The Upside of Terrible

Last weekend was spectacular; my nearest and dearest from college came up for the weekend and good times were had by all.  I was uncharacteristically lax for a few days and presented with brats, cheese, guac, and peanut butter brownies (to my credit at least they were gluten free), my typical eating habits went right out the window.  Come Sunday, I was so laden with sodium and high fructose corn syrup that my heart rate was a solid 30 bpm higher than usual and every part of my body – from my face to my digits – was swollen.  Monday and Tuesday were met with even more awfulness; my belt rested 2 notches larger than normal and I could barely stomach half of my typical caloric intake.  My 2 mile run felt like starting from mile 24 of the marathon and splits on my Tuesday morning swim were nearly 10 seconds slower than usual (yes – 10 seconds per 100).  Finally, midway through my Tuesday evening track workout (over 48 hours after the last of my buddies had walked out the door), the sugar hangover lifted and I suddenly felt like me again.

Throughout the first part of the week, I really beat myself up over my weekend consumption.  About Wednesday, however, I realized just how incredible it was that I had felt so terrible for those few days.  Noting such a horrible feeling means that not only am I highly attuned to my body, but also that this was not a normal state of being for me.  Looking back, I can now see that when I was unfit and overweight I spent years of my life feeling so consistently bad that I accepted it as the status quo.  I did not realize how awful I felt until I didn't feel that way anymore. 

Often times, life can be highly reflective of this sentiment.  It is not unusual to allow a crummy state of being as acceptable.  Maybe it’s staying at a much hated job and telling yourself that everyone hates their job; maybe it’s riding out a nasty relationship with the excuse that all relationships have their flaws; maybe it’s sitting on the couch day in and day out because complacency is more comfortable than change; maybe it’s accepting continued unhappiness as ok or normal.  If we don’t acknowledge what is wrong and believe that we are deserving of something better, it can never be fixed. 

So where am I going with this?  It is a blessing to have a bad day every now and again.  A notably horrible day at work probably means that most days are pretty great; being upset over a fight with your mate means it probably doesn’t happen very often; having a down day means most days are sunny; and feeling completely disconnected from your body for a few days after a glutton-fest means that 99% of the time, you take pretty stinkin good care of yourself.  Living a positive life is no easy task; it takes work to find a job you love, an effort to be a happy person, or, in my case, a strong will to avoid the cheese curds and chocolate cake.  

Love life my friends, live it to the fullest: and work your butt off to be happy and healthy darn it!