Pierre Reverdy said, “There is no love; there are only proofs of love.”

I love that quote!

When I first read that it immediately made me think, “There is no being healthy and fit; there are only proofs of being healthy and fit.”

We can say we are something but unless we act, and ultimately do, we’re not anything. Ugh! But it’s so much easier to just say we are than it is to do right?

The whole being vs acting thing proves that it’s much easier to just act the way you want to be, than to be the way you want to be.

When I got the inspiration to start this service (almost 3 years ago now), I was at Ernst & Young. After spewing advice to partners and colleagues and even clients, I realized something:

Everyone wants to be healthy and fit.

But, not everyone is.

Instead of focusing on being healthy and fit today and this weekend, focus on proofs of being healthy and fit.

We all think we act because of the way we feel. Typically, if we feel tired, we act tired right? If we feel goofy, we act goofy. Etc.

However, studies prove that if we act a certain way, we’ll feel that way.

Think about that for today and this weekend. Feel tired? Act energized!

When the going gets tough, ask yourself the question, “What would a healthy and fit person do right now?”

Then do it.

Boom.

There is your proof.

So, every time I leave NYC to visit my family in Long Island where I grew up, I take the subway from 59th street to 34th Street, Herald Square.

There is an underground Burger King in the Herald Square station and I have to pass by it to walk out of the subway station.

This Burger King is always blasting music. And it’s really good music! Music that makes me want to start dancing.

I always crack up laughing in disbelief at BK’s decision to play such loud music.

I like all sorts of music but when I exercise, I like to listen to something that gets me going. It has to have a good beat. It has to make me think and dream a little. Inspiring, if you will.

It can be rap or electronic or rock or pop. Doesn’t matter. It depends entirely on the beat.

Anyway, this Burger King always plays awesome music! And I always crack up, because when I hear awesome music, the last thing it makes me want to do is stuff my face with Whoppers and fries.

The music they play makes me feel good. It makes me want to dance and/or start exercising. I purposely walk slowly so I can enjoy it!

Yet, every time I walk by it’s crowded. Maybe people can’t get enough of their ‘Burgers and Beats’ but it’s puzzling to me.

Maybe music just doesn’t have the same impact on people as it does for me?

When you hear Rocky music does that make you want to eat? It certainly doesn’t for me. It makes me want to exercise and pretend I’m Rocky!

Good music evokes emotion and we all have our favorites.

What if every time you were craving something that’s not MBT approved, you turned on your favorite music?

The key is to make sure you have your favorite music handy.

Try it. I’ve been experimenting with this and it works like a charm.

“Whoomp there it is!”

P.S. A long time ago, I wrote a post entitled “How can you be a DJ in your life?” that explains why I want to be a DJ.

…is that in the long run, the short run becomes the long run.

If it act likes a duck all the time, it’s a duck. It doesn’t matter if the duck thinks it’s a dog.

It’s still a duck as far as the rest of us are concerned.

I tell people to be who they want to be. I also find myself saying act like you want to be.

The problem with being is it’s too ambiguous. What does be actually mean? Act on the other hand, is actionable.

Doing is possible. But being?

You could spend your time wondering if what you say you are is really you. Or you could just act like that all of the time.