Why do it?

The last two Mondays I've outlined the changes I've made to my diet and the amount of physical activity I do. The next logical question is why put yourself through this?

Flashback to last year ('08). At the time I felt my life was a mess on every aspect and level. I was in such fear of getting laid off, I worked crazy and insane hours. Of course when you do that you neglect other things like: those close to you, your personal finances and your own personal health. Basically your life gets out of balance and falls apart. I was there. Rock bottom.

At certain times you just have to pick yourself up off the floor and say I need to get this mess cleaned up. You have to tell yourself, I'm an adult and no one has to come and save me from this mess (despite what the US Congress might say). So I did. I started looking for an employer that would appreciate my efforts and didn't have a human "resource" policy that made "resource actions" so routine that they no longer had to comply with the WARN act. (Did I just write that out? Yeah, I did. Felt great.) I eventually found my current job which I find very fulfilling. In the process, I had to get my finances in order for me to be able to make such a leap. After making the leap, I suddenly had a life again and was no longer ignoring those who were close to me.

Shortly after starting my new job, my employer came out with a incentive plan that would help reduce my health care premiums. All I had to do was complete a health assessment and find out what my cholesterol levels were at. The opportunity just happened to hit at a time where I was trying to improve every aspect of my life and so I followed through with. It was the incentive (that I shouldn't have needed) to start the journey of taking care my body. After the health assessment I followed it up by joining my employers fitness facilities and the rest is as they say, history.

I realize now that my life could have gotten a whole heck of a lot worse and I really wasn't at rock bottom. But that really isn't the point is it? The point was I acknowledged my life had gotten out of control and I did something about it.