Bryant T. Perkins - co-author of The Fitmunist Manifesto. Founder of Fubbz Media.fubbzmedia.comFitmunism is finally here, and it's ready to help you "let go" or "give up" on fitness!
But what is this new word, and why would it promote such nonsense?
Well, Fitmunism is a wellness ideology doubling as a philosophical approach to fitness. It is widely used by those who wish to release themselves from fitness-related goals, failures, and or disappointments through the practice of "letting go."
Alan Watts, who is considered by some to be the father of westernized "Zen" philosophy, is mostly known for his interpretations of what it means to "let go" and to see one's life "just as it is." The understanding is that by "letting go," one can then free themselves from or better navigate the confines of a troubled mental state focused on failure, disappointment, and rejection.
The Fitmunism ideology incorporates similar philosophical ideas to help people feel accomplished in their fitness pursuits inside the gym, yoga studio, spin class, and beyond.
Based on this philosophy, you create the first stages of limited thinking when you set a goal for yourself. You are already on your way towards taking away from the very experience designed to liberate you from feelings of failure, doubt, or fear. What if you attack your fitness efforts from a position of being in the moment?
How much could you gain by just accepting your current body image, actions, and knowledge and progressing forward from there? Additionally, what if there was no "progress" to achieve? Each moment to pick up a weight in the gym, create a healthy meal, or run a lap could begin and end with that effort. The result would be effort after effort and action after action layered one by one on top of each other, forming a consistent series of steps leading you down a path to fulfillment and satisfaction.
How much happier would you feel by just completing each action, accomplishing each effort, and reveling in the successful completion of each thought geared towards improving yourself day after day? I will go out on a limb here and guess that you'd probably feel pretty good about yourself and be more likely to continue creating new moments, new efforts, and further actions.
So try it, try giving up on fitness.
Try focusing on the "fit" moments of your life as they happen. Bask in the glory of finishing the spin class while at the same time not focusing on whether or not you are going to make it to the next one. I challenge you to visit the gym, do your workout to the best of your ability at that moment, but not dwell on the fact that you didn't complete every exercise. Try not to think about the actions you didn't do because, at that point, you are not in the moment. Instead, find joy in what you did complete – just "let go."