'The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook.'

McDavid

Feb. 4, 2013

Well, we're a month into the new year and all those resolutions have worn off for almost everybody I know. If you are the exception to the rule, take an atta-boy out of petty cash and have yourself a party, it's on me.

Today I am 194.8 pounds of rolling thunder. On Jan. 4, I was 194.0 pounds of rolling thunder. And in the meantime I have been as low as 190 and as high as 196 pounds of rolling thunder.

While some people might accuse me of limp-syncing my entire January workout regimen, I can assure you that it was actually me out there pounding out the miles on the road. But it was also me pounding down the carbs and cookies, which are my greatest nemesis.

Now my excuses usually begin, but certainly don't end, with the fact that I come from a long line of pear-shaped German people who love their carbs in every form, but especially cookies. You combine that with a dread of all things green and it's a recipe for a weight-loss plateau like no other.

While it would be nice to look and feel like those super athletes on TV, the fact is, we're learning most of them have some sort of chemical helper that assists them in looking that way and achieving miraculous physical feats.

William James

Today's inspirational quote comes from American philosopher William James.

"The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook."

How true this all is in our daily lives. How many times have any of us wasted the energy of going down a path of worry only to find out later that it wasn't worth the stress and anxiety that we had put on ourselves?

Or like the line from ""Peggy Sue Got Married" where Peggy Sue says, "Well, Mr Snelgrove, I happen to know that in the future I will not have the slightest use for algebra, and I speak from experience"

But we're not movie characters, and the plots of our lives can't be wrapped up in a 90-minute story complete with a happy ending. So that is why I pound the pavement and run, walk or ride whenever I can.

While I might be the world's slowest human, I know my health is not something to overlook. But at the same time, I think minor fluctuations in weight can definitely be overlooked as long as you're at a healthy weight and you're moving every day.

So my advice, be your own philosopher and dictate your own fate for the day. Run, ride, roll or walk but do something active. It will make you feel better, New Year's resolutions be damned.