Joseph Campbell was a mythologist and writer who was famous for his philosophy on life which was “Follow your Bliss”. To Campbell, following your bliss meant doing what you love and living the life you were destined to. It is similar to the famous American motto of the Pursuit of Happiness. But how many of us can say we are following our bliss?
Given the opportunity, I’m sure the vast majority of us would want to improve at least one aspect of our lives. It’s one reason why New Year’s resolutions are so popular. Interestingly, almost 90% of resolutions are related to exercise and weight loss. Unfortunately, it’s estimated that around 80% of resolutions fail…. only for us to try again next January. It’s a familiar tale in fitness.
I believe the main reason most of us fail in fitness is because our hearts aren’t in it. A new challenge should excite us. It’s an opportunity for us to improve our lives and make a change for the better. However, this opportunity is usually met with dread and cynicism. If we start any task with that attitude, it’s almost always going to feel insurmountable. Moreover, a lot of people just don’t like fitness altogether which is understandable. It is a hobby after all and it’s not for everyone. What I can’t understand, however, is people who hate fitness will continue to try to achieve a fitness goal only to beat themselves up about it if they don’t quite manage it. They feel bad for not being fit but end up feeling worse for not being able to improve on it. It’s as if they are on a continuous cycle of disappointment and I’m not talking about a spin class! My view is that if we really hate something, then we shouldn’t don’t do it, Nor should we feel bad for not doing it either. Life is to be enjoyed so we’re better off doing other activities that we’re passionate about.
One reason I believe people keep coming back to fitness is because they just want to be happy. Society and the media have played their part in programming us to think that how we look correlates to how we feel. There is no doubt fitness can improve our life and well-being. It is a well known fact that regular exercise releases endorphins that improves our mood. It has so many other wonderful benefits and I highly recommend exercising regularly. But it’s important to state that being fit doesn’t sustain happiness either. In my opinion, people on their fitness journey are just really on a pursuit of happiness. They (and I include myself) believe that if they lose weight or have the ‘perfect body’ then everything will fall into place, life will be perfect, and they’ll be happy. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. If we were to achieve our fitness goals tomorrow, I’m sure we’d feel absolutely delighted. However, that feeling would soon run out and we’d develop new goals we’d want to achieve.
Looking back on my own fitness journey, I managed to reach my goal of improving my strength and gaining muscle. I was in the best shape of my life at one point but I still wasn’t satisfied. If a sixteen year old me had been shown a picture of my future physique, I’m sure I would have been ecstatic. However, actually living it didn’t seem so different to what it was before. I became accustomed to the change very quickly as the novelty soon ran out. Plus, I was too busy wanting even more than I already had achieved. Because of this I didn’t enjoy my achievement fully. I also actually regret being too engrossed with my fitness goal.
I was too focussed with the gym and everything that went with it that I sacrificed precious time with my family. In hindsight, I feel my life became slightly lopsided and I lost sight of what was really important in life. Another lesson I learned from all of this was that life doesn’t stop when you achieve one goal. It’s not like the movies; life keeps rolling after the credits. Our goals and dreams are continuous. That’s the great thing about life; there will always be something to strive for, challenges to overcome and new goals to achieve. Moreover, happiness isn’t a destination. It’s actually a biproduct of a well balanced life.
I believe there are many factors in life that contribute to our overall happiness. Our career is one of them. We spend one third of our lives at work, therefore, having a career that stimulates us plays a part in being happy. Moreover, one in five adults in the UK are in debt which can lead to mental health issues. Therefore, financial freedom can provide us peace of mind. Healthy relationships with friends and family are also crucial as they provide support throughout our lives. And of course, health and fitness play a part too. Therefore, it’s important not to become obsessed with only one of these as our lives can become unbalanced.
So, do what you love to do and follow your bliss. Whether it’s fitness or something else it doesn’t really matter. But my advice is that we don’t always need to keep chasing something. There is no gold at the end of the rainbow. Sometimes it’s better just to enjoy the view. Whatever your goals and achievements are, it’s important just to take time now and again to really enjoy the moment and appreciate the experience of just living.
After all, life itself is bliss.
Fitness in Your 30s 