There are so many of us who wish and dream a lot but somehow lack the will to take steps to make them a reality. How can we build this so called will? Well, there could be many ways of building one’s will like getting in to tough mental exercises, reading a lot of self help books and so on. But the point is that somewhere we have to get going. If you are not a sports person (and if you are not the initiated), then the real medicine is to have simple physical stretch goals and keep stretching the goal itself as and when you keep achieving it. The goal can be anything from touching your toes without bending your knees to running a mile or jogging. Jogging can be really a demanding activity and one really needs to jog in order to better understand its benefits with respect to building or enhancing one’s will. (Better check your fitness before hopping on to such activities). When one pursues such a goal daily, it brings in not only a sense of accomplishment which is more tangible, but also a lot of motivation. This kind of physical stretching equips one with the tenacity to stretch mentally and walk the extra mile, be it at home or work. And the spin off is good digestive system and doing away with bottles of “Digene” or “Himcocid”. When such a physical activity is being taken up as a family, it only serves multiple purposes. Infact, many of the Top management executives pursue some form of physical activity (ranging from running to playing tennis) to improve their perseverance and may be this quality of stretching is what keeps them on the top.
The topic assumes much importance in today’s context. The change in lifestyle (& job style) has rendered us unfit not only to run a mile but even to climb a flight of stairs. A typical morning queue before the elevator at office is a real testimony to this. Even at a relatively young age, many of us are bestowed with symbols of prosperity (big bellies to name one), an add-on benefit of fat pay packets. A quick glance (without venturing in to statistics) at today’s workforce would reveal how the “resources” (or the workforce) are grossly out of shape and lacking physical vigour. To put it simply, most of us cannot stretch! Added to this, the height of comfort that we have at home (from coffee maker, water heaters to automated shoe polishers), one hardly needs to move a hand or shake a leg before landing directly on the revolving chair at one’s desk. Even mild form of routine physical activities can ward us off from fatigue and boredom, helping us to gain the much needed spirit. Playing games in the weekend (like Shuttle cork) can be a very good energising activity to recharge our battery and it incorporates the winning spirit which is very much needed in today’s rat race. It adds to the glow in the face as well.
I remember a short story that I read when I was in the School Primary. A rich man, suffering from digestive disorder, visits a doctor on his horse cart. The Doctor, a shrewd man, examines him but insists that he will disclose the medicine only to the cart man. The rich man, surprised, returns to his cart but the cart starts off without him and he ends up reaching home running behind it. The story goes on that after reaching home so tired, he has a sumptuous meal, thus realising the importance of physical activity. A Sound mind dwells in a sound body and there can be no two different views about it. So, the question is “How much can you stretch physically?”.
