That’s a wrap on discomfort. We now return to your previously scheduled life…

Okay, so while a lot of restrictions have eased and people are starting to dip their toes in the water of real life again, life is NOT back to normal.  We definitely are not back to our previously scheduled anything.  This entire month we have been accepting where we are, taking notice of how it feels and trying to coax ourselves back into doing life.  It’s not easy to get motivated or stay that way when there is so much uncertainty.  It feels so much easier to hunker down and wait for the sun to shine again.

I get it.

I told you at the beginning of the month that I was in the same boat and I had to get real with what I was doing, or NOT doing, as it were.  I just kept putting things off because my brain was saying, “it’s more comfortable to just sit here and watch Netflix, it’s a pandemic, we’ve never been in this place before, it will be over soon and then you can work out” and the list went on.

Those were all lies and the truth was that the longer I sat there NOT doing the things that I said I wanted to do, the more UNCOMFORTABLE I was.  It’s been an entire month and I am doing the things I told you I was going to do.  I am running, biking, lifting weights and walking.  I feel so much better after a whole month of working out, but also because I kept the promise to myself.  I know how that sounds, but it’s true.  When you do something for an entire month, that you said you were going to do it feels like you actually accomplished something.  Some of you may be reading this and thinking you should have gotten on the train when it was at the station back in early May.  It’s not too late.  You can always get back on the train.  Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, go get on the train. The reality is though, that I have just begun something that I want to continue.  This means that each day I still have to convince myself to work out.  It means that it’s not a habit yet. It means the endorphins are not enough and that I have to keep being intentional and doing everyday with purpose.

It means that every morning I make a plan, write it down and keep myself accountable by working out with friends, making an accountability group and telling everyone I know my plan. It’s working.  We also brought back the torture report each week which also helps keep me accountable to you.  You know what?  It’s still uncomfortable.  Everyday, I have to make the choice to work out, but I still do it because this discomfort I am feeling is way better than the discomfort I was feeling.

There is a difference.

I have taken notice, I have listened to my body, my mind and all the other things swirling around us these days and this discomfort that I am in right now?  I have chosen this.

What if you decided that you would just be open to the possibility that getting uncomfortable for a month could put you on the right track?  What would you do differently?