When I cut my workout short one particular day in which I didn’t feel like increasing my workout intensity, I reflected on the above words–overcoming difficulty–which is also the title of a Self-Improvement Study Guide written by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.
If we want to be successful, we cannot negate the fact that we will have to overcome difficulty. On page 59 of Minister Jabril Muhammad’s book “Closing the Gap,” Minister Farrakhan states:
“Success, in any period of time, means the mastery of difficulty. The success that demonstrates the mastery of difficulty produces the ease that comes after difficulty. When ease comes we are in a position of danger, the Holy Qur’an warns those of us who live the easy life, because the life of ease takes the struggle out of life.”
›When we are so use to eating whatever we want and not exercising or not struggling, it will haunt us one day in the form of illness or disease.
If we become sick with disease, we are faced with a new difficulty. On the same page as above, Minister Farrakhan continues his statement about struggle:
“When one does not have to struggle to know; when one does not have to struggle to become successful; when one does not have to struggle, then in that stage of development, one becomes comfortable. But another stage is coming, which will cause us to face difficulty again. And, it is the refusal to face the difficulty that accompanies change that leaves those in ease unwilling to struggle again. They get involved or caught up in a time warp, which then sentences them to death.”
Granted, sometimes I don’t feel like working out at 6 a.m., but I would rather have that difficulty than trying to lose 100 pounds or dealing with some other ailment. I applaud the efforts of Russell Simmons to encourage people to achieve success, eat healthy, exercise and practice yoga in his new book, “Do you!” I’m proud of Dr. Benjamin Chavis for his plans to open the new HipHopSodaShop chain. As quoted in the July 16, 2007 issue of Jet magazine, Dr. Chavis said, “The restaurants will feature healthy foods and beverages, teach business skills to young people and sell hip hop merchandise.”
Even in the July 2007 issue of Black Enterprise magazine, Earl Graves, Jr. discusses the importance of health on the publisher’s page. “We can’t build wealth while neglecting our most valuable asset-our health,” he said.
In our community, portion control is a big problem. We overeat sometimes to seek fulfillment; trying to fill a void when we really may suffer from being “spiritually malnourished.” When we have pure thoughts, we no longer desire impure food or to perform acts that are harmful to our body. When we change the way we think about ourselves, we will no longer accept certain “food” into our minds and bodies.
Let us accept the “Challenge to Change” and be our best. May Allah bless us all with peace, health, wealth and happiness.
(Audrey Muhammad, a certified personal trainer and aerobic instructor, is the author of “The Sister’s Guide to Fitness” and the new audiobook, “Get Fit To Live: Be Your Best You!” Please consult a physician before beginning any new workout or dietary plan. Send questions and comments to [email protected].)
Millions More Movement Fitness Tip: Dance to your favorite songs for 10 minutes each day.
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