Recently I came across this amazing article about Milind Soman, a model always proud of his body, who has evolved into a marathon runner and now reached a new peak in physical and mental fitness at 50. Just read the report and it gives goose bumps just to think of how he even thought that he could do it – the power of the mind to control the body- phew!!

‘Ironman’: Milind Soman completes toughest triathlon in the world

The triathlon includes a 3.8-km swim, a 180.2-km cycle ride and 42.2-km run raced in that order without a break which the participants are required to complete within 16 hours to win the title of ‘Ironman’.

50-year old Milind Soman completed the triathlon in 15 hours and 19 minutes.

The article triggered some thoughts during my early morning walks with a free, uncluttered mind and threw up some lessons I have highlighted here 🙂

Just reminded me that despite my discipline and fitness fetish with my walks, yoga, meditation all these 30 + years, the max limit I have set for myself now, is a 10 km walk or an hour of meditation a day. And even when I do 5 – 6 km at a time a few times a week in the early morning freshness, or 40 mins of meditation daily I am happy. And if I do 10 km a day once a month atleast I am thrilled – something I had spoken about in my earlier article – The Joy of Stretch after taking part in my first 10K marathon past my mid 50’s.

The key is setting a limit in your mind that is a stretch and exciting, yet not so daunting that the battle is lost before it even starts ..or after a month or two of sputtering starts 🙂

Sometimes I feel I would be a decent enough fitness or maybe a wellness coach too and not just a business or leadership coach even though I am no dietician or certified fitness or wellness expert.  And not through being the tough disciplinarian and demanding tough routines or diets, but by gentle motivation, by challenging, pushing, showing the power of a healthy diet, a toned body and the feel good and mental peace. And all this through sharing  my own experiential learnings.

A more holistic approach to wellness can evolve by making fitness or workouts or sports or meditation a part of the daily routine since it matters to you.

I do not know if I have shared the story of one of my business coachees who was 110 kg, something he was concerned about. Through a combo of work and personal goals and an acceptance from him that he was the bottleneck, managed to get him to change – his management style, his time management and work life balance which brought in time for a fitness and diet and family time focus. He lost 20 kgs in 6 months and then more after that I think. He even ended up spending more time with his newly acquired dog and taking walks with the doggie and his wife and his kid. So got some family bonding time too as an added  bonus 🙂

Losing weight was never the goal we worked on – bringing focus on fitness and wellness was! Weight loss or fighting the battle of the bulge  as an obsession can often be a two edged sword so just chill and steadily chip away the pounds and enjoy the journey too.

The power of the ME time focus every day can be amazing, trust me 🙂 That’s the time of the day I love most when the day just starts . When you invest in YOU am sure you would have experienced the highs  too during those inspired bursts when you follow the routine you set out to- be it gymming, walking, jogging, swimming, aerobics, dance, meditation, playing a sport… or just being careful with diet.

A diet of discipline, enthusiasm and persistence can be more rewarding that a diet of restrictions we often punish ourselves with.

The question is do we sustain it over the weeks and months or get sidetracked or give excuses to ourselves or just indulge ourselves and justify it? Who gives the gentle kick then?

The key here is to not try to change this comfort zone on your own – but share this journey and the challenges you are facing with a close friend, your life partner or a genuine well wisher who you can egg you on, who can be part of the highs and lows and the frustrations and who can see you cross the finish line and take pride in just being there!

It’s time to say what the heck – who cares if I am 30 or 40 or 50 – I set my own benchmark and will make my mind my best friend, not my enemy. And I will make my best friend a part of my journey  too by atleast sharing .

At the end that is what matters as the picture says – your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change. Enjoy your journey to a more holistic change

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