November 23, 2023 • 16 mins
What if the key to achieving your fitness goals was simply expressing Thanksgiving? Today, we are shifting the spotlight away from our relentless quest for more and instead, focusing on the power of thanksgiving. We'll explore the biblical perspective on thanksgiving, reminding you that being thankful for your body and health is the first stride towards fitness success. Together, we'll examine and unravel the 'never enough' mentality that is often prevalent in our health journeys and start celebrating the goodness we already possess.
Are you ready to make the most out of your health and fitness journey through an attitude of thanksgiving? Seasoned with intriguing insights, our conversation also delves into the positive impact of a thankful mindset on mental health, and how it can diminish anxiety, depression, and stress. We'll guide you through practical ways to foster thanksgiving and how to serve God with our bodies by giving back to others. Let's step into a space of thanksgiving and, together, embrace the peace and fulfillment that comes with being grateful for our bodies, our health, and the opportunities we have. Tune in, and let's cultivate an attitude of Thanksgiving, not just for the season, but for a lifetime.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Aaron O'Connell (00:03):
How can we take our bodies, our health, our
fitness, our physical image andgive it to the Lord?
We need to find things to bethankful for.
We need to start doing thingsout of thankfulness, not out of
desire, and want let's do thingsout of Thanksgiving, not thanks
(00:28):
wanting.
Welcome to the WHY to FitnessPodcast.
I'm your host, aaron O'Connell,and today I want to wish
everyone a happy Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is actually myfavorite holiday.
A lot of people's is Christmasand all that stuff, but I really
(00:49):
love Thanksgiving because it'sthe same gathering of everybody,
but without the noise and thegreed and all the presence and
materialistic things thatChristmas brings along.
Don't get me wrong I lovecelebrating the birth of our
(01:11):
Lord and Savior, but I feel likeI tend to do that almost every
day and don't need this specificChristmas day to do so.
But that is why I really loveThanksgiving, and that's what
this podcast is all about isThanksgiving.
(01:33):
A lot of us, especially in thehealth and fitness realm, tend
to give up Thanksgiving no, I'mnot talking about the holiday
but they don't realize howimportant it is of living a life
of Thanksgiving.
Instead, it seems likeeveryone's living a life of
(01:56):
thanks wanting.
You see, the definition ofThanksgiving is an expression of
gratitude, especially to God,or, in another definition, if
you're looking up on Google, isa public acknowledgement or
celebration of divine goodness.
(02:16):
God is so good.
We should be publiclyacknowledging and celebrating
all the greatness that God hasdone for us, but instead it
seems like everyone is in thisperpetual rat race, always
looking for the next thing.
You see it all around in thehealth and fitness realm, you
(02:39):
see it in the gym.
The coin phrase never besatisfied, always wanting more,
always looking to this nextthing, it never being enough,
always needing to be leaner,always needing to lose a little
bit more weight, always wantingto add more size.
We're not even talking aboutthe pursuit of money and fame
(03:02):
and likes on Instagram, but I'mjust talking about the health
and the physical image.
Even Christians, a lot ofChristians, are constantly going
to health and fitness for allof these things that they want.
It's like they forget the Psalmof David, the very first line,
(03:24):
verse 23,.
The Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want, I shall notwant, but everyone's just
wanting the next thing, the nextthing, the next thing.
(03:46):
I've already done a wholepodcast on gratitude and all of
the physical impacts, the mentalhealth impacts by all the
research and biblical insights.
If you haven't listened to thatpodcast, I highly suggest going
back and checking out that pastepisode about gratitude,
because this episode is notabout gratitude, it's more about
(04:11):
Thanksgiving.
What do you mean?
Aren't they the same thing?
Oh, yes, they are, but we needto cultivate the spirit of
Thanksgiving in everything thatwe do.
Psalms 104 says enter his gateswith thanksgiving and his courts
(04:31):
with praise.
Give thanks to him and praisehis name.
The way we enter into God'scourts, his gates, is with
thanksgiving and praise.
We need to be thankful for thethings that we get to do.
(04:57):
Not, I have to do this.
I gotta go work out.
I have to change the way I'meating.
I can no longer eat the thingsthat I enjoy.
That's not the spirit that Godgave us.
(05:20):
We should be thankful for thebody that God has given us,
thankful that we can move,thankful that we still have our
health and, if our health isfailing, thankful that we still
have another chance to makethings right.
We need to find things to bethankful for.
