PHYSICAL AND MENTAL PREPAREDNESS
It is not the object of this chapter to deal with a set course of
physical culture, but rather to emphasize the necessity of keeping our
physical house in order. There are plenty of books on physical culture
which can be relied upon and also any number of physical instructors who
are able to advise and help along a set program. There are hundreds of
places, institutions, clubs, Y.M.C.A.'s, and the like, which provide
gymnasiums and every other facility for those who determine to build
themselves up through consistent physical exercise. That is all very
well to begin with, but afterward we must have some simple methods of
our own which will not make it a hardship or a chore to keep ourselves
in trim--_a state of physical preparedness_. It should become a part of
our daily scheme to obey certain, simple rules which tend toward an
_automatic effort_ instead of a discipline, and we should persevere in
these until they become _fixed habits_.
It is no trouble at all to take exercise unconsciously, and we only
arrive at this by turning into an exercise any of our ordinary physical
actions during the day as we go along. For instance, we can sit down in
a chair and in so doing can add a certain amount of exercise to the
action itself--also in rising. With very little effort we can come into
the habit of sitting correctly--posing the body as it should be--holding
the shoulders in proper position--also the chin so that it becomes a
hardship to sit improperly.
All of this has to do with _general physique_. In walking we can go
along with a spring, elasticity, and vigor of motion which forces a fine
blood circulation throughout the entire system. We can stoop over in the
act of picking up some object from the floor and at the same time make
it a matter of physical exercise, and we may take a hat from the rack
while standing away from it, thus stretching ourselves, as it were,
into a little needful action. Putting on an overcoat, or any part of our
clothing, may be done in such a way as to set the blood to racing
through the body. Morning and night--upon getting up and upon
retiring--there is every reason to make it a rule to exercise freely.
The morning exercise wakes us up and sits us down finally at the
breakfast table with a zest for the food set before us. The morning bath
is an agency for good in this direction after we have given ourselves a
good shake-up from head to foot. By the same token, exercises at night
before retiring induces sound sleep and takes away the strain of the
preceding day.
A very successful system is that of exercising in bed. Instead of
immediately jumping to the floor in the morning it is very inviting to
go through some simple form of gymnastics in which the physical
structure is brought into play.
Physical exercise is something which can be carried to extremes. We can
go at the work so intensely that we become muscle-bound and develop some
structural enlargements that we do not need. This happens very often
among athletes. The ordinary man should fight shy of such plans.
Superfluous strength is only for those who have need of it. What we
really want is strength enough to carry us through our daily rounds with
comfort and _a feeling of efficiency_.
In a sense we all live by our wits and these decline when not properly
fed by our general physical organization. Prize fighters are not the
longest lived people, nor are the professional athletes. Their calling
requires extra building up which would be a positive handicap to the
average man whose manner of life doesn't require this super-development.
In other words, there are intemperate methods of exercising just as
there are of eating and drinking. We may easily go too far. Again, we
can sin just as greatly by not going far enough. There was a time when
men of forty were as worn and old as men of sixty-five and seventy are
today. As a matter of fact, nowadays a half-century mark is no longer a
badge of senility when a man has kept himself fit and treated himself
right.
We all have friends who are pretty well along in years by virtue of
their carefully planned physical training, plus their _cheerful
dispositions_. They are as sprightly and companionable as though they
were many years younger. We should come to know early in life what a
large part _good humor_ plays in _physical fitness_. In previous
chapters hearty laughter was extolled as one of the very best of
exercises. It is an organizer in itself and opens up the heart and lungs
as nothing else will do. It makes the blood go galloping all through the
system. It is one of the best automatic _blood circulators_ in the
business.
Laughter takes the stress off of the mind, and whatever is ahead of us
for the day that seems likely to become a burden is soon turned into an
ordinary circumstance. We smile as we go about doing it.
A friend once said to a banker:
"How do you know when to lend money?"
The banker replied:
"I look a man in the eye and then _I do or I don't_."
The friend said:
"I would like to borrow ten thousand dollars--now!"
"You shall have it, Sir," the banker replied.
This meant that the man who asked for the loan was in a state of
physical and mental preparedness. If he had gone into the banker's
office looking like an animated tombstone he wouldn't have had much of a
chance to borrow the ten thousand. It goes without saying that the
open-faced, hearty fellow inspires confidence. There is nothing coming
to the dried-up, sour chap, and that's what he usually gets. And what we
get is largely a matter of our physical well being. A modern philosopher
observed that "the blues are the product of bad livers"--and there is no
doubt but that he was right.
The problem of life is to fill our days with sunshine. In so doing we
shall find that the "little graces" are those which will lend us the
most help. Tiny favors extended, words of encouragement, courtesies of
all sorts, unselfish work carried out in an open manner, true
friendships and love, a hearty laugh, a sincere appreciation of the
other fellow's struggle to keep his head above water, the conscientious
carrying out of all tasks assigned us--these are our helpmates and they
are the products of our physical and mental equipment. Through these we
come into our knack of detecting friends among those who are _the salt
of the earth_.
It is impossible for the person who desires good health to obtain it, or
having it, to retain it, without consistent effort. A watch will not run
without the proper regulation of the mainspring. We must keep up our
activities. We have taken the earth and are turning it into something to
serve us--therefore the need of fine bodily preparedness. Nothing can
take the place of achievement and it comes through physical and mental
efficiency. The one must not be neglected for the other; both must be
cultivated and developed alike in order that each may help the other.
Happiness comes only to those who take care of themselves. It is the
natural product of _clean-mindedness_. No pleasure can surpass that of a
conscious feeling of our strength of character. It is an all important
element in men who aspire to succeed. The man who rises in the morning
from a healthy slumber and plunges into the bath after some vigorous
exercise is prepared to undertake anything. His world seems fair, and
though the sun may not be shining literally, it is to all intents and
purposes. Thus, we go swinging along with a cheery smile, carrying the
message of hope and joy to all those with whom we come in contact. Oh!
it's fine to be physically and mentally fit!