Activities, Not Workouts
The more I commit to my DWYLT philosophy, the more I realize how powerful it is.
Back in May I went to Destin with my wife, daughter, and my parents. My mom has been playing tennis for over 10 years and brought her tennis gear on the trip with her. She asked me about playing and I said, “sure.”
There’s an argument about when I took tennis lessons as a kid. I say 12. My mom says 6. Either way, I remember taking them and not being too interested. Probably because I didn’t willingly choose tennis at the time. Either way, I didn’t take lessons for long, but I did learn the concepts at a young age.
After playing my mom for four days in a row (and ending the competition in a tie—you can see the uber-competitive taunting and update videos on my Instagram) I was hooked on tennis. When I got back to Atlanta I got a racket and gear bag and joined a team. Since then I’ve been playing 3-4 times a week and I’ve won all three of the matches I’ve played in. Yes, I’m undefeated in my tennis career. Who wants some!
So this is a new DWYLT activity for me. And, just as I’ve noticed with other DWYLT activities—such as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu—I always end up saying something to myself when I’m done: “Where did the last two hours go?”
Do you know what that question represents? It represents the most powerful state of being that one can achieve: presence. In a world where everyone lives in the past and the future, being present is a gift. And DWYLT creates effortless presence.
This is not something I tend to achieve when I’m doing a traditional workout. When I’m slaving away in a gym somewhere, I’m thinking about things that need to be done or things that have already happened. There’s still a certain level of stress there. Now, this may not be the case for you. If you achieve presence in a gym then by all means list the gym as a DWYLT activity. But if you don’t, then stop forcing it.
When I’m out on walks I also find it tough to be present. Sometimes I am, but many times I’m not. You can work to be present in these moments, but I don’t find it nearly as powerful as the effortless presence that comes from DWYLT.
Over the last two weeks I’ve been stressed to the max. We’re selling our house and buying a new one. There’s 376 pieces of paper that need to be collected, signed, and sent to one of a dozen different people. There’s unanswered questions. There’s repairs that need to be done. There are showings that need to be prepared for. There’s a company I need to run (which is really difficult when realtors kick you out of your house seven times a day). And there’s everything else that life throws at you day in and day out.
DWYLT has saved my sanity during this time. For real. Without DWYLT I probably would have reached a breaking point.
So if you haven’t picked up on DWYLT yet, get on it. I really think it will change your life. It’s certainly changed mine. Oh, and if you’re doing a DWYLT activity and want to share it on Instagram, use hashtag #DWYLT so the community can see it.