(05:41):
We need to start doing thingsout of thankfulness, not out of
desire, and want.
Let's do things out ofthanksgiving, not thankswanting.
We don't want to be sayingyou're going thanks, god, now I
want this.
We're so quick to go pastthanks to go right to the
(06:03):
wanting.
But instead let's look at thatword, let's give thanks and then
understand how we can give ofourselves.
Give of ourselves not only toothers but to God.
How can we take our bodies, ourhealth, our fitness, our
physical image and give it tothe Lord?
(06:26):
Proverbs 17-22 says a cheerfulheart is good medicine, but a
crushed spirit dries up thebones.
Being thankful and having athankful heart leads to better
(06:49):
health.
But if you're sitting here notgetting what you want, not
having enough, always looking tothe next thing, always with
that crushed spirit, it's goingto dry up your bones.
As I've stated in that pastpodcast, thanksgiving can combat
(07:11):
anxiety, depression and stress.
Even Philippians 4-6-7 says donot be anxious about anything,
but in everything, by prayer andsupplication, with thanksgiving
, let your requests be known toGod.
So even when we have thosethings that we want, we should
(07:35):
do it with Thanksgiving.
When we want that new body,when we want to lose weight,
when we want those abs, weshould request that to God, but
through prayer and supplicationwith Thanksgiving, we should let
(07:57):
those requests be known to God,but we forget about that.
We're not thankful for thethings that we do have the
ability to change, for thebrains, the beautiful brains and
mental capacities that God hasgiven us the ability to choose
free will.
We're not robots.
We have the ability to choosewhat our future is going to
(08:23):
become.
Yes, god knows already what'sgoing to happen, how we're going
to choose, but we have thatchoice every day of what we can
do.
Are we going to do it out ofwant or are we going to do it
out of Thanksgiving?
(08:43):
When we do it out ofThanksgiving, we align ourselves
with God.
We are doing things for Him,not ourselves.
We are keeping Him the Lord ofour lives, not what we want,
because many are a plans of aman's heart, but God determines
(09:04):
the steps.
If we do everything out ofThanksgiving, wouldn't you say
that God's going to make thosesteps a little bit easier?
And when they are hard and welook at and say, wow, let's
rejoice in my trials, forthey're going to produce my
endurance and produce mystrength, care, produce my hope
and do it still be thankful forGod and all the things he's
(09:26):
given us, even when we have verylittle.
Go.
Look at that famous Philippians4-8,.
I can do all things throughChrist, who strengthens me.
But what's before that?
I've learned the secret of lifehow to live with a little, how
I've learned to live with a lot,how to go in need and how to
have abundance.
We need to learn to be thankfulin all situations, because when
(09:48):
we can do that, that's when wecan do all things through Christ
, who strengthens us.
Some ways that we can live inThanksgiving is we can have
daily habits that foster thatThanksgiving.
We can keep a gratitude journal, all the things that we are
(10:09):
grateful for.
Anytime you're feeling bummed,go into that journal, read it.
We can express thanks throughour prayers.
We can express thanks by givingback, by going and serving as
part of giving thanksgiving.
I also encourage every listenerto share their thankfulness
(10:33):
with others and to recognizeblessings in community life.
Be thankful for those that arearound you.
Start doing things within yourhealth and your fitness Out of
Thanksgiving for others.
How can you give of yourself ifyou are so focused on self, if
(10:57):
you are so focused on your owngoals?
Are you going to be looking atother people's desires, their
needs?
Are you going to get blinded bythe six pack, all those hours
in the gym, by you not beingable to eat this, eat that, eat
that, eat that.
Because I need this body, Ineed this six pack, I need to
(11:17):
lose that cellulite.
But instead let's stop lookingat those things.
Let's get away from the vanityand start thanking God for this
beautiful temple that he hasentrusted us and that he lives
in.
His Holy Spirit, lives in us,and when we can give of our
(11:41):
bodies to Him and say thank youfor this, how can I thank you
through my body?
I'm going to go work out.
I'm going to go make it strong.
I'm going to go be capable andready for anything you give me,
lord, for anything that deviltries to throw my way, anything
that life throws my way.
I'm going to be able to bethankful for all of it, because
(12:07):
you cause all things for thegood of those that love you and
are called according to yourpurpose.
Romans 8.38.
This is the whole thing behindwhy to fitness, the whole thing
behind my coaching and mycounseling that I do, the whole
program that I offer everybody,because we need to learn about
(12:29):
why we're doing things.
