“I have rubbed elbows with strict vegan vegetarians who, at a glance, clearly hadn’t picked up a dumbbell all their life.”
The conversion from hot dogs to whole foods intuitively felt right, and I succumbed without hesitation. After all, eating is something we do anyway, so why not put the good stuff in for all the effort it takes. But unlike eating, we don’t have to exercise to go on living. People can exist for years with minimal physical activity.
I have rubbed elbows with strict vegan vegetarians who, at a glance, clearly hadn’t picked up a dumbbell all their life. I was in good company. A breath of wind could blow them over and there they would be, laying on the ground expounding on how sensitive their skin was to the experience. That was me ten years ago, thin as a girl, all 138 pounds in touch with my extra-sensitive senses, wearing my bones like some guru cult leader. I was proud of my whiter than white eyes, flawless skin, and high sensitivity to the treacherous toxic world, until one very embarrassing moment that served as a wakeup call. I discovered some of my co-workers suspected I had AIDS. I took a long, hard look in the mirror that night and saw imbalance—and not just in myself, but in a whole subculture of strange little people. After some much-needed investigation, I was forced to face the fact that exercise, including weight lifting, is a vital component of overall health and well worth the time.
It’s work maintaining a consistent exercise routine through, busy, stressful, tired, days, which for some of you is every day. It can be done but why bother? Why put out all that energy? Do the benefits outweigh the investment in time and effort?
This is a vital question to answer if you are going to be successful. Those times that I have slacked off or gone long periods with no exercise, it’s always when I lost enthusiasm. There is no way you are going to face the demands of a weekly exercise routine without maintaining enthusiasm.
It struck me that staying motivated is far more important than laying down a killer routine. The way to establish enthusiasm is to have a clear mental picture of what being in shape will look and feel like. That’s what works for me. When enthusiasm wanes and all I want to do is take a hot bath, I turn to my personal journal where I describe how great it feels to be in shape. I especially have to do this during the winter months where a warn home is more inviting than a frigid trail. The image that really works for me is young children playing.
The picture of carefree children playing provides an important motivation for me. It in composes so much more than just physical fitness, reminding that there is more to life than work and ambition. The image of playing children speaks of a love for the outdoors, joy of movement, awake and connected, sometimes solitude, other times camaraderie, most of all, clearing the mind, shedding worry and being in the moment. The finest times of prayer and connection is when running down forest path, laughing and singing between gasps of breath. Me and God, running side by side.
Related Article: Getting Motivated To Exersise