Sixty-nine days.
You know a lot can happen in 69 days. You could change careers, start a new one, or even have your first child.
Life-changing moments can occur over a 69-day period. What if you were one of the 33 minors on October 13, 2010? This is the day 33 Chilean miners trapped for 69 days inside the San José mine were brought to the earth’s surface through a drilled escape tunnel into which a capsule was slowly lowered and lifted by a giant crane.
A lot of hard work, technical prowess and a triumph of fate saved their lives. Neither the miners buried under 800 meters of rock nor their families on the surface in a tent encampment called Campo Esperanza – “Camp Hope” – ever completely sank into despair. That even though for 17 days, before a drill finally reached their shelter, the room where the men were gathered, no one knew if they were alive.
In 69 days, we will have had the pass for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. We will have celebrated all the holidays and joyful moments with our friends and family. New Year’s Eve will have passed and we will be sitting in January 2024. We will have had our first day of snow or big “ice” in Mid-Missouri.
We will have honored a hero, the late Martin Luther King, in our nation. Our end-of-year deadlines will have passed.
In 69 days, it will be January 23, 2024. High school football will be over and basketball and wrestling season will be in full swing. On January 23, I would have safely said that I ate way too many desserts and planned to have the best nutrition, health, and wellness year I could ever imagine with my other buddies. gym at Jefferson City CrossFit. We will have had gains and losses. We will have sadness and joys.
Sixty-nine days seems like a long time, but 69 days was nothing short of a miracle that began on August 5, 2010 for these Chilean miners. These workers, just like you and me, woke up to start their day not knowing what was going to happen.
I was home late one evening after working all day, working out, cleaning the house, making dinner, and preparing for the next day’s activities. I thought about the stars aligning to figure out how to conquer whatever was going to happen in the next 24 hours. I thought, “Being an adult is super hard!” Why are we doing this? Why fill our lives with so many challenges? »
It’s so easy to give up on yourself, especially when you overwhelm yourself with the same challenges every day. We can all agree that we probably share the same goal and live in a similar culture. We work across borders and share many of the same plights. We are between chaos and concentration. We have different unique plans for ourselves and our families.
In 69 days, on January 23, 2024, we will be in the middle of winter. We’ve probably complained about the weather, our physical and mental health at least five, maybe 15 times. You complain about the price of gas while you fill up and the stock market remains volatile.
This is the precise moment to put yourself in the shoes of someone else who is going without it. Who has no children to love and feel the love of one, who has no food on his table. No car. A chronic genetic disease. We have a school to send our children to and most of us know we will get there tomorrow.
When you’re sitting around going about your day worrying about “I’m poor” and “How am I going to tackle another nutritional challenge, get to the gym, or complete another project at work?” When we feel lost, remember that in 69 days, God willing, we have the opportunity to be better humans than we are today.
According to the book “Psycho-Cybernetics,” published in 1960 and written by Dr. Maxwell Maltz, a human can develop a habit in 21 days. This means that in 69 days you have the time and opportunity to develop three positive habits to invest in a healthy lifestyle!
Chances are, if you’re reading this article, you were able to treat yourself to the beverage of your choice this morning. You’ve eaten a meal or two. Maybe you even went to a sporting event or concert recently that cost a penny or two! In 69 days, January 23, 2024, you should put a reminder on your calendar to reread this article to remind yourself of the blessing you have right in front of you.
Here’s your sign to make a list of habits you want to create in 69 days to show yourself the best version of yourself. Throughout the journey, you will have created the best version of yourself.
Identify some daily homework assignments you can do to create this. Invest in your health by going to the gym, reading a book, eating less dessert during the holidays and more protein. In fact, every day, aim to eat between 0.7 and 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. Take 10,000 steps every day. Get out every day. Practice taking at least 30 deep breaths a day. Practice putting your phone away when you’re scrolling through nothingness for over an hour. Train yourself to drink 100 ounces of water per day. Practice helping a neighbor and spreading kindness as COVID spread in 2020. You have the opportunity to shine in 69 days and be grateful for what you just did for yourself, your family and the world.
The Chilean miners survived 69 days of confinement in a stone cage and were given the option of an additional 69 days. God willing, we have 69 days ahead of us to change our lives and those around us. The only person stopping you is yourself.
Maria Holee, a Level 2 CrossFit trainer at Jefferson City CrossFit since 2012, is a CrossFit Gymnastics Certified, 2018 Zonta Achievement Woman and Quality Safety and Research Grant Specialist at the Missouri Hospital Association.
