How do you judge yours or someone else’s level of FITness?
Most people define being FIT as a measure of what someone can do or how someone looks.
For example, someone can run a mile in under six minutes, bench 300 pounds, finish an iron man in under 15 hours, and/or do 20 pull-ups unbroken. Additionally, anyone photographed on the cover of Men’s and Women’s Health magazine looks FIT. However, are they F.I.T.?
The difference between FIT and F.I.T. is between the ears.
F.I.T. = FOREVER IN TRAINING
While being FIT is a snapshot in time that is often determined by the perceptions and standards of others, being F.I.T. is a mindset that can only be activated internally.
Most people approach FITness as place to “get to.”
For example, “I want to look FIT on my wedding day, so I plan to lose 15lbs by then.” “I want to shave 30 minutes off of my next marathon run.” “I want to be able to back squat 300lbs in three months.” These are common FITness goals. And while setting FITness goals is a smart and strategic behavior change strategy to deploy, it is very likely that this strategy won’t last when divorced from the context of an infinite game–a game without a finish line, played for the purpose of perpetuating the game in contrast to winning the game.
The infinite game context to hold when chasing a FITness goal is that of F.I.T.ness, i.e., FOREVER IN TRAINING. The only way to win in fitness is to continue cultivating and practicing F.I.T.ness.
F.I.T. is not a place to “get to,” rather, it is a place you “COME FROM.”
This is why I prefer to view life as long and not short. When viewing life as short, people have a tendency to prioritize, i.e. “come from” a state of, urgency at the expense of depth, nuance, and sustainable transformation.
Fitness can feel like a chore. Whereas, F.I.T.ness is a privilege and a gift.
Because when you are F.I.T. everything is happening FOR YOU. Falling short of your FITness goal is not a setback, it is
1) Still recognition of the fact that you are, in fact, fitter (trajectory trending upward).
and
2) Inside of the gap between where you ended up and where you wanted to end up is valuable information for how to adjust your efforts as you continue F.I.T.nessing.
You can choose to be F.I.T. right now… The challenge is to remember to keep choosing to be F.I.T. during every one of the 1440 minutes in a day (yes, even while you are asleep).
*I learned about this definition of F.I.T.ness from Dr. Arthur
