As the calendar turns on another year, 62 of them to be exact, I have been thinking about my “True Grit Life” and ways I can improve both my overall process and myself. I recently had the opportunity to guest lecture a NYU Sports Marketing class over Zoom where a question on this topic was raised by a student: “Do you ever want to change your process or get better?”
I have my process that involves getting up at 3:30 a.m., making my bed properly and getting out the door before 4 a.m. for my morning march. But over the last couple of months I have learned new ways to improve my lifestyle.
I’ve always had a protein shake for breakfast, but recently I’ve begun adding ginger, beets, lemon and turmeric. It’s one thing to put these foods in your body, it’s another to do it properly and get the most out of their health benefits. For example, studies show that with turmeric, you need some sort of fat and black pepper to help the body absorb it. So back to the students question, the answer is yes, always be improving. Yes, you have your process that you stick with but you want to find ways to improve that process.
Improvement isn’t always pleasant. The combination of the lemon, beets and ginger isn’t a great flavor. But psychologically I feel even stronger because I’m putting the proper fuel in my body and know I’m getting the most out of it. I’m not just sticking with the same old diet all the time. But that doesn’t change the overall process. I’m still up at 3:30, the bed gets made, I have my healthy breakfast and I’m off for my 30-minute march.
Even during theses unprecedented times, I’m using the opportunity of quarantine to better myself. I urge you to do the same. Instead of sitting around, I’ll say to myself, “you have all this time, your home by yourself, why not get better?” I thought my diet was good before, but it can always get better. That’s what I love about the “True Grit Life.” There is always the desire to improve.