We’re all different.
Some of us are big, some of us are skinny, some of us right in the middle. Some of us are tall, some of us are short, some of us have fast metabolisms, some of us have slow metabolism. Despite all of these differences, we’re all after the same thing: to love and be loved, to live a long life full of family and friends, and have a job or passion that makes us excited to wake up every single day. Due to our genetic make-up, the ‘long life’ and “to be loved” part of your goals might be tougher than others. If you have a family history of alcoholism, diabetes, and heart disease, you are going to be at higher risk for those issues. If you were raised by two parents who were both overweight, chances are you’re probably overweight as well because you were raised in that type of environment.
You can’t chose who your parents are, and you can’t control your genetics. It’s like playing a MMORPG like World of Warcraft or Everquest. You go to the character select screen, you close your eyes, and you click the “random” button. The game rolls an imaginary set of dice and you end up with a completely random creation. You really wanted to be a Half-Elf but ended up with an Ogre? Tough ****. You were hoping for an Iksar (lizard dude) and you ended up with a Fae (fairy race)? Tough ****. (These are EQ terms by the way, I never got into WoW). After the initial disappointment settles, you learn about your race and character class and adapt your play style to have the most fun with it.
Life is no different. The body and genetics you have now are the ones you were born with. You can either complain about your genetically ‘slow metabolism’ or the fact that you ‘can’t gain weight no matter what,’ or you can accept the fact that this is who YOU are. You may have a crooked nose, big ears, bad eyesight, whatever. Unless you want to pay for plastic surgery and liposuction (which is cheating, boooo), this is who you are, and this what you have to work with. Make the most of it!
What do you want to be when you grow up? I don’t care if you’re 40 years old and 400 lbs, you still have plenty of growin’ up to do. You can blame the fact that you’re overweight on your dad and grandfather being overweight, or play the hand you’re dealt and start doing something about it! There’s always going to be somebody who has it easier than you, who rolled a better character in this RPG we called life. Who cares? They got lucky, and you didn’t. It happens. Some people win the lottery, the rest of us are stuck finding other ways to make a living. Those people who have it easy will never truly appreciate the hard work associated with a healthy lifestyle and self-made fortune.
This might sound weird, but I’m glad I haven’t won the lottery and I’m glad I wasn’t born with perfect genetics. It makes me appreciate what I have now because I had to really work for it. I’m one of those people blessed/cursed with a lightning fast metabolism. I’ve spent the past 7 years working out and the past 3 years really analyzing my diet so that I can put on healthy weight, trying to find 3500 healthy calories a day (it’s not easy). I have friends who can look at a set of weights and suddenly his arms get bigger. I have other friends who struggle to lose weight no matter how little what they eat. Not fair right? Welp, life isn’t fair. Deal with it!
Life is too damn short to complain and make excuses. Besides, everybody has their own problems, nobody wants to listen to yours. I plan on being on this planet as long as possible. I plan on raising a great family, and I plan on watching my kids and their kids grow up. I try to take steps every day to get healthier and stay in shape.
No matter your age, it’s never too late to start making those changes. You can either blame things outside of your control, or you can suck it up and do the best with what you’ve got. Don’t feel sorry for yourself, because nobody wants to hear it. Get started now:
Who’s with me!
-Steve
