The Slight Edge

This is an excerpt from a book I'm reading: The Slight Edge, by Jeff Olson. I love the message. I highly recommend this book – it’s not just about health and fitness – it’s about creating the life you want. http://slightedge.org/index.php

“You know what you’re supposed to eat. We all do. Fresh fruits and vegetables, complex carbs, salads, whole foods, lean meats, more fish and poultry than beef…You know it, I know it, we all know it. So why do so many of us still go out and chow down cheeseburgers and fries every day?

I’ll tell you why: because it won’t kill us. Not today.

It’s not the one junk-food meal; it’s the thousands, over time. Eating the burger and fries is just a simple error in judgement. Not eating it, a simple positive action. Eating it won’t kill you – today. But compounded over time, it can and will. Not eating it won’t save you – today. But compounded over time, it can and will.

Why do you walk past the exercise bike? Because it’s easy. If you don’t exercise today, will that kill you? No, of course not. You know what you need to do to stay healthy and feel fit and live a long life. Get your heart rate up, a little over normal, for twenty minutes, three times a week. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it. And it’s easy to do.

But it’s also easy not to do. And if you don’t do it today, or tomorrow, or the next day, you won’t suddenly drop dead, and you won’t suddenly put on twenty pounds, and you won’t suddenly lose all your muscle tone and flop around like a marionette with his strings cut off. But that simple error in judgement, compounded over time, will take you down and out.

The difference between success and failure is not dramatic. In fact, the difference between success and failure is so subtle, most people miss it. They hold the philosophy that what they do doesn’t really matter. It’s not hard to see how people come to this understanding of life. I don’t blame them. It’s completely understandable. It’s just not the truth.

The truth is, what you do matters. What you do today matters. What you do every day matters.”