This story is about how to get back on the wagon – my wagon being exercising at the gym. Take these ideas and apply them to get back on track with an important effort in your life – the organizing wagon, eating less or differently, money management, using a time management system that works for you at work. These all require a behavioral or habit change.
I don’t think of myself as athletic or being “in good shape,” which is the value I’ve always associated with the gym and with exercise generally. And that was the problem. Likewise, if you want to get more organized or downsize, what’s the value that this touches for you? Tied to value = greater motivation. My story below.
Sometime around my 50th birthday, I decided that exercising was more about improving my health, and secondarily maintaining my weight. Although I was born with terrific genes in the health and wellness arena, I began to feel as if the genes might wear out. I’d been lucky the first half of my life. Maybe I’d better start doing something.
There was that and that it nearly killed me to carry in the groceries up the fifteen+ stairs. And the occasional back ache. So off to the gym I went, January 2009. Later in 2009, I fell off and got back on the old wagon.
Key success factors for me have been:
A small goal. I strive for three days a week, not seven or even four. Three. I know myself. Had I said more than three, the first time I fell off the wagon, I’d never get back on. I hope to increase to four, but I’m good with three for now. It’s more than zero.
Cutting myself some slack when life crises hit. My housemate went through knee replacement surgery, one and then the other, last summer. One week after the second one, my father suffered a heart attack and had quadruple bypass surgery. I KNOW that going to the gym would have made me relieve stress. I know my back would have felt less achy; stress goes to the weakest point. I know. I know. But adding one more thing to do to my list would have caused my head to explode. It’s a balance and I know myself best.
Remembering why I was doing this and what it felt like after a workout. How can you keep this in front of yourself? For me, having a housemate who goes daily helped because we would talk about her workout – even when I wasn’t going. I started missing that feeling. Strong motivation.
Putting it on my calendar again, to get myself back to a regular schedule. If I don’t plan for it, it doesn’t become part of my regular day. It ends up being extra. Something that I get to do IF work is done and IF the household’s all set. I try to make the gym (i.e., me/my health) as important as the household and my business. It’s not easy, but as long as the trend heads in the right direction, I’m good with that.
Using an accountability partner. It’s okay to ask for support. My housemate helps because I see what it does for her. A personal trainer when I first started at the gym got me motivated and on the right track in just a few sessions. Doesn’t have to be a long relationship. Sometimes it’s useful to regularly schedule something. Other times, it’s useful just to get a jump start.
The value of money: I am a person who always thinks about the value of something before I purchase. In this case, I counted the number of times I’d been to the gym in one month, and divided that into my monthly fee. Because of the way I think, realizing that each visit had to be “worth” $20 or so dollars was a motivator.
So – you can do it. Back on the wagon. See you there!
