When you talk about exercise, chances are you think more in terms of excuses than you do in terms of excitement. For example, you’re more likely to say:
I’d work out more if I had more time
than you are to say:
I can’t wait to get on the treadmill and go for three miles – it’s the best time ever
Excuses
Excuses are a lot easier to come by. We can come up with a dozen excuses for why we don’t do anything. I didn’t do the dishes last night before bed because I was tired. I didn’t do them this morning because it was too early and I didn’t want to wake anyone up with dishes. I’m not doing the dishes right now because I’m writing this – see? It’s really easy to come up with a dozen excuses for something that you don’t necessarily want to do whether it’s a chore or something healthy for yourself.
Excitement
Because excuses are so easy to come up with, it’s up to you to generate the excitement for your workout, for exercise and for doing it regularly. The best way to generate that excitement is to choose something you love to do. Don’t take a jazzercise class if the last thing in the world you want to do is dance in front of a bunch of other people in spandex and Lycra.
When you choose something that you like to do, you are going to be far more inclined to do it. You are going to find generating excitement is easier. Riding my bike is fun and riding with my daughter is even more fun. Hitting the treadmill while I catch up on my soaps lets me indulge in a guilty pleasure without feeling lazy at the same time.
What do you enjoy? Is it an activity that you are going to enjoy enough that you won’t find making excuses for it easier than making excitement? Figure that out – and the rest is a cake walk.
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