All through my 20’s I was an avid gym goer. I would visit the gym about 4-5 times a week and went from a skinny 65 kg 20-year-old to a much bigger and stronger person.
Funny enough though, the attraction of weight training for me was never about a certain look.
I had several labour intensive jobs in college and university and certain tasks I would feel inadequate at. I would even need to ask for help with what should have been one-person jobs. I have always hated the feeling of being reliant on someone. I am fiercely independent.
So, when I started getting stronger it felt great. Every time I would hit a new PB I would feel a wave of accomplishment wash over me.
I slowed down a bit in my gym visits in my late 20’s and early 30’s due to work promotions and extended hours in the office.
This is why financial independence is so important people! Take control of your time.
Instead of doing something that I enjoyed (going to the gym), I was stuck in an office for well in excess of 50 hours a week. This left me too tired to workout.
So not only was I not working out, I was sitting in a chair for 10 hours a day for about 8 years.
Unsurprisingly then, I experienced a back injury in my mid 30’s that required two surgeries. The most recent of which was in September last year.
The first surgery obviously didn’t work, and the recovery from the second surgery has been long.
But a couple of months ago I was in a place, both physically and mentally, where I could return to the gym. My back was feeling much better, and I am in a job that demands less of my time.
I must say, the first few weeks were extremely difficult. Due to my extended time off and post surgical consequences, I was lifting weights that were extremely light. Even lighter than my 20 year old 65 kg self would have been able to lift had he been going to the gym.
It was hard to believe that I had to start from the beginning again. Or more accurately, even before the beginning. I felt weak again like my 18 year old self. A decade of hard work wasted.
After the first few sessions, I started having negative thoughts in my head. “You’re weak”. “Why bother. This requires too much work and will take too long”.
Just around that time though I had a turnaround. I started to feel better. With each gym visit I was now lifting heavier weights. I have now turned the corner where I don’t even fight going to the gym. I am back to my old self again and loving it.
I had forgotten how much I used to love going to the gym and the feeling of self-improvement and pain!
The pain feels so good. It is the feeling of old muscle breaking down and new, bigger muscle coming in. Shocking the body to something new is a great feeling that is hard to explain to a non gym person, but is worth the price of admission alone!
And the harder something is I have found the better you will feel. To get back to the gym has been a huge struggle with all that has happened over the last few years, and I almost gave up multiple times, but that struggle has made the accomplishments so much sweeter.
Final Thoughts
After a big battle and some negative thoughts, I am now in a place where I look forward to going to the gym. I am lucky enough to have rediscovered one of my passions. A passion that I had lost all because of a dedication to work and long hours in the office in chase of the almighty dollar in order to live an extravagant life.
No more. Work life balance is number one, and that includes taking care of my health.
Now I can go back to finding other things that I am passionate about and start adding them back in to my life. Blogging is one. So is providing financial advice. Gym is another, as is volunteering. And of course, spending time with family.
I don’t have to wait until I am financially independent to enjoy these things, but it took me learning about financial independence to re design my life to include these things.
A life that isn’t focused on earn, earn, earn. spend, spend, spend.
With an increasing savings stash, I am gaining more flexibility by the year. Every extra dollar saved has given me options.
I no longer have to take on more hours or do work I don’t want to do to impress anyone. I can say no without fear of losing my job thanks to an emergency buffer.
Progress towards financial independence provides confidence to do things you may not have been able to do without money because of fear of failure.
The blogging, the financial advice business, the volunteering, and the gym have all been extremely difficult.
To blog is extremely nerve wracking to put all your words on a page for everyone to read and judge. Not only that, but it does take a lot of time and dedication.
Likewise with my financial advisory business. It took many hours of study and a large initial cash outlay.
The volunteering is difficult in the sense that we see people who are under so much stress as a result of their finances. We do a lot to help them get back on their feet but I’d love to be able to do even more to help them. I feel their pain and it is hard to feel great about yourself when you see other struggling so much.
The point is that the most enjoyable aspects of my life now, including the gym, are also the most challenging. I don’t think that is a coincidence either.
The feeling of accomplishment is stronger with more challenging tasks. The harder the task, the bigger the growth. The bigger the growth, the greater the reward in the form of personal development and life fulfilment.
Thanks for reading.
The information contained on this site is the opinion of the individual author(s) based on their personal opinions, observation, research, and years of experience. The information offered by this website is general education only and is not meant to be taken as individualised financial advice, legal advice, tax advice, or any other kind of advice. You can read more of my disclaimer here