Passion and Purpose in your Workout

You need both to keep going. Finnish these two sentences
I stay fit because/for ________________.
I like to do ____________ as part of my workout/ fitness routine.

If you had a hard time answering these questions or your blanks read something like vanity and cardio then your heart might be in the right place but you need to dive deeper into your reasons if you want to make healthy living a lifestyle vs a trend.

 Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.
~Oprah Winfrey

So lets talk about passion, a good example that I think we can all relate to is your career. Some people choose a career path based on passion, others out of necessity or chance. If you end up working a job you don't particularly care for and you don't need anything from it well chances are you will quit.
Now some folks will pick up a workout routine because they are afraid of what will happen to their health if they do not stay fit. Others stumble upon the subculture by chance, they meet some friends who are avid hikers, runners, swimmers, bikers, etc. Now unless you develop and nurture this new habit it will fade into a chore, or worse, something you dread. You need to constantly reevaluate your mindset and dig down to the reason why.
 This is a place many of us fear to go, we fear it in religion, politics, history, science, and more. Now I am talking about the big human topics, but it is all the same on a smaller scale in each of us. The great human minds that challenged popular belief were the ones that survived. Without this awakening we would all still believe the world is flat and that smoking and doughnuts were OK. So why may never be much deeper for you than I want to look good, but in my opinion that makes fitness a chore. We need to create purpose.

Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.
~John F. Kennedy

Now finding a purpose in you fitness routine stems from a passion. If you are passionate about the planet you can make a purpose of bringing a garbage bag with you on your daily walk and picking up your neighborhood or local trail. If you have a passion for making friends and having fun then you can make a purpose of having a standing girls night where you all go to a Zumba class and go back to somebodies house after for a healthy treat.
 Don't just make it a workout, make it a part of your life! Make it who you are, mold it to your lifestyle and have it custom tailored for you by you. I guarantee you will be happier and accomplish more with your fitness than you ever have before.
This isn't a new thing either, just look at all the subcultures of healthy living. Triathlons, run/bike clubs, swim teams, yoga retreats, team/extreme sports, hikers, martial arts, outdoor recreation, group fitness, etc. All these groups have die hard followers who swear by it and are dedicated to their sub fitness culture. You know why? They love it! They found passion and purpose in their fitness.You can probably go ask the skier if he worked out today and he might say no. The truth is, its still fitness, but it is something you enjoy and that changes the focus and the reason. These people have moved beyond the routine and have created a lifestyle.

You can do this too, stay tuned for more posts and a weekly highlight on a fitness subculture. You can save this blog by click on follow this blog off to the right side of the page. Thank you for reading and if  you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment or submit a question at the bottom of the blog.