Kicking the Couch Syndrome
As summer is on its way and school is sooo close to getting out you can almost taste it, you probably find yourself daydreaming about what it'll feel like to sleep in on a weekday, the taste of a Dr. Pepper slurpee while you're riding your bike in the golden sun, and chillin'on the couch whenever and however long you want...because hey, you're on VACATION!!!
That's how I am. I love to chill. And nothing says 'chill' to me like eating snacks on my couch...with no to-do list in sight. Crown me the King of Chill.
But I can't help but think that sooo many summers have been lost...with absolutely nothing to show for them...all because of chillin'. Now don't get me wrong, I plan on my fair share of chillin' this summer, but I have to admit that over-chillin' can quickly become a bandit of time. I'm talking about time bandits. They're those invisible little things that somehow rob you of all your time without you really realizing it. And one day you wake up after sleeping in (again!), only to get the memo that summer is officially over, and you have nothing to show for it except those retro shades you bought at the mall...and a farmer's tan. It's because you've been robbed. The time bandits held you up...and took away all your positive growth. I'm talking spiritual...relational...and even physical growth. Hey man, I know what I'm blogging about...cuz I've been here before. This is experience blogging. Hello!!!
So I figured, if I don't take my summer by the tail and make some practical, calculated decisions, chillin' out on the couch will eat up all my time like the Cookie Monster. After a little thinking (and a brief convo with my buddy Dan!), I've made the conscious choice to jump-start my summer and kick the couch syndrome.
Ladies and gents, I am pleased (and freaked out) to announce that I've started the C25K program. That's the 'Couch to 5 Kilometers' program. It's a program designed for folks like me to go from lounging on the couch to comfortably running 5 kilometers. Crazy, eh? There's even an app for it. I invested $2.99 of my very own, hard earned cash into it! And now I'm off to the races... I started yesterday. Yep, I thought I was gonna die for a minute or two. This program has you running 3 times a week, with specific workouts you just follow as instructed. The app also integrates your iPod's playlists as you run. So if you ever have a down night this summer, you might be able to find me gracing Willowgrove's linear parks with my fit-as-a-fox physique! Feel free to join in...
What's cool is that summer hasn't even revved up yet, and I've already sucker-punched my couch with a little discipline. And watch this...cuz here comes the spiritual truth...DISCIPLINE FOLLOWS DISCIPLINE. When you force yourself to push through something, when you force yourself to do something that you might not feel like doing, you are growing discipline! And as discipline grows, so does your motivation to get more disciplined in other areas of your life that has the 'couch syndrome'.
So don't let some time bandit rob your summer of what God wants for you. Buy a cool devotional book, give yourself some kind of physical and/or spiritual challenge. Make yourself accountable by telling your parents and friends about it. Oh, and be sure to still take some time to let the summer sun soak in...
- mr j
Posted on
Thu, June 2, 2011
by Garrett Johnson