Fixin' To Be in Arrested Development
Jan 06 11:08 AM

Fixin' To Be in Arrested Development

Jan 06 11:08 AM
Jan 06 11:08 AM

No, sad to say, I am not “fixin’” to be a cast member or even an extra in the cult TV show, Arrested Development. However, I did want to mention something that I’ve been thinking about on my rides lately.

Most of you know that I ride my bike several times a week, often in the early morning hours before the rest of my day starts. In one particular part of town where I ride, there’s a stretch of road that lies next to some largely undeveloped real estate. 

It’s a beautiful area, and I can only imagine what it might cost to develop that land for future use. But that’s just the thing, I’ve been riding down that road for quite some time, but nothing ever seems to get done. Sure, the lot has been cleared and the city has put up orange net barriers to designate a working area. It has just about everything that some prime real estate ought to have: a central location, easily accessible, great visibility, etc. Someone has even dumped gravel in strategic places for machinery to drive on — but nothing constructive has actually been done.

Perhaps the owners of the land are waiting on something, but I think it’s safe to say that they’re missing out on a major revenue stream by leaving that land undeveloped.

Of course, when I ride my bike, I tend to think about things a little longer than I normally might, so I’ve been thinking about this land that’s in arrested development. Something about the situation reminds me a little too much of myself, when I couldn’t muster up the gumption to start exercising and eating healthy.

It wasn’t for lack of desire, because I wanted to get healthier and enjoy life.

The problem was that, much like the real estate in Dallas that’s permanently “under development,” I was always fixin’ to start something. I had all kinds of milestones and goals that I could reach, if only I could find the right time to get going.

As an accountant, I could always use my busy season as an excuse to not take care of myself. After all, work is demanding and it’s simply too much to try and do everyone’s taxes and get a nice jog in. Or maybe I would just wait until the kids started playing soccer again, and I could get a little exercise in at their practices. And if my back was bothering me (which it often did), I might postpone things “just a little bit” until I was feeling up to the task.

You get the picture. I was always “fixin’ to” do something, but never actually started. There was always something just out of reach, and I just so happened to never quite get there. I’m guessing some of you might be like me, too.

But, somewhere along the line, I developed a “startin’ to” attitude and actually started doing some of the thing I had resolved to do. Now, I know this is the part where people usually share something miraculous or a crazy new diet tip.

My secret? Walking my dog. In 2012, when I started to exercise regularly, I actually started out by walking my dog.

But you know, it worked out okay. So, I did it again the next day. It seemed easy enough to just do it one day at a time, so I did. In the mornings, I would pray for strength to make good decisions about what I ate that day, and I’d ask for the will to exercise a little.

And that’s my story. I’ve been doing it ever since, though I’ve now traded my dachshund for bicycle and I ride a little further than down the street. At the end of the day, though, I run this website and put things online because I want to encourage other people who are in arrested development. Who just have too much to overcome and are starting way too late in the game.

An overweight CPA in his 50s was able to get things back on track, one day at a time. And I bet you can, too. Follow me on Facebook, and you can see what I’m up to. If you’re really interested, join me on a ride sometime. I promise you won't regret it.

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Ford Baker is a CPA and entrepreneur. He's passionate about helping CPAs gain balance and understand that they can live healthy and balanced lives while having successful careers.

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