When the Going Gets Tough...

The gym is a great place. Full of interesting characters doing interesting things. One of the interesting things about the workout experience is the ability to observe people in their underwear doing strange things with machines that may be better used as Medieval torture devices.

One man's adversity is another man's lazy-ass behavior. Watching people do 20-pound leg extensions qualifies as "lazy-ass" in my book. My inner personal trainer wants to yell, "Put some weight on the Goddamned thing! Your shoes weigh 3 pounds!" But, the outer Politeness Man looks away, and figures that they will be gone in a few months - frustrated at not making any progress. Muscles grow in response to adversity - some people shrink.
On Monday night, the 20-pounders were at work, when I heard one of them exclaim, "This is hard!" Oy - mother of God - give me the strength to keep quiet.

Arnold Schwarzenegger used to say that he appreciated the gym because the weights never lied. A 45-pound plate is always 45 pounds. It is only us that changes. That's the charm of the place. We are bound only by our own limits. Gravity and mass never change. On the other hand, you'll never make any progress if you do not test your limits. Lifting light weights does little more than keep you from doing something else that would be more personally satisfying. It is our aversion to adversity that keeps us from finding our limits. It is hard, and it's supposed to be. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. Put some weight on the Goddamned thing, and stop complaining.

While driving home last night, I ran into traffic. In New Jersey, this is becoming a more common occurrance. This traffic, however, was unexpected. I was forced to deal with adversity that was not of my making. I didn't set up the three-car accident, nor did I have a great desire to deal with it. Nevertheless, there it was. I wanted it to be 20 pounds, but it was 150. Forced to deal with adversity ... and, I had to pee.

Adversity, however, is relative. My traffic jam or 150-pound leg extension may be viewed differently by someone who may not own a car or even care that gyms exist. The guy next to me in traffic or in the gym may see these as huge problems, but to others, they are ridiculous issues of the priviledged. Their concern is finding a meal or pushing a shopping cart full of their worldly belongings from one corner to the next. Or, perhaps their biggest priority is making sure they make it through another day without getting blown up. What doesn't kill us is supposed to make us stronger, but maybe it just makes us appreciate what we have to deal with compared to what others do.

And while I'm at it, I'm sick of hearing about the challenges faced by athletes and celebrities who feel like they are "going to war", when in fact, they are playing a sport for our entertainment:

Through injury, instant replay and an investigation, Oklahoma is one step away from turning a season of adversity into a championship year.
or
Penn State women shine in face of adversity. A year filled with emotion and doubts, injuries and angst, came crashing down like a window on the fingertips as Notre Dame blanked Penn State 4-0 in the NCAA soccer quarterfinals.

Try living on food stamps or in a tent in the desert and tell me about adversity.

The next time you have to deal with something that you perceive to be difficult, think about the people who cannot imagine having such mundane problems as finding a really good cup of coffee, a fresh croissant, shoes that fit, a computer that works or a really good doctor.

Put some weight on the Goddamned thing and deal with it. You're better off than most people in the world.

Adversity is relative.

Members of the Army honor guard stand at attention next to the flag draped casket of Sgt. 1st Class Schuyler B. Haynes during his wake at the Frank E. Campbell funeral home, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2006 in New York. Haynes died Nov. 15 in Baquba, Iraq, of injuries suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)