I had a conversation with guys in two different law enforcement agencies recently. One from my old agency, the LAPD and the other with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Organization (LASO). We talked about fitness and how important it is on the job. I remember back when I was on we had a height and weight requirement. Times have changed and so has each department. No longer is there a requirement to maintain a certain weight. The deputy with the LASO told me that he has seen guys do a foot pursuit and nearly pass out at the end of it. He also went onto tell me that fitness is a major problem in law enforcement as it with the country in general.
While I talked about law enforcement in the first paragraph, this is not what this post is about. Each law enforcement officer has his or her own story regarding fitness. Some will claim it as part of their life, others will say it is a necessary evil and while others will say, “What’s the bother.”
Our personal story creates the atmosphere of fitness in our lives. That story can start from the past and venture into the future. Our story has an affect on the actions we take regarding fitness.
If you want to create your own personal fitness story that will help you get fit, then here are five steps that I recommend you take:
- Imagine the end of your story in fitness. What would it look like? Who would be the heroes, the villains, and the rest of the cast? How would you like it to end?
- What would the premise of your story be? Would it be heroic? Would there be drama? If you could imagine a prologue, what would it be like?
- Imagine the middle of your story, including all that you did in order to create the end. What did you do to make the story the best possible? What were the highlights and low-lights? Who did you have to meet in order to have the best possible outcome? What were your feelings and actions?
- Get a journal or notebook and start writing that story. Thinking about the end, write every detail to make the final chapter of your fitness story the best possible. And make sure that this story will be a continuing story into the realm of fitness. You can also use your computer to write as well.
- Start living the story each and every day. Embrace it. Teach it.
Right now, you are at a crossroads in your life. While you may have had challenges regarding fitness, you can now start on a path towards a truly fit life. You can make the end you’d like to have, happen. Ultimately, it is up to you. You are now writing your story. Make it a fit one.
As I think about those law enforcement officers and all of them across the nation, I hope they also embrace a fitness story, just as you are.
Cheers,
Bob Choat
America’s #1 Mind-Body Transformation Expert and author of Mind Your Own Fitness