Fit in the Fog

Jobs. Kids. Spouses. Chores. Meetings. We all have so much going on each and every day. Sometimes it’s hard to make the time to stay fit in the fog of everyday life. Have you ever had that moment that you realize “Man, I’m not as in shape as I used to be?" It happened to me a couple of months ago. The fog of life had taken over and I had been neglecting investing and working on my physical body.

I’m sure most of us have been there. Too much to do, not enough hours in the day. It’s easy to let fitness slide down the list of important tasks. BUT let me encourage you that your physical fitness should be a priority! We have plenty of reasons to say no to healthy living but, what if we looked at the reasons to focus in on our discipline and say YES to making the extra time to help get our mind, body, and soul fit in the fog.

Here are three things that I pray encourage you to start your journey to be fit in the fog:

1.     CREATE HEALTHY RHYTHMS

When we talk about maintaining a level of physical fitness, it’s easy to go overboard and think of the marathoner, or bodybuilder. However, in the fog of life it is much more realistic to create consistent rhythms that can bring healthy living into your daily life. Consider what it would look like to walk to the park with your kids instead of driving. Park at the back of the parking lot at the store or at church! Find things you ENJOY doing. Whether that be indoors or outdoors, the more you enjoy something the more likely you are to commit to it. It is better to be consistently good, than to be occasionally great. Creating healthy rhythms are SO beneficial physically, mentally, and spiritually. Keep stacking those little wins and you will reap the benefits in the long run!

2.     SET THE TABLE

There is a lot to be said about the process of habit formation and the way that we can put things on autopilot, but that doesn’t happen overnight. When taking a new step in your health and fitness journey make sure you set the table. What does setting the table even mean? It could be something as simple as making sure that your shoes, clothes, and water bottle are ready the night before you plan on waking up for an early morning run. It could be packing that healthy lunch from home and taking it with you to work so that you aren’t tempted to just run and grab In-N-Out (I obviously NEVER have that problem!). Setting the table is prioritizing your goals and setting yourself up to stack those little wins, that lead to BIG wins in the long run. It's preparing yourself to succeed before that all too familiar fog of business that is sure to come leads to decisions that take us further from our goals. A failure to plan is a plan to fail. Set the table.  

3.     CONSIDER THE TEMPLE

Scripture tells us in 1 Corinthians 6 that we should glorify God with our bodies. I’m not saying here that you should attempt to look like the person on the cover of a magazine, but I also believe there is something to be said for followers of Christ to be good stewards of the physical resources that God has given us. The idea of stewardship doesn’t start and end with money. It touches so many different areas of our lives. Stewarding takes discipline. As Christians, when we model discipline in one area, it can carry over to others. Saying no to picking up fast food can be a tough choice. Saying no to binging that popular show on Netflix that we probably shouldn’t be watching can be a tough choice. Living in the world but not of the world can be a tough choice. But let’s remember Philippians 4:8 and glorify God with our lives – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. 

When it comes to fitness, there will never be a finish line. We can cross the finish line of the race. We can gain the muscle we worked so hard to get. We can lose those extra pounds that we’ve been trying to lose. But if we don’t continue with our healthy rhythms, setting the table, and considering the temple then there’s a good chance we won’t be able to cross that finish line in a race, we will lose all the muscle we worked so hard to get, and we will gain that weight back. Being fit in the fog is being disciplined daily. 

As you navigate the fog, remember to steward well the body you’ve been given and Glorify God with your life!