There is no part of exercise that I like. There is no part of my body that likes to exercise. I am also pretty sure exercise doesn’t like me.
But maybe Nike was onto something there when they coined the phrase “Just Do It.” I see all of these articles and blogs about finding motivation to get on that treadmill. In fact, I have read four such articles within the last twenty four hours. Imagine how many more there are out there.
After page after page of motivation, inspiration, and articles about perspiration, I began wondering if this is really helping? The more time you take to “motivate” yourself, the less time you spend actually working out. Just do it. Get it over with. That is my motivation. The ENTIRE reason I am so disciplined with my workout routine, is because I want it over and done with. So instead of overanalyzing and dramatizing, I just start exercising.
Then this wonderful thing happens where I finish, and it’s over, and I don’t have to think about it, and now I can concentrate on how wonderful I feel, not because I exercised, but because I finished exercising, and did I mention that it is over?
Think about going into a pool of really cold water. You can sit at the edge, staring at it, thinking about how cold that water actually is. Then you can put in one foot, and let your body adjust while you think about what it will feel like on your next foot. You can continue doing this until your whole body has been submerged, two hours later. At which point the sun has began setting and you realize you have just spent all this time thinking about going in the water, and have left no time to actually enjoy being in the water.
So next time you need some motivation to exercise, just stop, because you don’t. Stop thinking, just do it. It will be over before you know it and then you have the rest of the day to enjoy yourself.
How do you get yourself to exercise?
