Cindy

Scanning my calendar for the week ahead, I check to see what my work hours are, what meetings I have, and any other appointments that are pre-scheduled.  Then, I make appointments with myself to get my workouts in.  I commit to them as much as I commit to my appointments with others.  For this week, most mornings seem to work, but for a few days I will have to do afternoon and evening workouts.  Three of the evenings are yoga and dance classes….a bit of an easier commitment as I am going to meet others.  Knowing there is a specific time encourages me to ‘get there’.  Perhaps signing up for a class is a good idea for you….or meet with me, your personal trainer, and let me  help you get started making the commitment to work out.

Self-talk is often harmful, but it can also be extremely beneficial if you have control of it. When you find yourself being tested, I suggest you talk to yourself, encourage yourself and reassure yourself. After all, it is self-talk that has the ability to remind you of your goals, call up courage, reinforce your commitment and keep you conscious of the task at hand. When I find my discipline being tested, I always recall the following quote: “The price of discipline is always less than the pain of regret”. Burn this quote into your memory, and recall in whenever you find yourself being tested. It may change your life.

This morning I woke up with the intention to go out for a nice long hour moderate jog.  I opened the door, and said, “Heck NO”.  It was pouring rain.  A calm mist would have been fine, but not the ‘cats and dogs’ I was watching!  So, Plan B for a workout was to jump on my stationary bike and program in an interval program for 30 minutes while listening to some motivational, spiritual teaching.  (It gets a little boring inside the house to sit on the bike for an hour, so I revved the intensity and kept it shorter!)  The moral of the story is to stick to your commitment to a lifestyle of exercise no matter what.  Create alternatives to keep your commitment to yourself.