Yatsun R. Trainer Exercises
2017, I’m immigrating to Italy. Language, housing, work, people — everything is total chaos. Under the pressure of circumstances, I decide to stop training and eat “whatever” to free up more time for solving problems. This meant that from now on, “eating” wasn’t just a weekly grocery run and standing by the stove three times; it became a constant hunt for what to eat, where to eat, getting there, waiting in lines, and so on. Even the simple, recurring question in my head — “what am I going to eat?” — is exhausting. I used to think about food once a week and take a few specific actions to ensure I had it; now, I’m thinking and acting constantly.
Meanwhile, this “malnutrition” begins to drain me physically. I’m sleeping more, but I have no strength or motivation; my concentration and emotional stability are at zero. I knew this would happen, yet I still hoped I’d “get away with it.” I didn’t. My body and my mind are the primary tools I use, and the better the condition of this “tool,” the higher my performance. Not the other way around. I don’t start taking care of myself when everything is finally going well. I take care of myself, respect, and look after my body and mind so that, through a well-tuned instrument (body and mind), I can BUILD a prosperous life for myself. Otherwise, I simply won’t have the strength. Otherwise, my “tool” is simply incapable of prosperity.
The lack of training might not have been critical for my physical state, but it certainly hit my self-respect. On one hand, I gained 3 free hours a week; on the other, the daily struggle where I conquered myself vanished. It is vital for a man to face resistance. It is vital to “earn” self-confidence. Along with my physical shape, I lost a key status marker. A person in good shape is likely disciplined, not lazy, focused, and more likely to do what is “right” rather than what is “easy” — and all of this is read non-verbally. In other words, I had the ability to make a great impression before I even spoke. And I lost that privilege. I learned my lesson.