One of my favorite workouts of all time, The Journey, consists of the following:
Armenian ball walk 25 yards
Tire flips 25 yards
25 HPC kettle bell flips
Tire flips 25 yards
Dumbbell walk 25 yards
25 HPC kettle bell flips
Dumbbell walk 25 yards
Armenian ball walk 50 yards
50 pull-ups
Armenian ball walk 50 yards
Dumbbell walk 25 yards
25 HPC kettle bell flips
Dumbbell walk 25 yards
Tire flips 25 yards
25 HPC Kettle bell flips
Tire flips 25 yards
Armenian ball walk 25 yards
The neat thing about this “Journey”, is that you end up where you started, at the beginning. We call this, “full circle”, and ironically, it happens quite a bit to us in life. We go on trips, only to return home. We pursue happiness by taking on more and more responsibility at work, only to find out that happiness comes from simply “being happy” and has nothing to do with our jobs. The journey, in that instance, may become elusive, or even pointless. Understanding the various journeys that we undertake, both big and small, helps us to enjoy them just for their own sake, and has nothing to do in how or where we end up.
Cherish the Journey
Often, when we begin a journey, we anticipate and sometimes look forward to the end. Believe me, after doing the above workout with many individuals, we definitely look forward to the end. But is this something that we should do? No. Looking forward to the end of the journey takes away the enjoyment of being in the moment, of being bored, and of being tired. What we fail to realize is that all of these feelings are the benefits of being alive. Being alive and feeling the life flowing within you are two of the most important elements of the journey. Once the journey is over and you realize your goal, it’s over. You feel a sense of accomplishment but then you look for another journey. Craving the end of one journey and moving onto another journey without enjoying the ride builds frustration, impatience, and negativity.
Applying the Journey in Everyday Life
Taking everything as a journey can benefit you in the long run. Even when going to work, cherish every moment of the trip. From the roar of your engine to the way the sun hits your windshield; take in all of the elements of your trip and bask in them. Stop light? Not a problem, focus on breathing techniques to lower your heart rate or listen to that audio book. If you start feeling negativity or impatience creep in, apply a dose of gratitude and awe and those feelings will subside. The two bundles of feelings, negativity and gratitude, cannot coexist together. When on the second half of the journey (the workout), your body starts to get really tired, especially during the middle sets of tire flips and pull-ups. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself in that instance, focusing on the positive notion that you are still alive and still moving forward (even if others are moving faster than you) can help you get through the pain. Moreover, being grateful that you are still alive and kicking is another way to conquer the pain and doubt that you get when you feel like you cannot go on. This applies to life as well as the workout above.
When the Going Gets Tough
When you wake up every morning, you begin a new journey. Thinking of all of the things that you need to accomplish throughout the day can be overwhelming if you think about them all at the same time. However, if you focus on one thing at a time, using an organizational system to keep you on track, the journey becomes easier since you are using a one step at a time process instead of looking at the entire day all at once. This applies to the many journeys that we undertake, from workouts to losing weight. Look at the individual steps instead of the entire elephant.
Taking one bite at a time and enjoying each step of the journey is what it’s all about. Make sure you enjoy and savor each bite. That’s the difficult part. Our insatiable appetite for more and more drives us to want to eat the entire elephant all at once, and then start on another journey to eat another elephant, and yet another. Slow down and smell the roses. This may sound easy, but it’s not. It takes work, planning, and most importantly, self awareness.
Assignment for the Week
If you are going on a long journey this week, perhaps to visit relatives or friends, you can practice the art of enjoying the journey. When you are on the road, take everything in that you can. Observe as much as you can and become fascinated with it all. If you are a passenger, this is easier to do. If you are on an airplane, this is very easy to do because just the fact that you are flying thousands of feet in the air should be enough to spark some sort of awe, and gratitude! Be grateful that you have the means to travel at will around the world. Some people do not have that luxury. Be grateful for the family and friends that you are visiting this week. Enjoy the entire journey and try not to think of the end of the journey. Practicing this type of deliberate enjoyment will have compounding effects on the rest of the smaller journeys that you take, including the journey of life itself.
Enjoy the ride.
Dr. N