I don’t feel like working out…

The age old statement that I personally think wins the award as the number one reason people don’t exercise and/or work on their wellness (and stick with it long term.)

They just don’t “feel like it.”

As a previous gym owner of 10 years, this was and still is what I believe keeps people from wanting to improve, maintain and even lock in, I mean really lock in to their own personal health/wellness breakthrough.

They just don’t feel like it. Yep, I said it again.

First off, let’s talk about feelings. We all have them. We all experience a gamut of emotions even throughout one single day. Some of us feel deeply, others, really aren’t that in tune with their feelings, and yet, as humans we know that we ALL have feelings.

Now insert one of the footholds of a healthy lifestyle-exercise. Note, I said one. Exercise. Call it what you want, training, working out-but this simply means moving your body with the purpose of working on your health.

We all have those days where we just don’t feel like it. Every single person who you view or hold in high regard that is a world class athlete, has those days. Anyone who says they don’t is well…full of it.

Let’s talk through some of the reasons we may not feel like working out. We’ve had a rough day at work, we are exhausted from parenting toddlers, we don’t have time to fit it in due the long list of other demands, we have a headache, we don’t like the workout or movements programmed, we feel yucky and fatigued…I could go on and on.

First off, these feelings are valid. Not everyone has the same 24 hours in a day. They just don’t, even though this is plastered all over social media. The never miss a Monday mantra, I used to buy into that notion. But I also realize that when I had three boys under the age of 3, my time allotted for “me time” was much different than my schedule now.

Secondly, I understand that there are absolutely times when you need to listen to your body and rest. No one can judge you for that. Rest and recovery is imperative to health and wellness, I got you.

But listen up, this is where I get to the meat and potatoes. As humans, through advancements in our technology, various inventions, life is just easier than it was for our parents/grandparents. Take for example, baby boomers had to actually roll down a window on a car, not push a button. They had to get up off their derrière to change a channel on a tv, instead of using a remote. My mom grew up with an outhouse! They had to bundle up in the middle of winter to go outside just to use the facilities!

Moreover, the invention of social media/internet gives us everything FAST, EASY, QUICK and then we whine when we can’t get 5G speed. We are something aren’t we?

We are complacent. Spoiled. Soft. Me included. We now live in a world where we want everything easy and comforting. We want the dopamine hit of a text ding on our phone. We want to get our groceries delivered. We want EVERYTHING easy. The easier the better, because this is viewed as efficient.

Well folks, I’m going to point out something. Just because something isn’t easy, and we don’t feel like doing it, doesn’t mean we just don’t do it.

Stay with me. You are already doing so many things in your daily life that aren’t easy, and that you probably hate doing, but you do them, and do it even begrudgingly! You do! This means that you have manually told your feelings they don’t matter and that you still have to do these things. Yes, you told your feelings NO!

There are choices everyday that you may despise, and not even give a second thought to anymore, because they are so engrained in your daily life.

Let’s talk about some stereotypical adulting things that most people do, but either A) don’t like it, or B) do them without even thinking about why:

• Showering
• Brushing your teeth
• Shaving
• Laundry
• Dishwashing
• Paying bills
• Vet appointments
• Getting children to school
• Kid’s dental and wellcheck appointments
• Car service appointments
• Grocery shopping
• Getting to work on time
• Dealing with difficult co-workers

Ha the list could go on and on-these are just a general list of things we as humans do, that we either give no thought to, or that we do because we HAVE to. Side note, I hate appointments by the way.

Why do you do these things? YOU value them, well some of you do, I can’t speak for everyone. You are making choices every single day to do tasks/activities that you probably are annoyed about, or even have to talk yourself through just to accomplish them.

My point is, you have told your feelings no. Therefore, you already have this skill. Yes, it is a skill!

Let’s now go back to working out and exercising. “I don’t feel like it.” Why do you listen to that feeling and not override it and stick to your plan? Because it is hard, you don’t see immediate results, and it is one thing on the list that no one will get mad at you about if you choose to skip it.

If you chose to avoid or stop doing any of the list noted above, you may catch some flack from a spouse over body odor (gross), your electricity could get shut off, or you may be out of job if you can’t get along with others. The truancy officer may hunt you down as well if those kiddos don’t get to school!

Wellness IS A VALUE. It is not something you do. I repeat, it is a value.

Stop viewing wellness as a task, and start viewing it as part of who you are as a person. If I want to override the feelings of just “not feeling like it”, when I know I value something, I do it regardless of the pain/ick/annoyance/discomfort that I may experience while carrying it out.

You can do this, as you already are. But it is a choice. When you can accept the invitation to espouse wellness as a value, this will be a game changer for you. Until then, you will be nilly willy, all over the place, and very inconsistent with your adherence to a plan. Notice I said nothing about the desire to workout. This has nothing to do with being passionate about exercise, and everything to do with overriding any feeling associated with this piece of wellness. If you can apply your ability to tell your feelings no(which you already have a great track record of carrying out), your wellness will change.

You won’t workout because you have to. You will workout because you value your health.

You won’t make excuses to skip working out. You will instead manage your schedule in a manner that this is a standing appointment in your calendar. A non-negotiable.

You won’t worry about how bad it is going to suck doing the workout. You embrace the suck and accept that you can do hard things because in the long run the reward outweighs the immediate feeling.

You won’t look for any opportunity to back out. You will look at this as part of who you are- you brush your teeth everyday, and you also work on your wellness every day.

A virtue, a value, a principle, a placeholder in your life.

Wellness.

“I don’t feel like working out.” But I do it anyways because it is part of who I am.

Master this paradigm shift friends and you won’t ever need motivation, a fancy meme/IG video to get you pumped, or even an event for you to “get in shape” for. (However, if you love Rocky (which I do), and that gets you inspired and excited, I’m all for it.)

You will be unstoppable. Unwavering in this value. The wave of wellness. Even when falling off, because you will, you are determined to ride this wave for a lifetime. No storm, no high tide, no rough sea can keep you from persevering because this isn’t a once in a lifetime wave, it is the wave that washes relentlessly against the sand.

Will you grab your surfboard and paddle out to sea knowing it will knock you down, or will you sit on the beach seeking comfort because you don’t feel like getting splashed, hair wet, and tossed around? You choose. Today.

(As a beach and lake girly, I am all about the flip flops. My favorites are Reef. Check out my favorite pair!) https://amzn.to/42qTWqU