Good Old Nick

His nickname was “Chappies” and he was by far the most mischievous boy in high school.  He was not a bad kid, but he was always up to something.  One day, after once again being caught pasting our English teacher’s chair with transparent slimy stuff, the headmaster sighed: “Has Good Old Nick been sitting on your shoulder again…?”  Of course, he wasn’t referring to Santa Claus – but to the Devil himself.

It was only years later that I really got to wonder about those “inner demons,” constantly malignantly conspiring in our heads.  “Demons?” you oh-so-curiously ask.  Yes, regardless of who you are or where you come from or how you grew up, at one point or another, facing demons becomes part of life.  From the earliest moments when you might have been hungry and the bottle wasn’t immediately available, to later life crises like financial hardships, pain or failure, we have all faced demons.  A demon can also be something we’re tirelessly battling within ourselves: a secret eating disorder, an abusive relationship or an addiction… 

“The only way out is through,” wrote the famous poet Robert Frost once.  What does that mean?  I think the answer occurred to me last Friday during a conversation with a general practitioner.  We were discussing the HCG diet and she told the brave true story of a 20-year-old guy who had managed to lose more than 76 kg in one year.  She related how he came in for a check-up one day and it really took guts to confront him with the truth: “Marc*, you are the enemy – your enemy.  It’s your choices. Your health.  You can choose differently if you want to, but you have to want to….” He did.

Isn’t it crazy how sometimes our thoughts and routine choices are indeed our biggest inner demons and enemies…?  Have you thought about that?  The most common and destructive inner demon in the world is the draw of comfort.  Why pursue growth when you already have 400 television channels and a recliner?  Why even try to lose weight? Just pass the chip dip and lose yourself in a trance.  WRONG!  That’s not living – that’s existing.

We do not suffer from our beliefs.  We suffer from our disbeliefs.  If you have no hope inside of you, it’s not because there is no hope, it’s because you don’t believe there is. That’s why this quote from Benjamin Franklin is so famous:

“The average person dies at 25 and is buried at 75.”

…The one reassuring fact about demons is, no one is exempt, no matter what their life looks like, or what story they tell you.  Every life is a mix of treasures and traumas, and whether we like it or not, we are here for the whole enchilada, not just the kittens or the rainbows.

In most fantasy or sci-fi movies, there’s a big epic battle between the forces of good and evil.  However, before that battle can happen, an even more important battle must take place: between the ears of the protagonist.  Oftentimes our hero has an inner demon to conquer before he can go slay the dragon or save the world.  Life is no different.  Getting healthy is more about fighting our inner demons than anything else – that voice that tells us to eat bad food, avoid confrontation or skip our workout…

Until you identify YOUR demon, you might struggle to make consistent progress on your goals.  Or worse, spending your days thinking back on what might have been, rather than finding out what could be.  Okay, so once you’ve identified your inner demon, what then?

 “Change your strategy”, writes best-selling author Ian Jackson in his book “Escape the Mind Trap”.  Do you eat when you are unhappy?  Do you pop a Red Bull in the afternoon to stay awake at work? “I walk around the office while drinking a black coffee.  I eat an apple and stay away from Fran, who keeps a bucket of candy in her drawer.  I will emerge victoriously…☺” 

As Sun Tzu, the Chinese general said centuries ago: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.  If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.  But if you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

Those little demons that creep out when we least expect it – yes, the ones that tell you you’re not good enough, not thin enough, not strong enough, not brave enough, not beautiful enough – they are wrong… 

Because if you’re reading this, the demons haven’t won.  Have you been depressed?  Child of divorced parents?  Moved to a place where you knew no one?  Experienced the death of a loved one? If so, you faced your demons.  You courageously soldiered on.  You persevered, even when you thought the pain would never stop.  And you’re still here…

Don’t allow Good Old Nick and your inner demons to give you excuses to hold back, to stay complacent or to settle for less.  Dealing with your fears WOULD mean facing your own weaknesses.  But without facing the uncertainties of the future, you will never be able to pursue our destinies; you will never be able to learn; you will never be able to grow.

“…Deal with all this, live with myself, you mean?  I honestly don`t know.  I stand often enough at the abyss of my soul, asking that same question, looking down into the dark crevices where the black monsters dwell on the bottom.  They gaze up at me, and I look them in the eyes.  “This also you are”, they say, and I almost fall into the void.”

“And then?”

Anaxantis shrugged.

“And then?”  I turn around and go needs to be done…

                                                   Andrew Ashling, The Invisible Chains

Yours in fitness

Mirna

082 779 0507

(*Fictional name has been used)