So, if you read last week’s column, you know you had some homework. Have you taken a good look at your body this week? Did you accept that compliment someone gave you with a “Thank you”? Did you exercise and eat right because it was good for you, and not because you were in a panic about the looming swimsuit season? I hope so, on all counts. Keep up the good work.
My Editor/Client came in to see me last week for a training session. After almost completely neglecting his workouts last month to work on the new newspaper format, he’s back on track. Last month, he experienced what everyone occasionally struggles with in the quest for fitness – that nasty, four-letter word that no one seems to have enough of: TIME.
We’re all given the same 24-hour period to work with, right? So, how is it that, when it comes to time, so many of us run around like chickens-with-their-heads-cut-off? Have you ever seen what that looks like? I have. They run into things, they fall down, they go round-and-round in frenzied circles, and finally expire in a quivering heap. Not pretty, but can you relate? Why do chickens do that? Well, it’s because their last bit of nerve impulses are firing in reaction to what has just happened to them; and they have no eyes to see where they’re going.
These two reasons – reaction and lack of direction – are why many people fail to stay on track.
Are you RE-active, or PRO-active concerning exercise? In your daily thought process, do you schedule time – a set time – each day (proactive) for exercise, or do you try to squeeze it in (reactive) after every other thing has been accomplished? How well does the latter work? It doesn’t. You MUST schedule time for yourself. If not, circumstances will literally push time for you out of your own life.
Keep a daily planner or appointment book. This is different from the typical “To-Do” list. At least a day in advance – and preferably for the week – schedule the time of day and length of time you need for each day’s activities, and include exercise time. Write it down. Make a date with you for at least 30 minutes of exercise, five days a week, and keep it. You’re that important. In addition to making you physically healthier, organizing your time on a daily basis may keep you from mentally running around in circles before you finally plop down in a heap at the end of the day.
Now that you’ve established a time-chunk for exercise, what will you do? Chuck Swindoll once said in a sermon, “Discipline without Direction is Drudgery.” He was speaking of spiritual issues, but the statement also applies to exercise.
How many of you began this year with a fitness resolution? You were so excited. This was the year. Now it’s mid-April, and you can’t remember the last time you’ve been to the weight room or that aerobics class you swore you’d attend. You began this year in an exercise frenzy; then you hit a WALL. We’ve all done it. If you started out strong, but fizzled out, it’s likely you lacked direction. Your excitement and initial discipline quickly became drudgery because you didn’t have direction about what you were doing, and knowledge of what it would accomplish.
Did you have a set, specific goal? You might have thought you did; but what does “get in shape”, “tone up”, or “lose weight” really mean? Be realistic and very specific in your fitness goal-setting. Then, clearly define the direction you will take. This may involve hiring a trainer or other fitness professional to help point you in the right direction to achieve your specific goals.
My editor/client set a specific goal of getting back in his 34’s. He searched out resources to give him direction on how to accomplish his goal. And now, he is working on taking the time necessary to accomplish what he set out to do.
And you thought you couldn’t learn anything from a chicken.
Don't Be a Chicken