Apart from "looking good", what is my reason for doing bodybuilding?




I have written about this before but I like the poignancy of this question.
The introductory answer to this question for me is the fact that when I turned 18 years old, I had a couple major shifts happen in my life:
1) I was diagnosed with an early form of arthritis called Ankylosing Spondylitis.  Essentially, if I don't stay physically active, my muscles (particularly the ones around my spine) will start to cramp in on themselves.  Every once in a while I have a spasm and it's extremely painful to breathe, so much so that there have been times where I have had to take painkillers for a day or two.
2) For the first 18 years of my life I didn't know that I was allergic to wheat.  Just after my 18th birthday, I was diagnosed with having Celiac Disease and went on a gluten free diet.  This was back in 2008 when "being gluten free" was almost unheard of.  I thought my only options for food were chicken, rice, and vegetables.
Pair a sudden need to stay physically active with a gluten free diet and you pretty much have a recipe for bodybuilding.
But the truth is, I've gotten used to eating gluten free, and hitting the gym 6-7 days a week is a bit overkill for the minimum requirement of just staying "physically active."  So why, then, have I continued to train at this level for almost 8 years now?
Because it constantly reminds me of what it means to be Disciplined.
Every time I step in the gym, I am practicing a lot more than just "picking up heavy things and putting them back down."  I am practicing committing to doing something that isn't easy.  I am setting goals and then working to achieve them (both day to day and over longer periods of time—months, years).  I am stepping outside my comfort zone and asking my body to do things I'm not entirely sure if I am capable of doing—but trusting that I will and that I am ready to take the leap.  I am exiting my head and all the mental stimulation of the day and I am getting back into my body, remembering what it means to feel.  And I am practicing doing something every single day, which is the root of Discipline and the most important thing to practice.
What I have learned through Bodybuilding, I have continued to apply to every other aspect of my life—and oddly enough, it was what I learned playing World of Warcraft that gave me the foundation to learn these things through Bodybuilding.
Where I see so many people falter with their goals is the simple act of Discipline.  Anyone can set a goal.  Anyone can make a plan.  Anyone can buy a dry erase board, hang it in their apartment, write down their New Year's Resolution, but not everyone can practice every single day.  Not everyone knows, really really knows, how important it is to practice something, anything, every single day.
It is this foundational principle that keeps me coming back to the gym.  Have my goals in life changed?  Yes.  At one point, I trained with the intention of competing.  But even after I decided I didn't want that to be my aim in life, I still trained just as hard—if not harder.  And the reason is because I don't want to lose that daily lesson.  I know how easy it is to "think" you know something (and in a sense you do), but the moment you stop practicing it, that skill begins to deteriorate. 
For me, yes, it's about staying healthy.  Yes, I prefer to be in shape than out of shape.  Yes, I need to lift for physical reasons.  But the true reason I show up to the gym every single day (or most days) is because I like to practice Discipline.  I believe it is one of the most important skills a person can cultivate, and as long as it stays fresh, it can be applied to any and every Chief Aim in life.

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