I’ve been really rubbish this week in terms of keeping the exercise going. I could easily plead pressure of work, and I wouldn’t be telling an untruth, however that’s my life so if I’m going to make this exercise thing work for me, I need to get a grip and do better.
In addition to all the usual stuff that steals my time, there were a couple of days this week where I brought work home and worked right through the evening. I was up against the clock so even things like walking with the dog for an hour when I got home didn’t happen on those days. By the time I made it up the stairs at bedtime, doing 20 minutes on the cross-trainer was the very last thing I felt like doing. And at the back end of the week I was working away, so I couldn’t.
As a result of all that, the Asshole voice scored some easy victories this week. Ah you can make up for it tomorrow…of course, I didn’t…you’re not a machine and right now rest is more important. Now it’s the weekend and I’m sitting here reviewing the sum total of my exercise across the week…all I can count are three buttons and a bottle top. Shit. Somewhere, there will have been people even busier than me doing exercise, of that I’m fairly sure.
I don’t want to make excuses you know? I saw a quote in one of my favourite blogs Totally Kathy this week which went along the lines of ‘every time I make an excuse, I am robbed of the chance to learn’. How true is that, and it’s been buzzing around in my head all week, dammit. What I need to learn, is how to make this exercise thing fit me.
It boils down to this…if something is important enough, I‘ll find a way. And if it’s not, I’ll find an excuse. If it’s important but I genuinely can’t do it, that’s a reason, and sometimes I’ll just need to suck it up. It’s time for me to carefully fold that black belt in excuses which I’ve owned for many years and hand it back for good because I don’t want that life any more.
Do you remember a couple of weeks ago, I was going overkill on the exercise, to the point where I was refusing to step off even when I was in pain? I think giving myself permission to opt out for genuine reasons has gone to my head a bit, and this week the pendulum has swung way too far in the other direction. So that’s the other thing I need to learn…finding balance, and making the right call.
It’s true, I was working away and overnighting at the back end of this week. And I didn’t get to my hotel until around 9pm after what had been an early start and a long day. But although it was dark out, and I was in a strange place, I could have walked ten times around the car park whilst I was waiting for room service to rustle up my dinner. Nothing hurt, I had no reason not to exercise…the Asshole voice just convinced me that I couldn’t be bothered. That’s an excuse, not a reason and I shouldn’t have listened.
I’m not going to be too hard on myself, because these lessons…well, they all count. It’s all part of the journey, right? 🙂
