For Better Than Nothin' Tuesday, the day we celebrate the smallest of changes and effort towards reaching your health goals because anything is better than zero, we are going to do an easy perception exercise.
Sometimes, the only thing you need to do to get motivated to do something is simply change the wording. Yes, sounds ridiculous but how you word something can make a big difference to your Inner Resistance Monster, that force inside you that has the power of the couch potato.
For many, me included, the word "exercise" can bring up all kinds of excuses, procrastination, and resistance. The word can make you feel things like tense, "I dun wanna", or even sad because you have emotional associations to the word "exercise." Logically, you know you need to exercise, and you know a workout is good for you, but, ugh, the resistance is there.
So try this. Instead of saying "exercise" say to yourself "Just move." Do something to just move your body. It doesn't have to be anything big. In fact, you don't even have to change into workout clothes, but do put on comfortable shoes.
Just move
Go walk for 5 minutes. Go up and down a few flights of stairs in your office building. Go to the living room and do some stretches. Get a jump rope and skip for a few minutes. The point is you are moving and getting the heart pumping and the muscles in motion.
What many of you will find is that even a few minutes of just moving, will get you past your resistance, and motivated to keep going farther since you're already out and about. Suddenly, a 5 minute walk can turn into a 20 minute jog. This happens to me every single time, and I always end up happy I did more "moving."
