TJ's Gym Weekly News 10/12/2019

It often feels like there’s something in the water.

But it turns out, it’s just good, solid people, working hard to make their lives, and their friends’ lives, better.

Message from TJ

Norman Lear is the creator of some of televisions classics: All In the Family, One Day at a Time, Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, and many others that have been etched into the minds of multiple generations of TV viewers.

Lear has won a number of Emmys, most recently this year. He has also dedicated his life to many different social, political, and cultural causes and was a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2017.

Here’s what I find the most interesting. This year, he signed a three-year-deal with Sony.

He's 97.

When asked about working till he’s 100, his response was: “The fact of my life is, I don’t think about it a lot. I suppose I’m thinking about it more now… I like waking up in the morning…”

He also talked about how his years were something he has, not something he is. This resonated with me thinking about the interactions I have with people all day long, day in and day out, year after year. When talking about their weight loss, fitness plan, knee injury etc, it's sometimes hard for people to differentiate what they have and who they are.

Motivation is also something that people tend to get twisted. External motivators are great for the short term, but we all know that internal motivators actually move the needle.

I need the right music, I can only workout at 9am, I need motivating people around me. etc. These are all examples of chasing the unsustainable, unnecessary, and unreliable.

I have a favorite line from my days in construction: "If you can jump it, you can caulk it." If you make a mistake, up to a certain point, you can create a quick-and-easy fix. We do this in our quest for self-improvement, and I've seen it happen in-person a thousand times.

People leap the chasm of internal motivation, turning to the thing that turns them on, the thing that’s usually a quick fix. The only problem is that caulk doesn't last. It soon cracks and collapses, leaving the problem even worse than if you’d fixed it right the first time.

Internal motivation is also defined as acceptance that you have to do it yourself. You have to find a way to drag yourself out of bed at 5am on a rainy February morning. You have to spend six months, every day, doing your PT exercises for your shoulder. You have to say no to your friends at the thirty-year reunion when they want to do a round of shots to celebrate.

Sooner or later, that chasm becomes too wide. You have nowhere to go but internally, to stop, look around, and ask yourself why you're constantly searching and not bearing down and just doing the work that needs to be done.

The good news is that we all get there eventually, and the journey is the goal. Don't stop, just keep doing the uncomfortable.

As always and forever, I'll be here when you’re ready to have the conversation.

NEW YOUTH FITNESS - REGISTRATION IS HERE!

Our next 8-week session starts Monday, October 21st. All classes will remain on the calendar, with the possible exception of the Sunday ages 4-6 classes in Corte Madera. Be sure to let us know if you’re interested in that class, so we know to keep it on the schedule!