Turn Off the T.V. and Put on Your Shoes!

It is easy to take your shoes off, change your clothes to pajamas, and turn on the T.V., especially after a 9-hour workday! Once you sit on your couch with some snacks, you are done for the evening! There goes the idea of going for a nice evening walk or jog.  

I find it challenging to start a new routine, especially the kind that requires effort.  I realized, as I get older, I find myself welcoming laziness in my life.  I find myself enjoying a nice evening movie or catching up with my favorite shows.  Next thing I know, it is 10:00pm and I’m heading to bed.  Then, the next day it starts all over again.

I had set a goal to start jogging again.  Although I have not been successful at sticking with my goal, I need to be patient with myself. So far, I have been jogging once a week for three weeks.  This is a great start, especially I went from not jogging at all for the last six months!  

Today, instead of going straight to my comfortable couch and watching my favorite show, I put on my shoes and walked out of the door.  The entire time, my thoughts were debating against each other.  My chatterbox of excuses such as "OMG! My belly is jumping up and down! How embarrassing. I should go back home."  Then, there was the motivation side of me telling, "Imagine how you would feel like after you have a nice jog…  You'll be proud of yourself. Don't forget to tell yourself that you're awesome when you are finish!"  This constant debate chattered in my mind as I jogged passed the sidewalks, stoplights, shopping centers, cars, and people.  Then, 30 minutes later, I made it back home and I told myself, "I am awesome!" 

Today was a good day.  I just told myself to get my shoes and go for a jog.  I tried this yesterday, and I ended up watching a romantic comedy movie instead.  So the lesson here is that, you lose some and you win some.  Most importantly is that our mind is very strong.  If we challenge ourselves and allow ourselves to make mistakes and accept that is going to take few tries, we will be more acceptable to putting effort into things that are good for our body and mind.