term awesomeness, which will you choose?

Good running,
Doug

*Should be called "Hey runners, you think you sweat out there? I'll show you sweat. Come in here for an hour and we'll melt you."

Image from here.