If you're doing it out offear-based goals, of needing
these vanity goals and notgiving to God, not worshiping
God through these things, it'sgoing to be off.
You're going to be stressing weneed to find peace in our
health, peace in our physicalimage.
(12:49):
The only thing we're going todo that is if the reason we're
doing everything points to God,points for thankfulness For
Thessalonians 5.18.
And everything, give thanks,for this is God's will for you
and Christ Jesus.
We need to have a continuallyattitude of gratitude, a
(13:15):
continual attitude of gratitudeIn everything.
Give thanks.
If you're fat, give thanks,you're still alive and you have
the opportunity to get going, tostart moving.
If you're in the gym and you'restruggling, thank God, you're
in the gym and you have thatability.
(13:35):
Even if you are, like I said,if you're going through some
problem, if you have some healthinflection, thank God, you're
still alive and you can startmaking the proper choices.
Today, god is still in thebusiness of miracles.
Miracles still happen and ifyou can start being thankful and
(13:56):
giving your body to Him andstart doing the things that
produce the peace inside of you,he may just come along and give
you that miracle.
Just want to help people findpeace, inner peace over their
health and their physical image,because it's not about
achieving some goal.
It's about finding that peacethat passes all understanding,
(14:20):
and only God can give that.
And the only way you can getthat is if you align yourself
with biblical principles.
And the biblical principle isthat we need to give thanks
always, for everything, to Godthe Father, in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and we knowthat from Ephesians 5, 20.
Colossians 3, 17,.
(14:42):
And whatever you do in word ordeed, do everything in the name
of Lord Jesus, giving thanks toGod the Father.
Through Him, whatever you do,give thanks and start changing
our perspective.
Let's shift the paradigm.
(15:05):
Instead of looking at thingsthat you got to do you have to
do struggling to go to work,struggling to work out,
struggling to eat these thingsno, let's be thankful that we
can have those things and, ifyou're listening to this in
America, be thankful thatthere's a grocery store that
offers you endless opportunitiesto eat food that is going to
(15:28):
allow you to lose the weight, togain the goals that you're
looking for, that you don't haveto be stuck in a place, that
you only have to eat the fewthings because that's all you
can afford, that's all you canfind in the grocery store.
We need to be thankful for thesethings.
Let's be thankful because foreverything created by God is
(15:54):
good.
Timothy says and nothing is tobe rejected if it is received
with thanksgiving, for it ismade holy by the word of God and
prayer.
Nothing is to be rejected ifit's received with thanksgiving.
So ask yourself, am Istruggling with a spirit of
(16:23):
thanks wanting where I'm justsaying thanks, god, but I really
want this, and then you just gogung-ho all about what you want
, or do you have a true attitudeof thanksgiving?
How can we take our bodies, our health, our
fitness, our physical image andgive it to the Lord?
We need to find things to bethankful for.
We need to start doing thingsout of thankfulness, not out of
desire, and want let's do thingsout of Thanksgiving, not thanks
(00:28):
wanting.
Welcome to the WHY to FitnessPodcast.
I'm your host, aaron O'Connell,and today I want to wish
everyone a happy Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is actually myfavorite holiday.
A lot of people's is Christmasand all that stuff, but I really
(00:49):
love Thanksgiving because it'sthe same gathering of everybody,
but without the noise and thegreed and all the presence and
materialistic things thatChristmas brings along.
Don't get me wrong I lovecelebrating the birth of our
(01:11):
Lord and Savior, but I feel likeI tend to do that almost every
day and don't need this specificChristmas day to do so.
But that is why I really loveThanksgiving, and that's what
this podcast is all about isThanksgiving.
(01:33):
A lot of us, especially in thehealth and fitness realm, tend
to give up Thanksgiving no, I'mnot talking about the holiday
but they don't realize howimportant it is of living a life
of Thanksgiving.
Instead, it seems likeeveryone's living a life of
(01:56):
thanks wanting.
You see, the definition ofThanksgiving is an expression of
gratitude, especially to God,or, in another definition, if
you're looking up on Google, isa public acknowledgement or
celebration of divine goodness.
(02:16):
God is so good.
We should be publiclyacknowledging and celebrating
all the greatness that God hasdone for us, but instead it
seems like everyone is in thisperpetual rat race, always
looking for the next thing.
You see it all around in thehealth and fitness realm, you
(02:39):
see it in the gym.
