Last month I blogged about my “airplane friend” that I met while flying out for the Corporate Wellness Conference. Quick recap: He’s 60 years old, sub-par health, suffered recent life challenges involving losing his job, his house, his partner, etc. Whether or not you choose to believe in forces outside of our control or not, while talking to this man sitting next to me on the plane, it was quickly evident that it wasn’t by complete coincidence that we ended up seated next to each other.
Some how I was able to intrigue him enough to buy the FitBehavior book and be candid with his reaction and feedback to the content. Another reason keep in mind that being selfish is a good thing.
One month later, I’m blessed to say he is more than some person I met on a plane but a real friend that I’ll continue to keep in touch with.
Why Being Selfish is A Good Thing
Earlier this week, we met up for coffee. He happens to be quite the eloquent and thoughtful speaker, so I apologize to him in advance if I butcher his words! He reported that he’d read a few chapters from the book and most notably could relate to Faith Ireland’s message: “It’s Never Too Late…”. He goes on to say:
“For someone like Faith who is physically and mentally pained & unhappy, it would be all too easy to feel stuck and just enough self-pity to grant yourself compensation from taking responsibility for making a change. However, she didn’t let the single moment in time, of the less than optimal state she was in, define her.
“Similarly for me, I’m recognizing that any single moment in time, good or bad, doesn’t define WHO I am or who I want to become.
“There’s a real humaness in the people I’ve read about in the book, that provides me encouragement. Other people have been in difficult times, not unlike myself, and have been successful in overcoming their obstacles.
“I see myself assuming more of a ‘it’s possible’ mentality and breaking down larger goals to more manageable chunks. This applies to my goal of becoming healthier physically, mentally, spiritually. I’ve started walking three days a week near the boat docks where I live. The walking benefits all three facets of my health at once. So yes it’s possible.
‘Ultimately, I’m discovering that it’s not only okay to be selfish, but a necessity. Being selfish is a good thing. As many people might be in the same circumstance, I realize that I wasn’t taking care of myself. Yes, it may show physically in my rounder than desired middle section, but in other facets of my life as well. Crazy thing–it all seems to be connected. You start to fix one thing…it leads to fixing another. Crazy how that happens!”
It’s great to see that my friend is taking steps in a positive direction and the motivation is there. We might need to start talking about GOALS and devising a plan, starting with the end in mind. (Yes, I might have read Stephen Covey’s “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.” Not a bad read!)
More to come on this story…
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Jessica Seyfert
FitBehavior, COO
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“I enjoy staying active playing volleyball and doing crossfit.”
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