Good morning! The air is crisp, the leaves are warm, and the time is now: book your holiday flights to loved ones before the prices start going up! 🛩️ 

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Being healthy is hard. Being unhealthy is hard. Choose your hard.

“Dying is easy, young man. Living is harder.” This quote from Hamilton, the musical, rings true through generations. Life is hard almost any way you spin it. 

Regardless of the circumstances into which you’re born or the choices you make, you’ll likely face numerous hardships in your life. That isn’t inherently a bad thing; they’re a part of our stories. Trials refine us and shape who we are.

Some people might not respond well, might not have support systems in place, or just might crumble under pressure and find themselves at rock bottom. While I don’t wish that upon anyone, Andy Grammer’s song, “Wish You Pain” sums it up nicely. Give the whole song a listen to get the message.

Difficulties are a part of life. They have the power to shape us. It’s an integral part of the hero’s journey to go through trials, overcome them, learn something about ourselves or the world, and be a changed person on the other side.

Okay, enough big picture. What’s the point? 

Being healthy is hard. Being unhealthy is also hard. You get to choose your “hard.”

• Choosing nutrient-dense food over calorie-dense food the majority of the time is hard. 

• Going to the gym when you have to wake up early or are tired from a long day is hard.

• Remembering to get up and move or stretch throughout your day at a desk job is hard.

• Finding time in your schedule for at least a few hours per week of exercise is hard.

• Skipping over the chips and picking up fresh produce in the grocery store is hard.

• Getting 8 hours of consistent sleep every night is hard.

• Investing in relationships, community, and purpose is hard.

But you know what else is hard?

• Sweating and wheezing after walking a flight of stairs.

• Not being able to get up off the floor without assistance.

• Managing multiple medications for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

• Struggling with body image issues, self-esteem, and feeling like you’ve “let yourself go.”

• Having to forgo plans with friends or family because you fear you couldn’t keep up.

• Living your final decade or two unable to care for yourself.

You’ve got the power to choose

While that got a little dismal, your outlook doesn’t have to be! The actions you take now—and especially the habits, routines, and systems you put in place now—are determining your health both in the present and in the coming decades. 

Sometimes, it might seem like not doing the healthy thing (e.g. going to the gym, eating a healthy meal, etc.) is easy. In the moment, it might be. But the results of the temporary ease are long-term difficulties. If you choose easy in the moment, the hard things eventually choose you.

On the other hand, if you choose to do the hard things in the present, your long-term life will be much easier from a health and activity standpoint. It’s a classic example of short-term sacrifice for long-term gain.

Our modern lives have literally been designed around comfort, ease, indulgence, and efficiency. For the vast majority of human history, just living everyday life was hard! Today, it takes a conscious decision to go against the grain and avoid the easy defaults that surround us.

That’s not to say you should never indulge. Live in the present and enjoy your life today! It won’t all be hard. But by ensuring you make those select necessary hard decisions, you’re setting yourself up for a happier life in the long run. 

Either way, aspects of our life will be hard. And some of it will be totally out of our control. But lucky for us, at least in the realm of health and fitness, we can largely take things into our own hands and choose which “hardships” we face. 

Choose to add a little bit of hard to your “today,” and you’ll be investing in a little bit easier “tomorrow.”

✅ Take Action

Every newsletter's Take Action section will invite you to take small steps to improve your health. Recognizing that we all have different capabilities, I'll offer three different levels of action you can choose to take.

Level 1: Today, choose one physical activity to do that’s harder than the easy thing. Tomorrow, do it again. One day at a time.

Level 2: Make the hard choice to eat 90% nutritious foods today. Leave space for enjoyment of your treat, but let treats be treats, not the norm.

Level 3: Seek out hard things in everyday life. And plan something hard for the future to work toward (a long hike, a race, a weightlifting goal, a body composition goal, a meal plan, etc.).

This newsletter is brought to you by… me!

Interested in becoming a sponsor? Know someone else who might be? I’d love to get to know you and/or your business and see how we can partner together. Reply to this email!

✍️ Drew's Picks:

• Move well at any age: Bryan Johnson, that rich guy trying to live forever, sat down with one of my favorite experts in the field of exercise for a discussion of how to move and exercise from childhood to your elder years.

• Avoid plastic: This episode of Science Vs. was one of the rare ones where the panic-hype is actually a bit warranted. Give it a listen for why and practical ways to limit the microplastics in your life.

• Eat the protein: Michelle Shapiro, a crowd favorite, does it again in this episode about why protein and amino acids are so essential for virtually every aspect of our health.

Have a lovely week. May a falling leaf grace your face with its beauty and show you just how beautiful it can be to let things go. 🍂 

Keep moving,

Drew

The content in Move to Improve is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as medical advice. It is always a good idea to consult with a trusted health professional before making any major lifestyle changes that could have a significant impact on your health. This is not a medical resource, and any opinions and articles are not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. They are not substitutes for consulting a qualified medical professional. Please think critically and take what I say with a grain of salt (aka don’t sue me).