The coin phrase never besatisfied, always wanting more,
always looking to this nextthing, it never being enough,
always needing to be leaner,always needing to lose a little
bit more weight, always wantingto add more size.
We're not even talking aboutthe pursuit of money and fame
(03:02):
and likes on Instagram, but I'mjust talking about the health
and the physical image.
Even Christians, a lot ofChristians, are constantly going
to health and fitness for allof these things that they want.
It's like they forget the Psalmof David, the very first line,
(03:24):
verse 23,.
The Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want, I shall notwant, but everyone's just
wanting the next thing, the nextthing, the next thing.
(03:46):
I've already done a wholepodcast on gratitude and all of
the physical impacts, the mentalhealth impacts by all the
research and biblical insights.
If you haven't listened to thatpodcast, I highly suggest going
back and checking out that pastepisode about gratitude,
because this episode is notabout gratitude, it's more about
(04:11):
Thanksgiving.
What do you mean?
Aren't they the same thing?
Oh, yes, they are, but we needto cultivate the spirit of
Thanksgiving in everything thatwe do.
Psalms 104 says enter his gateswith thanksgiving and his courts
(04:31):
with praise.
Give thanks to him and praisehis name.
The way we enter into God'scourts, his gates, is with
thanksgiving and praise.
We need to be thankful for thethings that we get to do.
(04:57):
Not, I have to do this.
I gotta go work out.
I have to change the way I'meating.
I can no longer eat the thingsthat I enjoy.
That's not the spirit that Godgave us.
(05:20):
We should be thankful for thebody that God has given us,
thankful that we can move,thankful that we still have our
health and, if our health isfailing, thankful that we still
have another chance to makethings right.
We need to find things to bethankful for.
(05:41):
We need to start doing thingsout of thankfulness, not out of
desire, and want.
Let's do things out ofthanksgiving, not thankswanting.
We don't want to be sayingyou're going thanks, god, now I
want this.
We're so quick to go pastthanks to go right to the
(06:03):
wanting.
But instead let's look at thatword, let's give thanks and then
understand how we can give ofourselves.
Give of ourselves not only toothers but to God.
How can we take our bodies, ourhealth, our fitness, our
physical image and give it tothe Lord?
(06:26):
Proverbs 17-22 says a cheerfulheart is good medicine, but a
crushed spirit dries up thebones.
Being thankful and having athankful heart leads to better
(06:49):
health.
But if you're sitting here notgetting what you want, not
having enough, always looking tothe next thing, always with
that crushed spirit, it's goingto dry up your bones.
As I've stated in that pastpodcast, thanksgiving can combat
(07:11):
anxiety, depression and stress.
Even Philippians 4-6-7 says donot be anxious about anything,
but in everything, by prayer andsupplication, with thanksgiving
, let your requests be known toGod.
So even when we have thosethings that we want, we should
(07:35):
do it with Thanksgiving.
When we want that new body,when we want to lose weight,
when we want those abs, weshould request that to God, but
through prayer and supplicationwith Thanksgiving, we should let
(07:57):
those requests be known to God,but we forget about that.
We're not thankful for thethings that we do have the
ability to change, for thebrains, the beautiful brains and
mental capacities that God hasgiven us the ability to choose
free will.
We're not robots.
We have the ability to choosewhat our future is going to
(08:23):
become.
Yes, god knows already what'sgoing to happen, how we're going
to choose, but we have thatchoice every day of what we can
do.
Are we going to do it out ofwant or are we going to do it
out of Thanksgiving?
(08:43):
When we do it out ofThanksgiving, we align ourselves
with God.
We are doing things for Him,not ourselves.
We are keeping Him the Lord ofour lives, not what we want,
because many are a plans of aman's heart, but God determines
(09:04):
the steps.
If we do everything out ofThanksgiving, wouldn't you say
that God's going to make thosesteps a little bit easier?
And when they are hard and welook at and say, wow, let's
rejoice in my trials, forthey're going to produce my
endurance and produce mystrength, care, produce my hope
and do it still be thankful forGod and all the things he's
(09:26):
given us, even when we have verylittle.
Go.
Look at that famous Philippians4-8,.
I can do all things throughChrist, who strengthens me.
But what's before that?
I've learned the secret of lifehow to live with a little, how
I've learned to live with a lot,how to go in need and how to
have abundance.
We need to learn to be thankfulin all situations, because when
(09:48):
we can do that, that's when wecan do all things through Christ
, who strengthens us.
