Exercise as a Catalyst for Change
I recently reconnected with my college freshman year best friend through Facebook. She was absolutely shocked to hear from me. So totally out of control was my lifestyle back in 1972 that she naturally assumed I was dead. Surpri-ise!
Change has happened through me not to me over the years, and my experience is that grace + action = change. That’s why I teach (and write these articles) primarily about learning to take action, not simply nutrition and exercise facts. How many of us are frustrated and baffled because we know what to do, but we don’t know how to stay doing it?
The most significant catalyst for permanent change in my life from that 2 1/2 pack-a-day, eating disordered couch potato she remembered continues to be exercise, perhaps because it provides that same inspiring sense of self mastery that weight loss does. Reluctantly surrendering to the exercise advice of SmokEnders the third paid time around was my personal tipping point after ten years of unused gym memberships, false starts and broken promises.
Here’s what I’ve learned to do:
- Stop rationalizing that others find it so easy. They don’t – just worth the effort.
- Any deliberate movement daily maintains mojo – three days of nothing is the kiss of death.
- Adjust my workout standards down. Something beats nothing every time and grueling gets no extra brownie points.
- Do it first so I can take that great feeling of personal victory into my day.
- Multitask it so I can’t rationalize not having the time.
Here’s what I’ve learned not to do:
- Don’t believe I’ll do it later if I can but won’t do it now.
- Don’t “just do this other little thing” first. Not now may mean never.
- Don’t wait for “the mood to strike”. If you’re sitting down, it doesn’t.
Have you experienced exercise as a catalyst to change? Do you know what you need to do to keep exercise rolling in your life?
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