Some days you have to fight for it!

Make yourself proud. No excuses! Just do it… (I tell myself).

Nope. I don’t want to! I am not feelin it today…(self replied).

Sometimes you have to just get up off your butt and do it. There is no easy path. No magic bullet. No internal motivation that is going work, so you just do it. Plain and simple…

Ever have a conversation with yourself that goes something like this? The truth is, some days you have to fight for it. Today was one of those days for me.

On a damp, gloomy mid-April Monday — after a weekend filled to the brim with work, family gatherings and obligations — I just wasn’t feelin it. All I really, really, really wanted to do this morning was pull the covers over my head and stay in my PJ’s — all day. The last thing I wanted to do was go for a long walk, do my strength and stretch routine, and practice mindfulness. Nope, I was mindful that I wanted to sleep.

So, I forced myself out of bed, made coffee, put on my workout clothes — because that’s supposed to work — and then I… procrastinated. I worked a little and then a lot…and procrastinated some more. Soon it was lunch time and no Monday morning stretch, workout or Lori in-the-equation time.

With a busy work day filled with meetings and deadlines, it was easy to let the entire day slip by without moving from the office chair. Soon it was 5 p.m. and still no real break in the action. No Lori workout.

Finally, I literally forced myself out of the chair, donned the rain jacket and started walking. Not fast. Just moving. Moving forward– rather sluggish at first — just like I felt. Blah.

Just do it, I told myself. Don’t think about it. Don’t stop. Just do it. This is a non-negotiable. You want to be healthy and fit. You want to be in-your-equation. You want to feel better. You want to help others. Just do it, dammit!

The entire walk to my neighborhood lake and half way around the lake my internal voice negotiated to turn around and do only a short walk — cause I still wasn’t feeling it. It was cold and wet and gloomy. Finally, I was half way around the lake and on the shorter end of the walk and I still wasn’t feelin’ it. This is unusual, I thought. Too bad quitting isn’t an option, this is a non-negotiable!

Whew. 10 minutes longer than usual and I am back home. Still not really feelin it. But I’m done!

The truth is, we all have days where we don’t want to workout and take care of ourselves, we just want to throw in the towel. It happens. Life happens. The difference is that the old, out-of-the-equation me would easily throw in the towel and cave to the internal voices of doubt and sabotage. I would make a deal with myself that I would do it tomorrow, and then the next tomorrow, and the next. Funny, tomorrow never came.

In my new Lori-in-the-equation life, that voice of doubt and sabotage is no longer in charge. When it surfaces, that voice is relegated to the back seat. And just like a back-seat driver, we might be forced to listen but we don’t let it take over! Why? Because now that I’m in the equation, I know I will have good days and bad days. Easy days and hard days. And I know that what’s on the other side of hard, is healthy and happy. It’s worth it. I’m worth it. And I’d rather do hard and make myself proud than complain, wallow, wine and stay stick living small and busy.

So some days, I just do it!

I wish I could tell you that I got a second wind and soared around the lake with a smile, but I didn’t. I slogged and had to fight for it the whole way. I barely hit my step goal today, but I did. I did it. It’s done. And tomorrow is a new day and it will likely be a good day.

Some days you have to fight for it and it never feels great. And then there’s tomorrow!

That’s my Monday motivation. I procrastinated on ME all day. And then I did it. So, if you’re sitting on the couch or have given up on you today, what are you going to do?

#motivationmonday #justdoit #livewell #accountability