The Process

There are times when we know what is right but end up not doing what we know is right. It is a test of one’s character to come out better of the inertia within us. This piece deals with my story which not only fits into the topic of physical fitness but is a lesson into all other spheres of life.

It was about 7-8 years ago that I started taking interest in walking. I would be very sincere for a couple of weeks and then would give in to the pleasure of having an extended hour’s sleep. This went on for quite some time and there would spurts of activity followed by a lull, which would invariably be much longer than the periods of activity. Some motivation would be derived from a positive message from someone / somewhere (those were pre-WhatsApp days and hence, the paucity of motivational messages! Nowadays we live in abundance of positive thoughts that come along as freely as the gentle warm rays of the Sun that accompany the sunrise!). Many times, a health scare of a colleague, a relative or a friend’s friend would be enough to fire me up for the next week again to wane into the same fate. Why was I running out of fuel sooner or later for something that is so important? Knowing fully well the consequences that binge eating and merry making lifestyle that could possibly land me up someday as a week-long motivation for some other person like me, I could not find an answer to the predicament.

As time progressed and I grew older and with firepower from WhatsApp motivation (never been a frequent FB user), I hit the road with a purpose. It was also a time in which I used to be an active propagator of morning motivation messages that floated across. I had to keep pace with the messages that I sent across to be true to myself. The other motivation for my improved physical activity was the need to punch the paunch. Armed with a smart phone with smart apps was fun to begin with. In spite of all of the right ingredients, again, it wasn’t the consistency that I could be proud of.

Wisdom dawned (I was getting older every day!). I realized that in sharing motivation messages, I was not going places but was only sharing the information acquired by others through their practice. Although I still do share a message or two sometimes, but it has been quite some time since I stopped the buck instead of passing it. Nowadays, I internalize an inspiring message and start practicing. Practicing it helps me in improving myself with the hope that someday someone would notice the change and imbibe it from me. This is how we used to acquire virtues from our parents, grandparents, teachers and elders, in general. It is a recent phenomenon that we see every other person trying to force knowledge acquired by masters on hapless relatives, friends, colleagues and public in general without themselves practicing before preaching. It has reached an endemic proportion in recent times.

I was happy with the progress made in my morning walks which had turned into longer runs as time progressed. The runs would then be completed within shorter timeframes as the focus shifted from distance to speed. Last calendar year was a much more consistent year in comparison to all the previous years. Still there was something that bothered me, the purpose and the process! I started working on the purpose and process. Wanted to make it as simple as peeling a banana and eating it, a far cry of my own self when I used to complicate such matters beyond my own comprehension!

I put forth the purpose in simple terms – to remain physically active till the end comes calling. Defined the process by breaking down my bigger, monthly/weekly goal into a daily goal. As the goal reduced from a far-fetched bigger one to a very achievable daily goal, the focus shifted on completing my daily goal. I’ve been doing this in the last 3 months and 8 days of this calendar year and it has transformed from a burdensome activity to a liberating one! I’m able to cheerfully go about my daily routine packing one hour of physical activity. There is no pressure of overachieving or underachieving but only a matter of joy. Earlier, I used to have weekly goals which was a weekend-heavy regimen. This regimen used to become stressful if not achieved, but not now. I’ve understood from my travails of past 8 years that life is about building the future brick-by-brick, day-by-day instead of thinking about the bigger goal. However, it is important to have the larger picture in mind and it is also important to recalibrate the process through introspection. The outcome of following a well-calibrated daily regimen would invariably be in line with the wish of wanting to see myself as a healthy, fit and agile person with compliant parameters in the annual blood tests. Therefore, the focus has shifted from the goal to the process. I was running out of fuel of motivation because as I focused on the goal, and not the process, and didn’t see desired results as time progressed, it pulled me down. When the focus shifted from the goal to the process, it is much easier to work with.

There’s still a long way to go till we complete this year, but the progress made in the first quarter has been encouraging. With the peace of mind and progress made on this front, I’m more than eager to apply this to other aspects of life. Will keep you posted with more stories from my experiments with “the process”.

P.S. “The Process” phrase is borrowed from the Indian cricket captains who often use this term to explain losses and justify it through better performances as the process “settles down”!