if you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward

A lot of times, it takes hitting rock bottom for someone to decide that change needs to be made in his life. This is many times the case for addicts or people with drastic lifestyle “maladies” like being completely irresponsible or unreliable, or even in the case of toxic relationships.

I have a friend who says that he in a way respects people who aren’t ambitious, who aren’t hungry for improvement or who don’t push themselves to reach for their goals or dreams (or even have any to begin with). I of course responded with a dubious, “Uhh . . . why?”

“Because,” he told me, “they aren’t in constant battle with themselves stressing out about what they don’t have yet.”

Fair enough. But as someone who has been driven to transform for the better for at the very least the last decade, I had to call B.S.

First of all — do you remember that very basic principle in physics that states that if you aren’t going forward, you’re going backward? Smartasses like to retort, “No, if you’re not moving forward, you’re just staying still.”

Here’s a mini physics lesson for ya. Picture a train that’s going west at 1mph. Why it’s crawling so slowly is beyond me, but just humor me. For the sake of illustration, let’s say you for whatever reason need to go east. If you started running at 3mph eastward, you’d be going forward toward your target, with the train going against you trying to carry you west.

I swear I know how to draw, but I just don’t care to slave away for hours at depicting an actual train.

Now, I don’t remember the formulas of relative speed and whatnot, and that’s neither here nor there. (You would actually end up going east at a speed of 2mph to the casual observer not on the train, if you actually care. The numbers I’m using here are not impressive. Told you it was a mini lesson.)

But the point is, if you decide to cool it and kick up your feet and sit still on that train, even if it feels like you’re staying still, you’re really going backwards from where you want to be.

Life is very much the same way, with plenty of factors trying to pull us backwards: resistance from others and of course, resistance from ourselves, time, etc.

It’s really hard to keep pushing forward all the time, and that’s why sometimes we just need to unplug and relax for a bit. But what’s important is always taking steps in the right direction, and consistently applying that effort.

In a way, I’m thankful for the fact that half my body was wiped out (neurologically) when I was only 19. What this means is that at least for half of my physical body, steady application is all the more important. If I don’t work out for a couple days, sure, that’s all right, but I can never quit entirely. Any neurological gains I’ve made will drop back considerably, and I’ll be “re-gimpified.” (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, please read my bio. I apologize for the stupid pop-ups, which I’m going to ask Google/Blogger to help me remove.)

This is nature’s way of kicking me in the butt and telling me, hey, you should be taking care of your body anyway, but in case you forget, you’ll the consequences will come at a far higher price than you’re willing to pay.

So believe me, I know that if I’m not doing anything, I’m just going backwards.

I have a lot more to say on the topic and will carry on addressing it for the rest of this week. I just didn’t want you to think that I’d disappeared forever — far from it. I spent last week completely screwing up my sleep cycle (long story), and I’m back with a vengeance! Not only am I committing to restoring a healthy circadian rhythm this week, but I’m also “turning pro” and forcing myself to do my blogging whether I feel like it or not. (Quick aside — regarding my paring down Facebook — that has been fairly successful, although I do have to admit I’ve been Instagramming like an insane iPhone owner with too much power these days.)

You win some, you lose some, I guess. 😛

PS. Since I’m embarrassed of the caliber of my previous drawing, let me show you what I did on Draw Something with just my finger on an iPhone screen. 😊

To moving forward,