My Perspective #76: “Voluntarily sedentary.” Let me explain.

When I took an inventory breakdown* of how my average day of activity versus inactivity played out in my life, it affected me and shook me into action. 

I convinced myself to start intentionally controlling what I could control to a whole different level. 

Since then, I haven’t looked back.

Fact: There are 24 hours in a day.

Lie: There aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done.

Here’s an average breakdown +/- of how my day used to unfold. Maybe you can relate: 

  •   ~6-8 total hours sleeping
  •   ~2-3 total hours spent in the car driving to and fro and wherever;
  •   ~1-2 total hours spent sitting eating meals (what was eaten during those meals is a separate conviction); 
  •   ~2 total hours spent watching tv (I have never been one to do pushups or squats during commercial breaks, despite the fitness gurus’ advice);
  •   ~4-5 total hours minimum spent sitting at work (read blog on posture here);
  •   ~4 total hours of quality time** like visiting with family/friends, watching my child play/participate, doing other various chores/errands or just relaxing. 

Lo and behold the day would be over just like that

Time for bed! 

Okay, so, when I added up all the time sleeping, snacking, sitting and strolling, a lot of the day, if not the whole day, would be spent in an involuntary sedentary state. 

It wasn’t like I could do jumping jacks while eating a sandwich or run 2 miles while sending emails. 

And so I would end up repeating the same hamster-wheel routine the next day and the next until “overnight” I’m weaker, softer, duller, less motivated, and completely out of shape — left only to bask in the days of “yesterday.”

Any extra time that I was able to scavenge, I’d muster the motivation to squeeze in a workout, but mostly I’d end up using that coveted time to be voluntarily sedentary. 

NOPE! Enough was enough!

Given all my newly realized lifestyle epiphanies, I accepted the fact that complacency had officially taken over. I decided I wasn’t okay just being okay. I was no longer okay going through the motions. 

I decided I could still do ALL of the things listed above (and do them very very well) without having to sacrifice my strength, health and fitness. 

And that’s exactly what I did. 

Although it is my heart’s desire to assist and inspire others any way I can, this blog post isn’t a step-by-step method on how to “get there.“ 

Lovingly I tell you, if you care enough about avoiding complacency (or saving yourself from it), you’ll take the time to figure it out. This goes for other aspects of life too, by the way.

It’s sure worth the time and effort to learn, search, discover and implement whichever lifestyle tweaks*** work for you that assist toward a meaningful and orderly life.

Rest assured, you’ll realize, as I have, 24 hours is more than enough time to get everything done (and get them done very very well) in a way that is forever-sustaining and non-punishing. 

Figure it out. 

For a little kickstart, consider becoming an Adherent to an Orderly Way of Life by joining TheArenaDisciplina.com and committing to one of the 4 Lifestyle Modification Challenges. It’s just $4.99/month.

*This breakdown does not account for any time legitimately wasted by scrolling social media, playing games or reading news apps.

**Whether my “quality time” was spent meaningfully or whether it was completely squandered is not the point. That time was still spent in an idle, sedentary state.

*** Some sustainable, non-punishing lifestyle tweaks that I have implemented: I get up early, I make my bed, I limit tv/screen time, I exercise somehow every day, I replace sugary snacks with healthy snacks, I drink more water, I read actual books, I don’t eat past 7:30p and some other things too. 

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