Ain't nobody got time for that!

Recently, one of my cousins posted on Facebook about how she got stuck in an elevator while at work. She was good-humored about the incident – but maybe because she and the other occupants had been eventually freed! (Thank you, St. Louis Fire Department!) She and some other people cracked a few jokes about getting stuck in an elevator while on the clock at work, and she posted a meme that said: “Getting stuck in an elevator at work – ain’t nobody got time for that!”

I had a good laugh reading all of the posts, but the meme (and her experience) made me think about the whole “ain’t nobody got time for that!” sort of thing.

I remember watching an episode of a show called Third Watch where the character Fred and his wife Faith are stuck in an elevator and Fred starts to have a heart attack. When it comes to something like being stuck somewhere and a medical emergency strikes, time is of the essence! In an instance of someone having a heart attack, people need to act fast to get them medical attention. I have read stories and seen videos of things happening to people while getting stuck in an elevator. Getting stuck in an elevator can be a scary experience and for someone with a medical condition or who has a medical emergency, things can go from bad to worse. This is one of the reasons why I dread using an elevator. I have seen videos of so many accidents happening on elevators, and as someone with social anxiety, getting stuck in an elevator with complete strangers can be nerve-wracking.

Then I also think about the whole “time” concept of the thing. What if there is someone in a hurry when they get stuck in an elevator? But, more importantly, NO ONE really has the time for the inconvenience of getting stuck in an elevator! They could be tired after a long day at work and just want to get home to their family. Or they could be on their way to helping someone in need.

Plus, thinking more about this, it made me think about how I have been more selective with how I spend my time. I have a job that keeps me busy and working 4 days a week, so when it’s a work day, my free time is iffy, Sometimes I get busy with work and it can take me hours to be able to do things like respond to Facebook comments or reply to an email. I am also more selective with how I spend my FREE time on my days off. I only have three days to do whatever the heck I want to do – go to the gym, binge watch a TV show, read a book, study for an online course, etc. – so I put that free time to good use! Having a job has made me recognize that my free time is valuable and that I must guard it very carefully. This includes making sure I don’t waste ANY of it. Plus, one of those 3 days has me on a schedule, so if I’m not doing one thing during a certain time, I am doing another thing! After I have moved on to the other thing, the thing I was previously doing gets bumped to a later time if it needs more attention.

So I’m not going to waste my time getting into a debate with an anti-vaxxer who is some complete stranger thinking they could hijack my friend’s Facebook post by getting on my case about how I support getting kids vaccinated. (Anti-vaxxers can be extremely argumentative! They be all like “I don’t believe in vaccinating my kid and neither should you!”) I am not going to waste my time crying over the past or bringing up old issues with a person who is DEAD and can’t do a damn thing to me anymore. I am not going to waste my time trying to convince an ex-friend that she was WRONG about me and that it was unfair of her to end our years-long friendship over a misunderstanding. (Been there, done that!) I am not going to waste my time over drama on Facebook or getting into arguments with people who are invalidating my feelings about something. I am not going to waste my time complaining about things that are out of my control or resurrecting old shit to throw at people.

Nope. Ain’t nobody got time for any of that!

Sure, I occasionally DO “waste time” sharing funny memes on Facebook or browsing my Pinterest feed, but that’s how I relax and unwind. Those kinds of things make me laugh and they inspire me. That’s not so terrible!

So how we choose to spend our time is our own personal choice. Everybody has the same 24 hours in a day and everybody gets to decide how they use those 24 hours – unless they are at work and have no choice but to spend some of their 24 hours doing their jobs! But for the free time that we are given, we can choose what to do with it. It’s a personal choice and we shouldn’t have to defend our personal choices to anyone. Because, ya know, ain’t nobody got time for that, either!        

A fitness goal vs. a weight-loss goal

Around the middle of last year, I made some dietary changes because of a heart scare. I thought these changes would improve my health. I also decided that I needed to exercise more often. The exercising happened here and there, but not as often as I wanted it to. This was why one of my New Year’s resolutions for this year was to exercise every day. I want it to be a daily habit.

I am very happy that since I made those changes, I have not had any chest pains or heart problems since. Seriously, 6 months with NO chest pain has been pretty freaking awesome!

But today someone shared with me a “weight loss” tip. And while I appreciated the info (to eat 6 small meals a day instead of 3 regular meals), this made me think about how the changes I have made might be seen.

Without a doubt, I could stand to lose some weight. I know this. But my recent goals – to eat better and exercise – are not based on any desire to lose weight. They are completely based on my desire to get healthy and fit. Especially fit.

In my sporadic attempts to exercise in the past, I often ended up on the ground or hunched over, huffing and puffing. I know I am out of shape. I used to exercise all the time as a teen and more often as a young woman. That all tapered off after I had kids. I ran a bit here and there, but not for exercise. (Mostly to run after my kids, to catch a bus or to run to a building before they closed!) And, sure, I did calisthenics here and there. But nothing on a continual basis. Nothing constant. And I really DO want it to be constant.

But I’m just so out of shape! Ugh!

I don’t want to be out of shape anymore. I want to be physically fit.

Sure, losing weight would be nice. Dropping a few pant sizes would also be nice.

But losing weight or being skinny are NOT my goals. Being healthy and physically fit are my goals.

I mean, I look at the athletes on American Ninja Warrior and I think, Wow, those people are in shape. They are in prime shape. Top physical form.

I want to be in top physical form, too. That is my goal.

Not losing weight or dropping sizes. Those things are nice, sure, but not what I have my sights fixed on. I have my sights on being healthy and on being fit. I have fitness goals. And I think those are the kinda goals I’ll be more happier to meet.