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Yo, What’s Up Fellow Humans!

So get this – earlier today I was just strolling through the park, earphones in but not really listening to anything. That’s pretty usual for me – if I’m not chatting with someone, I’ll pop on some tunes.

But this time, nada. I was just soaking in the sounds around me.

And let me tell you, the conversation I overheard between two ladies passing by gave me the perfect idea for this blog!

One woman was telling the other how obsessed guys are with going to the gym these days, that they’re literally killing themselves trying to get ripped. She was all “they’re having heart attacks and everything!” Then she laughed and said “If only they put that effort into building a career, they could land themselves a great girl.”

That made me slow my roll to hear how her friend would respond.

And this other lady clapped back, “Yeah right…girls know those buff bods are just a flash in the pan!”

At that point I had to speed back up before I crashed into someone eavesdropping too hard. But I was bummed to miss the rest of their chat.

Still, it got me thinking, as humans we sure have a funny way of prioritizing fitness!

See, what popped into my head was – at the end of the day, what we really need to stay relevant and survive in this world is intellectual fitness.

But physical fitness is the hot trend and passion in the market right now. Everyone wants the gym body, the six pack, all sculpted to some ideal shape.

And there’s another craze happening too – mental wellness. As in reducing stress, anxiety, depression and finding inner peace.

Both of these are selling like hotcakes! People are buying into it all.

But here’s the rub – why does no one seem to care about intellectual fitness?

It’s like we don’t want to work on expanding our intellect, imagination, critical thinking, gaining knowledge. No one seems to have hobbies that feed the mind. But hobbies are so critical for intellectual growth!

Instead, we’re all convinced we need to stay “busy” with our so-called “responsibilities” and “routines” of life. Being “busy” is even a status symbol now. The busier you appear, the more important you must be, the more attention you get.

Personally, I probably know only about half the people who make any effort to nourish their minds.

To be honest, it really cheeses me off when people ask me “so how’s work going? Where are you working these days?” and other inane questions like that.

I wish people would ask me “Yo, what have you been reading or writing lately? Where did you travel recently? Picked up any new skills or hobbies?”

I don’t know why most folks don’t see the relevance of intellectual fitness. Or why fitness just means having a ripped body and a smile on your face.

Ignorance is bliss, I guess. If you don’t know anything, you’ll be carefree and happy.

But imagine taking that blissfully ignorant person and putting them through a workout. You’ll get a fit, smiling exterior. But start talking to them and you’ll quickly realize there’s not much going on inside.

So think about it – is our idea of fitness pointed in the right direction?

Do you just want to be a fit, smiling shell of a person? Or will you strive to be an engaged, dynamic individual who is growing themselves while also uplifting society?

Now some might argue you can’t do anything without a healthy body and peaceful mind.

To that I say, when you have intellectual fitness, you will automatically take care of your body and mind. You’ll achieve substantive fitness of both, not just surface level. I won’t have to tell you to do it.

In other words, the real race should be for intellectual fitness. Mind and body will get fit along the way. But if you get caught up in physical fitness alone, the mind will wither.

If you want physical and mental wellness, you need intellectual fitness.

Well those are my random musings on human ideas of fitness, sparked by the chat I overheard. I’d love to hear your thoughts – hit me up in the comments! Til next time, stay curious my friends.

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