SUBVERT DOMINANT EXPECTATIONS.

I hate seeing people not living up to their potential. I hate seeing ME not living up to MY own potential - which is why I am always trying to make changes for the better. And with what seems like such a culture of underachievement these days, just simply DOING WHAT IT IS THAT YOU ARE SAYING THAT YOU WILL DO will set you apart from others. I fail at this all the time, though hopefully the frequency will become less and less. Maybe overall we're just "spoiled" from being so blessed and we just feel like we should expect all of the good things to come to us without having to work for it anymore.

The Maker's Diet states "Americans seem to accept poor health as a normal consequence of aging...Fully one half of your nerve cells are located in the gut, so your capacity for feeling and for emotional expression depends primarily on the gut (and only to a lesser extent on your brain). By the time you add together the number of nerve cells in the esophagus, stomach, and small and large intestine, there are more nerve cells in the overall digestive system than are in the preipheral nervous system. Most people would say the brain determines whether you are happy or sad, but they have their facts skewed. It seems the gut is more responsible than we ever imagined for mental well-being and how we feel."

THEREFORE, being passionate / creative / actors / artists / musicians / people, that others might look to for inspiration, how much better can we inspire them if we are even in better touch with our OWN "gut" and feelings? I submit to you, that we JUST MIGHT be in better touch with our own gut and feelings if we put good things into the core of our bodies. The more natural, healthy, organic, less man-made or processed food I ingest, the closer I feel to the God who provided it for my benefit.

There seems to be a natural progression that we go to college, graduate and spend our 20's running our bodies down by drinking / smoking / poor nutrition / etc. and then spend the rest of our lives just trying to manage our health instead of striving to have as good of health as we're capable of so that we can really do what we're called to do in this life. Many people don't do what they're CALLED to do as they get sucked into the "get a job just to make money to survive long enough to pay the next bill to justify keeping a job" rut. These are those that will even moreso look to those that are inspirational for inspiration (?!) whether that person is a musician, singer, performer or whatever. Even if they don't feel called to get up and take the microphone, they might feel inspired that just because you're doing what it is that you're called to do, that they too can possibly have their dreams become reality.

A bird that flies, flocks, eats bugs, builds nests and does bird-like things is not BRAGGING about being a bird - instead, it is honoring God just by simply doing what it was created to do. The biggest band in the world leads tens of thousands into WORSHIP (whether they realize it or not) every night that they PERFORM, just simply by doing what it is that they are CALLED to do. And U2 would not still be around and making the impact that they make without this inextricable connection with God above.

And the "expectation of poor health" thing can be applied to many other areas especially since we're Generation X or Y or whatever the hell they're calling us these days - sometimes known as the generation of "casual fridays." Poor health directly ties in with how people present themselves.

I do try to do the best I can with what I have and I think - no, I KNOW - that once we feel better about ourselves and the way we look (which VERY often ties in with wellness and what we put into our bodies), the way we then begin to present ourselves with the way we dress and the shape of our bodies when we are out and about is an outward expression of inner confidence. The #1 most attractive body part - as rated by men and women alike - is a flat, toned midsection. A strong core. A strong core belies commitment and attention to detail. The realization that you're only as strong as your weakest link. Core weakness leads to myriad problems - but when your core (physical and spiritual) is strong, so will the rest of your body and life be.

I have just seen so much of people who have creeped up to 30 or passed 30 already and they've just resigned themselves to the fact that "oh well, its just supposed to happen as i get older." Its ok, I'll just get on a good HMO plan and get plenty of Big Pharma to keep me going. And then invariably, every few years, the dung hits the fan and everyone scurries around worried about their prescription drug plans because they are so reliant on big brother instead of putting their faith in something bigger. Which, candidly, is bulls**t. This is what I've tried to get across in my bio on Bravo Fitness - only without using the word bulls**t. You MUST not rely on a company to give you a health insurance plan. You MUST work to not be any bigger of a burden on the best health care system in the world by TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOURSELF. Even the best man-made system in the world will fail one day. When the fallible nature of man is involved, something WILL break down. And what then of all of those that have built their trust upon this "health care sandcastle?"

The more selfish we become, the more our divorce rate will continue to rise. The more self-centered and less god-centered we become, the more we will look to government and social programs to fill the void of our lack of faith. It is a tenement of virtually every belief-system worldwide that one should be charitable and look out for those less fortunate. WE should be the ones - through our faith - running "programs" for those in need. Not the black-hole waste-pit of ANY government, tax code, beauracracy or political-party. As our faith wanes, our programs will wax larger and larger until like a millstone it will drag us to the place that we deserve - to our knees so that we have nowhere else to look but up.

This selfishness can also be a cause of relationships that fall apart. "Oh well, we're together now, I exercised to be in shape for her and dressed up and acted proper enough in public enough to get her, now I can let myself go behind closed doors." Or, even in front of closed doors. How does that make the other person feel? And it goes both ways ladies. Not that you do EVERYTHING in your life for the other person as ultimately you are accountable to God, BUT it does make the other feel important when you still try to impress them after being together for a length of time - and not just with staying in shape to keep her attention from wandering to someone who will make her feel special by trying to impress her, but with anything that you know she likes that you can do to make her think of you first. Throw that towel in the dryer so that it will be warm when she gets out of the shower. Maybe a picnic lunch on a day when shes not having such a good day. And when you've made a commitment to someone - especially a life long commitment - then there's always going to be a need to make things new or renewed and special for the other person. Keep her satisfied with YOUR affection so that she won't have to look elsewhere.

The underlying theme is that we should simply ALWAYS strive for excellence and not give in to underachieving since the world EXPECTS that. The world EXPECTS you to be fat, out of shape, and sick. The world EXPECTS you to stifle creativity and go with the way things have always been done. If you're not thinking and not being creative, ruggedly individualistic, then you can be more easily controlled to fit into some person's or government's confines. The world EXPECTS you to bounce from lover to lover without a second thought as to what you could have done better to wait for the right one and / or to keep your attention focused on the one you've actually gotten instead of having a wandering eye. Being normal is being in debt, out of shape and hopeless. Don't be normal.

Subvert the dominant expectation and your life will become what it truly is supposed to be.