I recently came across a wonderful article in the Times of India (a leading national daily in India). It talked about the fitness mantras of John Abraham, a bollywood star who is much appreciated for his well maintained and toned body. I was amazed by the simple and easy to follow concepts and advice provided by him. Especially, I liked the part on having the right attitude towards your body and health.
Let me summarize his (plus mine) thinking on the ‘attitude towards body and health’.
- Our body should be treated like a temple, in the sense, it should be revered and appreciated for what we have. It is one of the best gifts given to us which we need to take care of.
- We need discipline to take care of our body. And, it begins in the mind. You may take innumerable oaths and resolutions to hit the gym or start exercising or wake up early in the morning and still not able to follow it on a consistent basis. The simple reason is that our mind is still not convinced and our feelings overpower our commitments. We need to understand that we don’t have ‘an option’ to not to do it else our body would suffer sooner than later. We need to accept our flaws, our cravings and work towards a better ‘us’. A happy and satisfied mind is the secret to a happier self.
- John provides a great analogy: he calles himself a cloth horse. He does not keep clothes more than what can fit in a suitcase. The reason is, if you have a healthy body then any cloth will look good on you and anyway, a happy mind will not care much about other people’s reactions. He just offloads any extra clothes and share them with other people.