The break in the weather has been really nice. I just realized when checking my weather app that it isn’t the end of July when we have our hottest weather any longer. Time is passing and August has been such a whirlwind that I looked up from my work and my tasks and my day to day and my internal processing and it was gone.
This week has been a challenge for me emotionally. It is my last week training in the studio so that I can place more effort into the growing of the business and helping more people.
I’ve personally been serving our clients since 2014. Some of our clientele has been with us the entire time of our existence thus far. These relationships run deep.
When I began the company, I didn’t know what all would lie ahead (what I’ve experienced and learned over the past 5 years). When I began expanding and bringing on other trainers in July of last year, I had more of an idea. However, I didn’t know it would be an emotional challenge for me to take it to the next level. On the other hand, it makes perfect sense that it is.
It has been a necessary decision for the path and impact I want to make. It’s easy math: more people can help more people than I can alone .. So, onward we go!
The best thing I did for my own self this summer was that I redialed in my exercise routine and made a hard commitment to it. When my schedule or my wherewithal went sideways, I followed a rule: “You can move it, but you can’t remove it,” meaning, I can make a decision to be flexible, but not so flexible that it goes to the wayside entirely. I can also make a decision that a certain workout simply is not good for my body one day (like the time I tweaked my back unloading the trunk full of potted plants for my apartment and it was acutely painful for 3 days or so. I rested).
Routine helps us so much when things go sideways. It’s so good to have at least one area of life down and stable to support the other, more fluid, more challenging to balance areas.
For example, getting up and exercising first thing in the morning is easiest, even if it means getting up a little earlier. Doing it before any pressures of the day (or before anyone else is awake yet) eliminates potential urgent distractions of that sort and can put you in a great “can-do anything” mindset for the day. I’ve found it to be comforting and also have found myself to be not quite as effective if I don’t do it first thing. Of course, this is not every day of the week, but Saturday through Thursday I am doing some sort of varied exercise upon waking in the morning. Fridays feel just as great since I’ve earned my day off by doing all of my other workouts during the rest of the week.
Everyone can follow a routine. It’s easy: just execute. Have it planned out in advance and then simply follow through, regardless of anything, including how you feel about it.
There have been many days that I’d wake up early and not feel like doing what I told myself I’d do with my own exercise. But because I’d made the hard commitment to myself, knowing the benefits, knowing the value, I followed through with the workouts and it has paid off well.
Committing to a routine empowers us. It never feels good to tell anyone, including ourselves, that we are going to do a thing and then not actually do it. Oftentimes we can be the first to let our own selves down in effort to serve everyone else first. Instead, when we follow through with our decisions and commitments to ourselves, we are confirming that we are an individual that does what they say they will do. That’s a character decision. Then comes the by-product of the “can do” mindset: I can do this, I can do that, which makes the entire rest of the day easier and more successful. String enough of these days together and you live a life like this. That’s a great place to live from.
Routines can be challenging to begin but are easy to maintain. Everyone wants to say that it takes “x number of days” to make or break a new habit. My experience has been that this arbitrary number is different for each individual. This is why it’s so great to have accountability particularly when beginning a new routine or habit.
What is an exercise routine that can work for you? Believe me, you don’t need to have hard workouts 6 days a week. What would be manageable for you? Is it beginning with 3x/week, 30-minute workouts in the mornings? Is it starting at twice a week? What can you commit to? Who can help hold you accountable?
We are here to help if you’re having trouble with a few of those answers! 🙂 Apply for an Exploratory Session and I’ll give you a call!