Want vs. Need

Mean what you say and say what you mean...

I am not a - define what "is" means- kind of guy - We all know what is means and we all know what "alone" means! So I certainly feel that we as a people have a common language that we can agree upon and use effectively. When people want to argue over meanings and interpretations it usually means 1) you didn't really understand what was being said, 2) you said or did something that you got caught on and you are looking for a way out, 3) it is a compensation strategy.

Numbers 1 and 2 are pretty easy to understand - #3 can be a bit interesting. A compensations strategy - what do I mean by that. What I mean is when you are not willing to agree upon definitions and meanings you are afraid of committing to an idea and are afraid of being wrong.

Being afraid of committing to an idea or definition will lead you into the trap of not standing for anything because everyone is right in some certain way so how could we possibly have absolute answers. Well - because we do. My absolutes for personal issues that relate to my individual experiences and perspective are not what I am really focusing on here - although you must be willing to make decisions and absolutes for yourself or you are rudderless and easily lost or lead astray. At the same time you must also be willing to admit that your absolutes relate to you and may not transfer to others. And you must be willing to be wrong and admit being so when confronted by the appropriate evidence.

So if we are agreeing upon ideas and definitions (think flat vs. round) we must be willing to take a stance and be willing to be wrong and admit such when confronted with the evidence. Is means Is.

What does this have to do with Want vs. Need in a fitness perspective- Want means want and Need means need.
A want is something you desire - deadlift_______, Bench_______, perform x number of pull-ups, etc...
A need is something you should do for yourself that may not exactly be a want. These are the things we should do but find reasons not to because it isn't - "fun or exciting or something that you are good at doing."

Equivocating over meanings to avoid central issues is how people avoid addressing negative patterns of behavior. We as human beings can rationalize ourselves into anything.

So - Know your wants and your needs and then create the "need" for them to be fulfilled.

And here is where things can get confusing - Did you all see the alternate definition to "need" ? Need has more that one meaning - need as a concept/desire - and need as something you need - like air.

But since we all knew that - we can agree upon both meanings and life goes on!

And on a lighter note - HAPPY NEW YEAR!!