Food For Thought 5/9/12

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

"New toy syndrome". Everyone and their mother has gone through this stage of temporary satisfaction, this euphoric, artificial sense of happiness.

Remember when you would see a toy on the shelf in a store, a pair of pants on a clothing rack, or a car in the dealership window? The feeling that you just had to have that thing, whatever it was, and that you would do whatever it took to obtain it? Some time later, hopefully, you got that thing that you longed so much for. Assuming you did, you then caught a case of "new toy syndrome". For a couple weeks, maybe months, maybe years, maybe days or even minutes, new toy syndrome thrived in your mind. Every night you would go to sleep with the thought of your new car in the driveway, and you would wake up with the same thought. Nobody was allowed to set foot in your new car with any type of food. You would drive to work relishing in the new car smell. You might even choose a different parking spot so that people could see your new baby. This is a fun time.

After a while though, "post new toy syndrome" takes place. Now, people eating in your car is tolerable. New car smell becomes plain old car smell. And worst of all, after a long day at work, you come back to your car with the next generation model parked right next to it. A slap to the face. New toy syndrome is over.

By all means, this absolutely does not mean the place in your heart occupied by your new car is vacant or replaced. It just means it isn't a new thing anymore. You are now in a stage where your initial love for the car is being put to the test. Enter the "infatuation or love" stage.

Long story short, if the love you had for your new car, that new pair of shoes, or that awesome action figure was genuine, you would do everything you could to maintain said thing. Whether it be the periodic oil change for your car, cleaning your shoes every now and then, or making sure nobody plays with your Hulk action figure, the effort you put in will determine the longevity of your relationship with that thing.

Moving forward, you've maintained your car well past the "new toy syndrome" stage, and you've more than proved your genuine love for this vehicle. At this point, perhaps you can make a few upgrades under the hood, tint the windows, just something that will make your vehicle more spicy. These upgrades lead to more cases of "new toy syndrome". It becomes a vicious cycle. We can all agree that maintenance, as well as upgrades to things we value are good, right? Okay.

Hold ALL those thoughts.

Let's back track. From the moment you saw that car in the dealership window to when you finally purchased it, what happened? Nothing? Did someone buy it for you? Did you win it in a sweepstakes or something? I'm going to throw this out there, and I'm always open to debate, that if you didn't personally obtain it yourself through true hard work, "new toy syndrome" passed quickly, you were only "infatuated" with the car, didn't do much to maintain it, and definitely didn't put in much effort for upgrades. Again, I'm open to debate.

However, if you had to put in extra time at work, skip a couple nights out with friends and family, maybe even pick up another work shift to buy this car, the exact opposite happened. New toy syndrome hit like your first shot of 151, and lasted much longer than if you hadn't worked so hard to get the car. When it came time for an oil change, you never missed it. And now, two years later, you're upgrading your sound system and throwing a fly set of rims on that bad boy. You plan to keep this car forever.

So what was the ultimate difference between the car that someone else bought you, versus the car you had to bust your ass to get? The difference was the hard work. The hard work, the grind, the grueling hours you put in all made it worth it. Maintenance wasn't even a question, and you developed a beautiful relationship with your car. Now you're putting in more work to upgrade it because you love the thing so much.

I know you're waiting for my connection to fitness. Here it is.

In health, fitness, and life in general, hard work is key. Are you eating what's convenient for you? Or are you carefully scanning the perimeter of your local Whole Foods market buying top quality fuel for your body? Are you chillin' on the recumbent bike reading a magazine in the gym? Or are you busting your ass grinding out the last 50 out of 200 burpees in a team workout? Are you comfortable in your cubicle? Or are you doing whatever you can to move up in the company?

The harder you work for what you want, the more rewarding it is when you get it. But that doesn't mean you stop. They say "It's lonely on top", but what they really mean is "It's boring on top". Once all the hard work is done, if you're truly a go-getter, you're going to hunger for more of it. The product of that will be more rewards! Duh.

I'm not saying to hope for traffic every time you drive through the Holland Tunnel, but in a figurative sense, the more time you spend driving, stopping, going, and maneuvering through the tunnel, the light at the end of it will seem that much brighter.

Go and do (hard) work!