Old Abe. New Abe

as reply to You Make Your Own Decisions

In high school I wanted to be a pro bodybuilder. 

I never confessed this dream to anybody because I knew it was impossible. 

But even my feasible aspirations related to bodybuilding lifestyle never left my mouth. I spent so many hours daydreaming career and life paths related to bodybuilding. Owning a gym that sold fresh-made smoothies and organized amateur bodybuilding and powerlifting competitions being one of them. 

Nowadays I don't have such aspirations. Such seems like just a phase of a long-gone Abe. It's very recent that I've actually been able to look past the concrete (bodybuilding) and peer into my deep-truth (intentions at the time) that I could see that this Abe is still here.

What I loved about bodybuilding that is still with me today is not the muscle, not the chicken breasts, and not the great feeling of the pump when hitting a great workout. The great feeling that made me fall in love had everything to do with the human capacity for change through dedication. That Abe is here now more than it's ever been although it has nothing to do with weights and whey protein.
Re: change through dedication, another principle in body building that seems to be instructive for other areas of life is the idea of progressive overload. You push yourself to the edge of what you're capable of (e.g. adding 5% more weight than what you're used to) which triggers adaptations/growth. Rinse + repeat. 
2021-02-21 15:13:53
And then having to couple that overload with proper rest and nutrition. Realizing that everything is assemblaged together. And thus why many like to call bodybuilding not a sport or hobby but a lifestyle.
2021-02-21 15:15:07