Exercise Wisdom

The exercise class had just started when the instructor called out, “Don’t worry about what the person beside you is doing; this is YOUR workout.”

Immediately my mind went to times when I have judged my progress by how I felt others were doing. This holds for life as well as exercise. It doesn’t really matter if their example was positive or negative. The point is this is my life I’m living and not someone else’s. I am the only one responsible for my experience.

I was still thinking about this when I heard the words, “Reach forward. Life doesn’t just come to you; you have to reach for it.” This nugget of wisdom hit me hard. Too often I expect what I want to be within my grasp. Most of the time, this isn’t the case. I need to stretch myself and reach for my dreams and goals. They may seem far away but unless I reach for them I’ll never know how close I can come.

After one burst of intense activity, the instructor said, “Don’t hold your breath; you’ve got to breathe through this.” Wow, she did it again! Maybe I was listening in a different way but I was receiving some wise words to help me navigate life.

The phrase “Don’t hold your breath” is something said to indicate an event is not likely to happen. Some of the dreams I have for my life are so big that others may think they are not likely to happen. Other events are intimidating and have me holding breath, hoping to survive. No matter which case this may be for me, I need to remember to keep breathing. If I just take one step at a time I will keep moving toward where I’m supposed to be.

As the class came to an end I realized it wasn’t just my body that had a good workout. My mind will stay active for quite some time as I reflect on the words that exercised my mind as well.

“How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver.” Proverbs 16:6 NIV