The Future You Can Expect
I don’t mean this in a negative or pejorative way at all, but in a reality-oriented way. The reality is that the person has not produced so far, and unless something changes, the future that you can expect is more of the past.
~Necessary Endings, Henry Cloud
What do you expect your future to look like? What are you doing to get there?
Those are two important questions we have to ask ourselves from time to time. And, really, they go hand in hand. There’s no reason to think that our future will look any different than our past unless we have made some changes in our lives.
As I’ve slowly careened into my 40’s, I recognize something about myself that I’ve known for years, but haven’t really admitted. I want things to change with my physical health, but I don’t want to make any changes.
That’s a harsh reality to face, but the truth is, if I keep doing what I’m doing, I’m going to keep getting the same results. My health isn’t getting any better because I’m not doing anything different than what got me to where I am in the first place.
In the back of my mind, I’ve always thought that I just need a couple of months of focused work to get back into the shape I want to be in. I’ve thought that for several years now, possibly for about a decade. But my desire to get back in shape is overmatched by a lack of will to do so. That wasn’t always the case.
At the beginning of 2020, my wife and I started working out regularly. Like six times a week, regularly. We made it a priority. We either went in the mornings after we took the kids to where they need to be, or we would all go in the evening, and we’d drop the kids off a child watch for an hour or so. We were both doing great, and starting to see some results in terms of our overall health. Then the shut downs started, and we never really got back on track.
Well, that’s not entirely true. We started to get back on track about six months later. Then we got COVID, and the last year has been filled with the desire, but a lack of will and a lack of prioritization.
All along I’ve acknowledged that I could do it. I just haven’t. That needs to change. I need to change my approach. Otherwise, the future is going to look a lot like the past.
