Just Do It –
Written by Kate • August 26, 2010 •
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Photo by mikebaird
I normally exercise 5 to 6 days a week and I really love moving my body, getting my head clear, and –of course – the infusion of endorphins after a nice effort.  For years I’ve been running/biking and doing some weight lifting in a “go with the flow†style. However, I noticed during my May rock climbing debut that my strength, especially in my arms, is not where I’d like it to be. So I’ve been slowly implementing a strength program to help me get those toned and strong arms I’ve always wanted.
To that end, I’m starting a new exercise program called “Core Performanceâ€. It has an equal focus on mobility, flexibility, strength, endurance, and regeneration [rest]. So it calls for lots of varying types of exercises and I wanted to see if its focus beyond steady state cardio would help me loosen up, get stronger, all while doing a wide variety of exercises. I’m on week 4 which is the week where the program seems to ratchet up the intensity, but in a good way.
I already had my “off†day on Monday so there isn’t another rest day for me this week, according to both the Core Performance and my own preferences. But yesterday, I got up late and decided to do exercise in the evening. Well, by about 10am I talked myself out of my plan and instead made the decision that I was going to be just too tired at the end of the day, that I deserved the time at the end of the day to relax, and get to bed on time, and begin anew tomorrow.
I noticed that as the day wore on, I began to become really unhappy with the fact that I had missed my work out for Wednesday. I was getting downright mopey about having missed it despite being on the new Core Performance program, my commitment to it, and that I got up late. And then just as I was getting ready to leave the office, I realized –truly woke up to the fact- that I could just do what I had intended to do and actually keep my commitment on to exercise most days of the week. I was immediately happier, walking toward the car with a light step. I went straight to the gym and had a great workout, and I wasn’t the least bit tired. It was just all in my head, that little yet convincing voice that says just relax, don’t stress out, you can do it tomorrow, and then tomorrow and then tomorrow and before you know it, a week, or a month, or even a year has gone by, without having done what you set out to do.
I marveled that I was bummed about a decision I had made and kept making throughout the day when I could have turned it around by simply noticing the effect that not following through on my commitment had on me and changing my perspective.  And getting to the gym that evening felt like a true victory for me, so I also made sure to acknowledge myself for finishing what I said I’d do.
Which leads me into what I’ll be writing about next, Completing the Task.
Are there times when you’ve almost put off what you intended to do but were able to get back on track?