Some ways that we can live inThanksgiving is we can have
daily habits that foster thatThanksgiving.
We can keep a gratitude journal, all the things that we are
(10:09):
grateful for.
Anytime you're feeling bummed,go into that journal, read it.
We can express thanks throughour prayers.
We can express thanks by givingback, by going and serving as
part of giving thanksgiving.
I also encourage every listenerto share their thankfulness
(10:33):
with others and to recognizeblessings in community life.
Be thankful for those that arearound you.
Start doing things within yourhealth and your fitness Out of
Thanksgiving for others.
How can you give of yourself ifyou are so focused on self, if
(10:57):
you are so focused on your owngoals?
Are you going to be looking atother people's desires, their
needs?
Are you going to get blinded bythe six pack, all those hours
in the gym, by you not beingable to eat this, eat that, eat
that, eat that.
Because I need this body, Ineed this six pack, I need to
(11:17):
lose that cellulite.
But instead let's stop lookingat those things.
Let's get away from the vanityand start thanking God for this
beautiful temple that he hasentrusted us and that he lives
in.
His Holy Spirit, lives in us,and when we can give of our
(11:41):
bodies to Him and say thank youfor this, how can I thank you
through my body?
I'm going to go work out.
I'm going to go make it strong.
I'm going to go be capable andready for anything you give me,
lord, for anything that deviltries to throw my way, anything
that life throws my way.
I'm going to be able to bethankful for all of it, because
(12:07):
you cause all things for thegood of those that love you and
are called according to yourpurpose.
Romans 8.38.
This is the whole thing behindwhy to fitness, the whole thing
behind my coaching and mycounseling that I do, the whole
program that I offer everybody,because we need to learn about
(12:29):
why we're doing things.
If you're doing it out offear-based goals, of needing
these vanity goals and notgiving to God, not worshiping
God through these things, it'sgoing to be off.
You're going to be stressing weneed to find peace in our
health, peace in our physicalimage.
(12:49):
The only thing we're going todo that is if the reason we're
doing everything points to God,points for thankfulness For
Thessalonians 5.18.
And everything, give thanks,for this is God's will for you
and Christ Jesus.
We need to have a continuallyattitude of gratitude, a
(13:15):
continual attitude of gratitudeIn everything.
Give thanks.
If you're fat, give thanks,you're still alive and you have
the opportunity to get going, tostart moving.
If you're in the gym and you'restruggling, thank God, you're
in the gym and you have thatability.
(13:35):
Even if you are, like I said,if you're going through some
problem, if you have some healthinflection, thank God, you're
still alive and you can startmaking the proper choices.
Today, god is still in thebusiness of miracles.
Miracles still happen and ifyou can start being thankful and
(13:56):
giving your body to Him andstart doing the things that
produce the peace inside of you,he may just come along and give
you that miracle.
Just want to help people findpeace, inner peace over their
health and their physical image,because it's not about
achieving some goal.
It's about finding that peacethat passes all understanding,
(14:20):
and only God can give that.
And the only way you can getthat is if you align yourself
with biblical principles.
And the biblical principle isthat we need to give thanks
always, for everything, to Godthe Father, in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and we knowthat from Ephesians 5, 20.
Colossians 3, 17,.
(14:42):
And whatever you do in word ordeed, do everything in the name
of Lord Jesus, giving thanks toGod the Father.
Through Him, whatever you do,give thanks and start changing
our perspective.
Let's shift the paradigm.
(15:05):
Instead of looking at thingsthat you got to do you have to
do struggling to go to work,struggling to work out,
struggling to eat these thingsno, let's be thankful that we
can have those things and, ifyou're listening to this in
America, be thankful thatthere's a grocery store that
offers you endless opportunitiesto eat food that is going to
(15:28):
allow you to lose the weight, togain the goals that you're
looking for, that you don't haveto be stuck in a place, that
you only have to eat the fewthings because that's all you
can afford, that's all you canfind in the grocery store.
We need to be thankful for thesethings.
Let's be thankful because foreverything created by God is
(15:54):
good.
Timothy says and nothing is tobe rejected if it is received
with thanksgiving, for it ismade holy by the word of God and
prayer.
Nothing is to be rejected ifit's received with thanksgiving.
So ask yourself, am Istruggling with a spirit of
(16:23):
thanks wanting where I'm justsaying thanks, god, but I really
want this, and then you just gogung-ho all about what you want
, or do you have a true attitudeof thanksgiving?
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