Monday, January 5, 2009

Physical exercise is a journey into self.

The sad story is that the secrets of exercise remain a mystery to many. What is it that they have or know that you don’t? Whenever someone mentions their running or exercise passion, your response is always the same, you look at them like they are from Mars or Venus and say, "I don’t get it." Secretly, you wonder what you’re missing. Secretly, there are no mysteries of exercise, it is self-exploration.

The Journey
Physical exercise is a journey into self. We are in constant battle with ourselves. To move or not to move, that is the question. Over the years, we have developed a very keen and active system of avoidance. For example we may say, "I’ll try to get in a three-miler this weekend." From the moment we said it, we knew that we were giving ourselves permission to fail. "Trying" is a 50/50 proposition. "I tried to run this past weekend but there was a great movie and..." Practice this phrase; "try to stand up". What happened? You either stood up or you remained seated, there is no in-between land. You either do it or not, period. Know thyself!

Setting Goals
When we set specific goals and achieve them, we feel good about ourselves. It takes discipline and dedication, a strong desire to win (whatever our goal is), and the will power and determination to walk out the front door and jog or run or bike…. When we step out that door, we are immediately transposed into "the athlete". Bestowed upon us are the attributes that fit all athletes…disciplined, determined, a real achiever. We like that feeling! We believe we are doing something positive and feel great for being a doer.
Know thyself!

Stick to It and Survive
Our sense of confidence and heightened esteem will carry over into other areas of our life. Employment struggles become less of a burden because we know we have the tenacity to achieve, the ability to follow through, and the knowledge to make it happen. We know that we can stick to it and survive, more than survive, prevail and triumph! Know thyself.

Adopt Einstein’s pithy maxim: "energy begets energy".

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