By show of hands: of the Seven Deadly Sins, who believes sloth doesn't get its share of the limelight?
Sloth is more than gluttony. It's more than teenage binge-drinking. It's more than one more cookie. Sloth is the malevolent lack of self-denial. It's self-abuse by abandonment. It's active neglect. It's not a passive process. You have to allow it to happen. Sloth isn't driving a city bus, that will broadside you on your way to work. You don't wake up, hung over and disoriented, with a bad tattoo and Sloth in your bed.
Sloth is what makes you lazy mentally AND physically. Sloth makes you careless with the feelings of others; it makes you arrogant. Sloth makes it okay to not try. Me? I'm fine with failure. I love success. Can't stand not making an attempt. This takes practice, of course. You have to become comfortable with being uncomfortable, as we often say. But this is how success works. This is the way in which the same character elements that earned you a sub-5:00 Fran are going to get you a bigger paycheque this year. This is how your first box jump is going to walk you down the aisle.
I don't care about the stripe of your faith; I don't care which church you'll attend tonight (Mosque, church, temple, DVD player?) I don't care to whom your children will bow tomorrow morning. But I think we can all agree on this:
However our body was produced – through evolution, through creation, through a dovetailing of the two – it's in our best interests to keep it tuned up. If you tend toward the agnostic, you can't ignore the science behind the role of good fitness: your offspring will be healthier. You'll live longer. You'll contribute more – which is your social obligation. If you're Christian, Muslim, Jewish…I personally believe it an affront to your Creator to neglect yourself. Strong muscles? All the better to serve you with, my dear. Good aerobic capacity? All the better to sing……
In faith, as in exercise, simpler is better. Simple and easy are two different things, however. Can't cross the Red Sea? Part the waters, Moses! Can't fix your sore back? Learn how to pick things up better! It's simple, really. The simpler you can make your life, the better you'll live it.
In 2010, I don't care if you get a 400 on Fight Gone Bad. I don't care if you clean and jerk 250lbs. I'll cheer if you do, and be excited in a way that caffeine can never provide. What I really want for you, my friend, is a simpler life. Exercise that's hard but quick. Food that grew up somewhere. Friends without the burden of suspicion. I'd like you to have a story, and I'd like to give you a forum to tell it.
2010 will pass quickly. You're entering it with empty hands. If you leave it without a story, it will be a wasted year. Worse, you'll be guilty of not trying. Your body will show it; your mind will show it. You own 2010. And possession is still 9/10 of the law.