Mr. Twinkles (Day 62)

Communities can be vital, lively sources of feedback and encouragement. But sometimes, depending on conflicts in time and distance or the rarity of your interest, you might find that you are the only blue-haired cat tamer in your city. Or in our case, PCPer. When that "complete" stamp goes up on our picture, it's up to us to keep steaming our zucchini, sweating through another Plank or taking Mr. Twinkles through the flaming hoop one more time. So what can we do in this situation? I struggle with this question a lot. I'm sure that Patrick will have some helpful advice once we get there, but I am trying to come up with some answers for myself.

1.) Realize that your actions got you this far. It's not somebody else's hand feeding you the last egg white of the evening or scraping your quivering ab pecs off of the floor. Similarly, it will be your actions that keep your jumprope oiled and your steamer gleaming. At the same time, appreciate the time, care, and encouragement you received in the PCP community. I know I do.

2.) Build your own community. A community doesn't have to be made of people, unless it's Soylent Green. Your can create your own community from books and articles that support your interests and videos that inspire. Mike, for example, shows a "Monday Motivational Movie" every week. Nothing can fully replace a teacher or human community, but these can be good resources in a pinch.

3.) Stroke Mr. Twinkles and cry because you are alone, so very, very alone.

3.) Be stubborn. Continue even if you think nobody cares. You don't know who is watching you. If Patrick and the other PCPers hadn't put in the effort every day I wouldn't have signed up here. Similarly, that cashier at the local Kmart might be looking for ways to get healthy, or maybe your cousin wants to lose 10 pounds. My mom told me that she stopped drinking Coke because of me. So steam your kale and pound through those sit-ups.