Life is Difficult

The Road Less Traveled - M. Scott Peck

“Life is Difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult - once we truly understand and accept it - then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.”

This is the first paragraph from the book The Road Less Traveled. I listened to this audiobook because Nick Saban, like him or not one of the greatest college football coaches, recommended it at the 2014 AFCA Convention in his speech about his life.

This books speaks volumes on how the pain and sufferings from our difficulties is how we grow personally and mentally. There is no easy route or quick fixes in life to reach your full potential. The art of success is plowing straight threw our lives difficulties and accepting it.

Scott Peck explains that without discipline we can solve nothing. With only some discipline we can solve only some problems. And with total discipline we can solve all problems. And this explanation has lead me to repeatedly remind myself throughout the day that Disciple is the heart of all success.

This book helped shape my perspective on life and how to attack it as a 20 something year old. I highly recommend reading. You can also listen to the audiobook for free on app Libby. All you need is your local library card! Don’t want to wait or like reading a physical book? Buy the paperback with this link!

Heart

Your heart is a vital muscular organ that pumps blood throughout your body to your muscles to help you perform well in your daily activities and in your sports. Most young people don’t have to worry much about their heart because it is in good shape. But, building good habits at a young age can prevent cardiovascular disease later on in life. Which is in fact, the leading cause of death globally. Three main topics I will cover about your heart → Diet, Stress, Exercise

- Diet

Every now and then when I tell someone I don’t want to eat something because I am on a diet, they immediately assume its a weight loss diet. Dieting isn’t specifically associated with losing weight. Dieting can also be beneficial for growing muscle and putting on weight, having energy for your sport or activities, or ensuring a healthy heart.

The Mediterranean diet is often considered the best diet for your heart. This diet includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish and seafoods. Additionally its light on meats and dairy which carries a lot of saturated fat which is not good for your heart.

Odds are that you already know this. And instead of diving deep down into the ins and outs of the diet, I think it’d be more beneficial to explain how to apply this diet to your life. Because taking care of your heart is a lifestyle change instead of trying to reach for a goal. So the advice I would give for applying this heart healthy diet is here:

1. The first and most important is changing your mindset. Believe in yourself that you are a healthy person and you will make healthy decisions. As corny as it sounds, your perspective is the most important part.

2. PLAN! Plan your meals at the beginning of the week. Most of us don’t have time to or just don’t know how to make a healthy and good-tasting meal. So look up quick easy heart healthy meals that take 10 minutes to make. Heres some to get you started. → Heart Healthy Dinners in less than 25 minutes

3. Slow down the fast foods consumption. Salt and sugar in fast food is very addicting. So cold turkey quitting immediately will be difficult. Instead, just be conscious of your fast food consumption and reduce it as much as possible. The first two steps will help with this. This is a hard one but an important one. Personally, ever since moving to NYC, I have much more food options in the city so I don’t go to McDonalds or Popeyes anymore. (a slip up here and there every now and then after drinking happens, I’ll admit it) But the important thing is I don’t crave fast food anymore on a daily basis and now its easy to deny even when I go back to Ohio. In the beginning, this is hard, but just stick to it. The other side is a beautiful sight.

4. Lastly, shop at healthy grocery stores like Trader Joes or Whole Foods. And yes, these are more expensive but I’ve found that not only are my home cooked meals tasting better, but I also don’t want to eat out as much because of this. Home cooked meals have been found to include less sodium which results in a healthier diet for your heart!

- Stress

Stress alone can increase your heart rate, elevate your blood pressure, and inflame your arteries which can lead to heart disease. Now, I’m not going to sit here behind my computer and tell you to eliminate stress from your life. Stress is a part of life that doesn’t seem like its going anywhere, and there are good amounts of stress that we need. As we age, it seems the stress grows with us. But I will say learning your own way on how to deal with stress is the best way to combat it and take steps to a healthy heart lifestyle. I’ve tried meditation, reading books on stress, and listening to Sofi music. What I found what worked for me is realizing that the longer I soak in stress and anger, the longer it will take to find the solution to the problem. Skip the angry-elf step, find the solution and move on. Not perfect every time, but trying your best to do this is a step in the right direction. Check out The Stoic Challenge by William B. Irvine if you want to dive deeper into how to deal with stress. Also available for free on Libby!

- Exercise

You know you have to exercise for a healthy heart, I’m not going to beat a dead horse. But here are some tips on how to get started and stay consistent with exercise.

1. Workout first thing in the morning. Exercising is the hardest part of the day for most people, doing it first thing in the morning is the best time possible because you get it done and over with.

2. With it being in the morning^ you’ll be tired when the alarm goes off. Some tips for this:

   • Have your alarm on the other side of the room so you have to get out of bed.

   • Have a bed time the night before so you get adequate sleep.

   • Don’t scroll on social media when you first wake up.

   • Have your workout clothes and shoes out, together, and ready to go.

3. Workout with a friend to keep each other accountable.

4. Do a workout you actually enjoy. Or at least somewhat enjoy.

5. Don’t quit overall when you miss one day. Embrace the loss and do your best to be as consistent as possible. Were human, were not perfect.