Everyone alive today has a chance to live to one hundred. It’s up to you if you’re going to make it that long. What will make the difference is creating new habits. Some people hold off exercising until the weekend, some wait until they’re on vacation, while some don’t do it until there’s a wake-up call like seeing a picture of themselves or a health issue. Either way, it’s never too late to be healthier. The sooner you start, the sooner you can live a better quality of life.
You Have One Lifetime
Do you want to be remembered for being out of shape? Do you want to go through life soft and sluggish, or do you want to go through it with energy and confidence? Do you want to fit in your clothes, or do want to keep sizing up? On your death bed, do you want to say I lived a healthy life, or do you want to say I should have eaten more desserts and fast food? On your last day on earth, do you want to say that you should have watched more television and spent more time on your cell phone? These are the decisions you can make now, or you can make them later and then miss out on enjoying life to the fullest.
Just Get Started
I’m sure you’ve heard the expression before, but every great journey starts with the first step. This year can be the day you start being the person you always wanted to be. What needs to change are your habits. They may seem like an effort when you first start, but after a while, they’ll feel natural. So much, that when you don’t do them, you won’t feel like yourself. I know I feel sluggish, lazy and not myself if I don’t exercise. It doesn’t have to be running a marathon, but instead a simple walk around the neighborhood or jumping on an exercise bike—anything to get the blood moving.
How To Keep Moving
How do I keep myself moving? It’s usually out of habit. I make sure I do it a certain amount of times a week. But there are a few days when I don’t feel like exercising or I show up to the club not in the mood. How do I persevere? I usually say, “I’m only going to work out for a little bit.” What usually happens is that once I get started, I find myself realizing that doing a little more is not much harder. If I don’t feel like lifting weights, I’ll say I’m only going to lift the barbells a couple of times. What always happens is that it leads me to do the whole workout. The important thing is just get started. Everything else will happen naturally. If you have trouble staying on the exercise bike, watch a program while you’re working out, listen to a program or some upbeat music.
Don’t Make Up for Lost Time
I have never said after a workout, “I shouldn’t have done that.” If anything, I usually say, “I’m so glad I did that.” As I mentioned before, when my wife asks how my workout went, I usually reply, “Nothing great. I just wanted to get the blood flowing.” You don’t have to have an intense workout! I laugh when I see people lifting too much weight or chugging hard on the exercise bike like they’re trying to make up for lost time. There’s no need to over do it. It will only result in being sore the next day and not wanting to go back. Just start your workouts on a comfortable level and it will increase naturally because it becomes easier and easier.
Make new habits this year! Say it again and again until it becomes a reality. As I mentioned in my last post, I recommend reading the book, The World’s Greatest Salesman. It will show how inner strength turns into physical strength. After reading it, you may become better at work, but more importantly, it will also show how to start anew and how to become a better person.