I was talking to my sister on the phone over the weekend when The Grasshopper unexpectedly popped into the conversation and said, “You don’t know how out of shape you are until you attempt to get back in shape.” I think it’s more than a physical reference.

How out of shape are you? You truly won’t know until you make the effort to get back in.

What is shape? There are too many definitions to settle on one answer, so let me give you one I’m comfortable with: Performing at an optimum level.

The dictionary defines optimum as “most conducive to a favorable outcome.”

My takeaway is this: You will have more things go your way when you are in shape.

What have you let slip? Is it something that you were once better at but, now, due to lack of activity, you’ve let it atrophy?

It will take some work to get it back, and once you do, you’ll wonder why you ever let it go away.

Let’s pretend that you used to send off notes to people for no reason other than to make contact and let them know you were thinking about them. For whatever reason, that practice stopped. You’ve thought about starting up again, but inertia keeps your pen unclicked. You’re not likely to have a favorable outcome keeping your cute little note paper in a box. What to do?

START!

All beginnings have a first step. Take it and then see if you can put one foot in front of the other.

Hint: Start slowly enough so that you can easily replicate what you’ve begun.

The Grasshopper could have just as easily said, “You don’t know how deep the hole you’ve dug for yourself is until you attempt to climb out.” I can personally attest that the effort is worth it.

One eye-opening thing I’ve discovered on my trek to get back in shape is this: You miss a lot by staying holed up.

All the best,

John