WHY I LOVE THE GYM

The gym has become my sanctuary. I'm able to disappear in the hum of the treadmill, the pain of the weights. I have time to think. I have a method to clear my mind. The gym is where pain and pleasure meet. As I think about it, there is one very clear reason I love the gym.

Life is full of twist and turns. You think you should go left. Only to find out that you should've gone right. You do everything right and still get the wrong results. The good guy loses, the villain wins, the hero is killed. Life can be complicated, confusing, and down right frustrating. The Bible puts it this way:

Ecclesiastes 9:11 NLT
"I have observed something else in this world of ours. The fastest runner doesn't always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn't always win the battle. The wise are often poor, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don't always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being at the right place at the right time."

The truth of this verse is so frustrating it could kill any motivation one might have to do better. Especially, if you have been on the end of "not necessarily." I have been that person. I have been the one that did the right thing, got the wrong results. I am the educated, at times the wise, and quite a few places the strongest. Yet, chance has not been my friend.

The gym eliminates chance for the most part. It is a process that is almost mathematical. In the gym, A + B = C. If you do the work, you get the results. It's predictable, controllable, and achievable. I have started to see the results I'm looking for. I have seen a noticeable increase in strength (I'm lifting more weight than ever before). I have noticed changes in my physical composition. And although I'm not losing weight, I am losing inches on my waist. I'm doing the right thing and getting the right results.

It would be nice if all of life were this easy. However, relationships aren't. You can show somebody love and get kicked to the curb. You can treat people like shit and find that they have pledged their lives to you. You can work hard, no your job, and produce results without getting the promotion or the pay. You can be a lying cheat that kisses ass and find yourself in a well paying job that you are clearly incompetent at. Life is messed up. It doesn't make sense. The gym does and that is why I love it.