All week I’ve been getting pimp smacked by this word ACCOUNTABLE.
And the first thing that comes to mind is that image of the pope washing the feet of refugees. In case you haven’t seen it, here it is.
Now some of you may be saying to yourself, “What does the pope washing someone’s feet have to do with working out weekly?” or “I’m not going to be washing anyone’s stank feet to show I support them!” I don’t blame you, however here’s what my thinking was when it came to being physically fit and healthy:
If I am not where I want to be I only have myself to blame.
I have to push myself.
I have to go hard and workout everyday.
That mentality worked for a few months, twenty-four to be exact, now fast forward to January 26th 2017, three years later. Here I am talking to a good friend of mine on Facebook Messenger about our challenges. And lo and behold ACCOUNTABLE pops up!
Mind you this was before I reached the end of the Facebook Live video that he posted on his timeline. In the video he discussed his inconsistency in his workout regimen, asking his friends to hold him accountable (the exact word he used) for not only being physically fit and healthy but for making sure his actions line up with his words.
A few days later on January 29th, was video chatting with my mother and she was explained how being in her community ‘Biggest Loser’ group is helping her with her weight loss goals, and how her instructor really pushes her.
You get where I’m going yet? No? Okay let’s rewind to two weeks ago when I linked up with an ambitious co-worker willing to put in the work to meet her fitness goals. Monday-Wednesday we go straight from work to the gym. For the thirty to forty-five minutes that we are in the gym we are doing everything as a team. She wants to finish not only for herself but for me who is challenging her to push and visa versa. All I can say is WOW! What a difference it makes in your stride when you make yourself accountable for the people around you outside of family.
So what does Pope Francis, exercise, the word accountability, and Facebook messenger, have to do with each other?
The way I see it is in order for me to be physically healthy and fit I have to have the same mentality the pope had when washing feet of people he didn’t even know.
Bottom line is we were not created to survive as an individual.
We were not created to constantly tell ourselves:
If I am not where I want to be I only have myself to blame.
I have to push myself.
I have to go hard and workout everyday.
Our structure was not created to take on that much responsibility alone. And if you really think about it, that mentality is just as equivalent as washing someone’s stank feet!
So the key is before working out I must ask myself why. Is it a reason that expands beyond myself, beyond looking good? Or is it because I am accountable for my neighbor?