Part 3 - Action

Shalom Aleichem, my beloved readers. May God bless you with all the best. For my past articles, they are published on my?LinkedIn, you can also check my profile there. ?If you have not read the previous article, please check it out:?Part 1-New Year Resolution, Part 2-Improvement Steps

We arrived at the third part on the actual how-to improve ourselves. I wish you all well and benefit from these:

To get a healthy body, it is quite clear now and we have an abundance of info for the how-to. You can go to the gym, go for a run, jogging, swim, bicycling, etc. The point is, choose what you enjoy and always, ALWAYS, make it enjoyable. Never ever make it into work. If you are the type that enjoys a self-competition that wishes to be better, stronger, faster than before, take note, chill out, tone down if you still want to do it for the long run. Chances are you will suffer an injury or just be too burned out from the program. Let it be fun. Sometimes hard, sometimes slow, just make sure it is fun. Never force yourself into it.

Dedication will not be enough to keep us in the activity if it is not fun anymore. Don't overdo any exercise program to the point it felt like a drag. It should be fun and you want to do it more. That is the only way to make it stick. Give some time for something new and make sure you got the right, correct guide. The wrong guide is what usually makes the activity become a drag. Someone who wishes to casually ride their bike will not enjoy riding with a competitive rider and their intensive training regiment. Find the right bike, casual means relax, not some extra aggressive road racing machine. Just because you can afford it, does not mean it is the right one for you. For example, I love moderate bike rides of 20-25km mix of casual and sprint. I am not the type to enjoy long-distance rides, I am a sprinter at heart. 50km is as far as it goes for me for an enjoyable ride. I know some who like to go for the big ride, 100km+ for fun, not for me. I also prefer riding alone listening to the Scripture as I ride. A group ride is not for me. Choose whatever works for you. If you enjoy it, you will do it in the long run and the benefit is there for you to take.

Out heart and mind need another different set of programs for maintaining its health and strength. I will write down an excerpt on how to fight against the seven deadly sins:

1. Gluttony > strict meal plan.
2. Envy > be grateful, count your blessings every time the feeling emerges.
3. Wrath > Rosary-the best meditation for Christian in my opinion, please join other forms of Christian meditation if it works for you. The Rosary is just so easy and can be done everywhere as well as a form of prayer, thus I meditate and pray at once. Anger management programs or even extreme sports like MMA, boxing, mountain biking downhill, a slew of other extreme sports to exhaust the fumes of anger and frustration. The hardship of strength training and the relaxing nature of my bike ride works well for me. Maybe a trip to nature, camping, hiking works for you. Being one with nature often works wonders for many.
4. Lust > Extreme forms of chastity including changing phones if it means making us harder to access porn sites. Steer clear of sites that often advertise porn, even some nudity or scantily clothes pictures can trigger the desire.
5. Greed > give charity and share as much as possible
6. Sloth > just do it. Procrastination is the usual barrier. Develop a just do it mentality to make it happen.
7. Pride > be humble and praise others as much as possible. Look into the good in others.

Be the best version of ourselves according to God's design. Stop following world standards, they never were the gold standard. Not to mention it always changes every few years. even months sometime. Strike for balance.

Personally, I found it seriously difficult to engage in my weakness. Especially when it is a well-beaten path. Porn is a problem for me. The slightest sexy pictures and scantly covered women can trigger me and the Internet is not making it easy. They are everywhere. I am doing my best to block and filter it but it still making through. I especially avoid the phone as the advertisement almost always trickle through no matter what I do to block and filter. PC is so much better. I can use different browsers and different search engines to make it work, at least for the most part.

I am still in the process of making this somewhat enjoyable and at least, not torturous to do, mimicking my physical training. Please comment if you reached it as I have not yet. Mental training is much harder than physical training for me. In the end, I am striving for balance.

Ballance is the best condition we can be in. Balance is key. Not skinny, not obese. If you are a bit over or underweight, that is understandable as long as you are healthy. Don't go for fashion model skinny (way underweight). Underweight was called undernourished in the past, not trendy. Or plus-size - obese is never healthy.

As Jesus said:

Matthew 4:4 Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

During His time walking the Earth, everyone is active. Everyone is walking, working with hands, Jesus was a carpenter like his father St. Joseph. There were no cars and horse riding is exhausting compared to driving. There is famine but rarely obesity. Men, if you are in doubt about how one looks in a fit condition, look at the movie stars of the past like Fred Astaire, Charlie Chaplin, Gene Kelly, and so on. They are fit, not buff. We don't need to look like Stalone, Arnold, or Dwaine Johnson. Ladies, look at the female actress. They are not some sort of sex bomb that was started by Marylin Monroe, look for ladies before her. Almost all are well balanced, not over or under.

A fit body is the best temple for the Holy Spirit. Ballance life between the psychology and body is the key to a happy and productive life that I am still striving for. God bless you all able to reach that sweet spot of balance all your life.

Have a blessed week and please do share this article if you find it interesting. You never know who will be blessed, God bless.