.…was a walk along the beach .
YAY I achieved it!!
“Big deal” I hear you say (or is that my own inner critical voice, very critical sometimes) Well it is a big deal for me because I am determined that this is the start of a fitness habit. Never mind new year resolutions, DAY ONE STARTS NOW!!
I’ve started an exercise regime many, many times and on ocassions kept it up for a few months but time and time again something has stopped me. Maybe I just didn’t have time or catching the flu interupted my plans and I just never got going again. Whatever the reason (excuse) I’ve just never been great at making time for exercise. Possibly because I’m relatively healthy and I’m not overweight so it’s just never seemed that important. But I’ve known for a long time that I’ve got to make exercise a consistent part of my lifestyle. I need to stay healthy, reduce stress and to stop my weight creeping up any more like it has been slowly for the past year or so.
Last night I discussed this with Barrie, my coach. Even though I’m a coach and know what to do to set goals etc. etc. knowing it and doing it aren’t always the same thing. We explored all of the things that get in the way of me exercising, all of the benefits of exercising and how I will feel after I’ve been for a walk and what I can do to help me achieve my goal.
So as planned this morning I went for a walk along the beach as soon as I’d taken my son to school. Before I got out of bed I could hear the wind howling so I really wasn’t looking forward to going out, but because I knew Barrie would be checking up on me I wrapped up warm and got on with it.
The beach was beautiful and I sat on a rock for a while just to take in the sounds of the crashing waves and the birds and to watch the sea and the dogs chasing each other and I felt alive, like I didn’t have a care in the world. Why on earth does exercise seem like such a chore sometimes when taking an hour out of my day for a simple walk along the beach can make me feel so good.
So that’s day one out of the way, now I need to keep it up so it becomes a part of my daily routine. The things I need to remember are:
- Taking an hour out to exercise makes me feel better in the short term and will have long term benefits if I keep it up, and
- I love walking along the beach so doing exercise that I enjoy regularly is much better than forcing myself to go for a run once in a blue moon.
I’m off now to write myself a little note and put it beside my bed to remind myself about both of these things so that tomorrow morning when the little devil on my shoulder is telling me to pull the covers over my head I’ll see the note and the little angel on the other shoulder will wake up to remind me that I’ll enjoy it (so long as I put my thermals on)
What do you need to start telling yourself to achieve your goals?
