This may come
across as a nattering nabob of negativism,
but switching one disguise to put on another amounts to ambitious woolgathering.
From observation, few reentering the job market or
switching careers are able to magically transform themselves into something
they are not—high aspirations and good intentions notwithstanding.
Humans accumulate
habits and routines like rodents hoard things for winter. True, some habits
qualify as good, but more often than not, the spirit aspires while the flesh
poops out. Over time, ingrained behaviors
become as encased as cement. Good luck transforming encrusted cement into something it is not.
If called upon to
cite one element that could drastically transform one’s ability to reinvent
oneself, it would be changing crappy eating habits. Any gastro-endocrinologist will tell you that good health starts with a
healthy gut. But who the hell listens to them? Certainly not the 60-plus
percent of our obese population.
How does one
reinvent oneself if you’re physically out of shape, mentally out of sorts and regularly run out of gusto? According to
the pharmaceutical industry, you take one of their magic pills, and it
miraculously allows you to press a reset button. –Pure hogwash. When bad eating habits go unaddressed, you’re merely
going through the motions of masking the symptoms
with synthetics.
The not-so-secret, secret amounts to eliminating adulterated
food from one’s eating habits. Replace chemicals
and additives with unrefined real food that has not been overly processed
and contaminated with pesticides. Then,
add a modicum of exercise, and excess pounds melt away, mental alertness
sharpens and one’s energy level skyrockets. Now
that qualifies as reinventing oneself.
I work out at a local facility. I get there at 5 a.m. along
with 18 regulars. An additional 30 arrive well before I depart. Within this
homogeneous population, there are half-dozen newbies sporting bloated bellies and toting
excessive blubber. Throughout the year, they sign up and leave like
ships sailing with the tide. Rarely do newbies last a full-moon cycle before
they quietly disappear before the sun
raises, only to be replaced by new arrivals harboring similar aspirations and
overnight results.
What am I
observing? Is this some unique anomaly? I
don’t think so. I’m observing the human condition in its rawest form. (And no, there is no raw locker room talk as Donald Trump suggests.)
At those hours—all the regular suspects are serious. The newbies are usually there due to their gorging eating habits:
Their doctors order them to lose weight in
lieu of updating their wills. The regulars
are there for selfish interests.
None of the
regulars qualify as obese. Those projecting a wholesome
image are pure-food enthusiasts. Their skin is blemish and wrinkle free, and
they exude an abundance of energy. What are the odds for these individuals
reinventing themselves? In a manner of speaking, they already have. Most are
well up in years, yet take no meds. A mere coincidence? It’s a possibility, but
I don’t think so.
There is no difficulty spotting those surviving on cheeseburgers
and mounds of fries, chased down by a sugary beverage. Whatever they’re eating
in private they’re certainly wearing in the locker room as they shuffle their
way toward the showers. Harsh? Yes, but then so is checking out early, ten toes
up!
The accumulation
of chemical dyes, lard, sodium, artificial additives, chemical preservatives, pesticides and poisonous
sugars have a deleterious, long-lasting effect on one’s body, nervous system
and brain function. Over time, these nonfood items—especially sugar, become as
addictive as cocaine. No thanks to the FDA. (Ever ask yourself why we no longer refer to the agency as the Pure Food
and Drug Administration?)
Too often, we
confuse possibility with probability. What may be possible isn’t
always probable when it comes to reinventing oneself. Our aspirations rarely
exceed our ingrained bad habits and routines. Taking decisive action over
ambitious rhetoric produces far better results.
Not that it is
impossible for one to reinvent oneself,
but don’t expect a quick-fix as some advice-givers suggest. A multifaceted effort requires self-discipline and self-enlightenment.
That you have to accomplish on your own: There’s no happy pill or
cherry-tasting elixir for that.