Spring into Action

What is it about spring that turns on the juices of life?  What is it about spring that makes one eager to take on a new endeavor?  What is it about spring that energizes one to march forward into new territory?  Is it the waning of winter; the lengthening of the day’s sunlight?  Is it the bursting forth of new growth from crocuses, to daffodils, to pussy willow tails?  Whatever it is, now is the time to hop on board with your own burst of spring growth.  As George Bernard Shaw put it, “Life isn’t about finding yourself.  Life is about creating yourself.”

Now is the time to spring into action!  You want that self to be ready for the coming months, when the sun shines more than the dark prevails; where the outdoors beckons you to get out there and take a walk, hike around the lake, play a round of golf, paddle a canoe, hop on a bike, or fly across the lake on a pair of skis. A body in shape can move more efficiently, more powerfully, more smoothly than a body grown soft and lazy from a winter of hibernating inertia.  A body in shape can breathe more easily and actually enjoy exerting itself.  What do you want for you and your body?

Just as a baseball player knows he needs to exert himself in spring training in order to enjoy a successful season, so does the everyday golfer.  It’s now, while the March madness and the April showers are in force, that one can get a head start toward more stamina, more strength, and more flexibility.  In fact, this goes for anyone who wants to enjoy the freeing days of summer with rejuvenating vigor and vitality. 

The kicker, of course, is that knowing what one needs may be a no-brainer; but doing what one needs is harder than catching a greased pig in a muddy field..  After all, how many people do you know that very candidly will tell you: “I need to lose weight, get stronger, and improve my cardio”; and yet, they are still stuck in “saying” rather than “doing”.  How frustrating is that for them and for you?  How do you get from dreaming and wanting to being a healthier person?

Ronit Baras, founder of the Be Happy in LIFE program, gives the following rules for navigating toward a happy life and achieving your goals:

1. Know where you’re going

2. Believe you can get there “one step at a time”

3. Acknowledge the facts and recognize what you have to work with

4. Roll up your sleeves and get moving; do the one thing that can be done right now

The first rule, Know where you’re going, is paramount to all that follows.  If you don’t have an end in mind, a direction to go, then it really doesn’t matter what you do.  The second rule, Believe you can get there “one step at a time”, lets you break down a goal into small steps.  This stops your wild mind, from shrieking that this whole goal is so overwhelming, why even start.  Taking one small step forward leads to another step.  Your wild mind calms down,   “That wasn’t so bad.  I think I’ll do two more steps.” to “Yes! I can do this!”

The third rule, Acknowledge the facts, is a strategic assessment and personal acceptance of the situation.  “This is the problem (I have no endurance).  This is what I can do NOW (I can walk for five minutes every day).”  Rule number four, Roll up your sleeves and get moving, is the trigger to action.  Baras says, “The first step to getting your goal is to start moving.  You need to do something.”

And therein, my friend, is the challenge.  As human beings we are inherently resistant to change.  We like our routine; we like being in our comfort zone, even if that zone is fraught with dissatisfaction.  We like thinking about changing.  We even like setting goals.  We like daydreaming about eating healthy, exercising, taking time for our self, drinking in moderation, being a better spouse, a better golfer or whatever. 

On the downside, we are satiated with inertia─the inability or unwillingness to move or act.  In the law of physics, a body at rest, or a body in motion, tends to remain in that state unless acted upon by an outside force.  How do we become our own outside force that triggers us to do something?  Nike’s slogan, Just do it, is one way.  Another way is simply to step off into the precipice of change and see how far you can fly.  Once started you then have the law of physics on your side.  You’re an object in motion!  As Michael Breed, the Golf Channel’s dynamic instructor invites, “Come on!  Let’s do this!”