“ An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.”
-The Law of Inertia
I’m no scientist, but I find Newton’s first law of motion 100% true in the patterns of my life!!! The more I do something on a regular basis, the easier it is to just keep doing it. The less I do something, the longer I stay away from a habit, the harder it is to start it back up.
As you all know, I love to write. It’s not part of my job, I’m not required to do it, but writing my blog since 2008 has just been something I love spending my free time doing. For years I did it several times a week. People would ask me, “how do you have time to write?” and the answer in my mind at the time was ‘when you love doing something it’s hard not to find time to do it’. It really did feel as if inertia was propelling me forward. The more I wrote, the more I wanted to write. I kept doing it. Some call it “being in the flow” and it felt good.
The second part of the law feels equally true, in my experience. Once I get out of the routine of doing something, even if it’s something I love doing (like writing) or something I know is really good for me, it can be quite a challenge to get myself moving back in that direction. When I get out of the flow for whatever reason (get busy with other things…work, family, holidays, life in general, etc.) activities or actions that used to come fairly easy, become things I procrastinate and think of as difficult.
Getting back to a healthy routine after the holidays while adjusting to being in the midst northern Illinois winter weather is an PRIME example. I’m writing because I want to connect with anyone out there, who like me, struggles at this time of year. If you feel as if getting back to making yourself and your health a priority is super, super hard to do right now, I’m writing to you specifically.
If you can relate, there is a great deal of evidence to support our challenge: extreme cold temps, ice, snow, dark mornings and early dark evenings make it hard to move around/exercise outside; winter days seem to elicit cravings for traditional comfort foods; in season, fresh produce is sparse; the holidays put us in a routine of eating more than we usually do and richer foods, making it difficult to break the cycle.
There are plenty of reasons why it can be a hard time to get back to a healthy routine, BUT the fact of the matter is, even harder than all those hurdles we could brainstorm, I’ve learned living with myself when I’m out of control is HARDER. I don’t like the feeling of being out of control. I don’t have as much to give others when I’m feeling down on myself and it shows up in all areas of my life. Taking control is the only real option.
If this is your challenge too, don’t feel alone! You don’t have to stay on a path of behavior that isn’t serving you. Change is possible and it happens by making the decision and taking just one day at a time. Together, we can get back to the behaviors that make us feel our best while getting to and maintaining a healthy weight.
That first step is to give ourselves the gift of personal time. Time to decompress after busy days. Time to be creative. Time to find those creative activities that inspire us if we don’t know what they are yet. Time to plan for and arrange nourishing, tasty meals. Time to exercise or just move more, even if it’s indoors. Time to connect with others who lift us up. Time to just breath and be in the moment! Even time to get more sleep! Unfortunately in today’s world, the above are not a given. We actually have to purposely commit to making time for self care and stick to it.
This is my commitment to myself and I’d love company if you’d like to join me! I’ll be checking in with a blog post each week to share reflections, tips, tricks and inspiration that I’m finding helpful on a variety of topics that relate to living well. I welcome you to use the comments section below to share your findings too! If you remember, I took the security feature off of my site, allowing you to post your comment very easily. I hope you will speak up and post because hundreds of people subscribe to this blog and many will benefit from what you have to share. Pay it forward, if you will!
I look forward to staying connected and helping each other achieve our goals and make 2018 our best year yet!!!
All is well❤️
Love,
Terra
Terra, thank you so much for posting and encouraging us. Your points about rest and motion are so valid. And, I’ve found that as I’ve gotten older, it doesn’t take much rest for you to lose strength and balance, which in turn makes it all the harder to get in motion. It’s even easier to want to give up. But, to give up is to ……. I don’t even want to type it. I’m not going to give up. I’m back in the game and even though it’s much harder to maintain the motion, I will keep moving. Thank you and God bless!
Only 70 days until spring. Although in the Midwest spring never actually arrives mid-March, but rather mid May, just before summer heat. I find looking ahead to always put a positive spin on circumstances. Have a blessed day.
Amen!
I have missed your insights. It was so good to see the e-mail in my mailbox.
This entry SO spoke to my heart and soul.
In addition to being a Weight Watcher and full time nursing instructor, I love to dabble to in the textile arts. About 5 years ago, I started quilts for each of my 4 children. In the meantime, we moved and now I have a whole room upstairs dedicated to sewing. And meditating. One corner of the room is dedicated to my yoga practice/meditation. I haven’t sewn a stitch since last summer and haven’t meditated up almost as long.
I see myself becoming my mother. That dear lady had to have the stars aligned before she would allow herself “me-time” at the sewing machine. The house had to be clean. The laundry had to be clean, folded, and put away. Dinner had to be in the oven. Then and only then would she have some daylight hours for herself. Then the phone would ring and someone would request something of her, usually my elderly grandmother and another day was foiled. Sigh, there is a fine line between healthy discipline & compulsion, isn’t there?
I am committing here and now to walk up those stairs and put together at least one quilt block BEFORE I unload the dishwasher and start dinner! I need to sit and meditate BEFORE my dear hubby gets home and turns on the TV. Me first, at least for the next 2 hours. Thanks for your inspiration.
Karen,
I had to re-read your post several times because it seemed like something I would have written…you touched on so many similarities in my life! Most notably your comment about needing to “have the stars aligned before allowing herself ‘me-time’ at the sewing machine”…or whatever it is that makes us happy. I struggle with that in much the same way, hence days and weeks and months go by without me allowing myself to do something I enjoy, just for the fun of it.
We are blessed with 24 hours each day, and we get to decide (for the most part) how we invest those hours. I’m planning to schedule creativity time (otherwise it never happens), but my first priority so far this year has been scheduling MORE SLEEP. It can seem counterintuitive, but staying up late to “get more stuff done” does not actually serve me well the next day. Putting good food and water into our bodies is so very important, but first and foremost we need more sleep! I’m doing well so far and feel much better on the days when I have slept for 7 or 8 hours instead of 5 or 6.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and thank you Terra for opening the conversation again. 🙂
Love this, Melinda! So glad Karen spoke up and you could relate and shared. We really are all in this together and I’m glad! You all are fabulous! Here, here to more rest and scheduling creative time for ourselves! Both make life a lot more enjoyable
Thanks for your motivation. I joined on line this morning, will see how I do! I lost with the old plan but this sounds easier. My thyroid issues hamper me but I am committed to better health! Keep the motivation coming!
Thank you for the inspiration. Used my extra weekly points for a Friday night and gained everything it took me 2 weeks to lose.
Luckily one pound dropped off easily. Thought you dropped me off your list , since I did not hear from you. Although it has been cold–the sunshine has been a great plus. Keep ’em coming! And we’ll keep on doing!
Terra, your post this morning reached me and I am so thankful.
I hope you continue with your writings-the timing, the impact they can have on even just one person I believe makes it a valuable endeavor.
Look forward to the future sharing of ideas.
Thanks for checking in with us again, Terra. Yes, this is a tough time to take care of ourselves properly. Hard to find good fruits and veggies; hard to get myself to go out and walk my two little dogs (the snow today is up to their tummies so they aren’t very interested in taking a quick necessary break!); just hard to get motivated. Comfort food sounds so much better than a nice salad!
Maybe all of us together can motivate and inspire. Thanks for taking the lead for us.
Love this Terra! It’s so true that once we get going (on anything!) it’s easier to KEEP going! I’ve found it to be true even with house cleaning! During these cold, snowy months I want to be creating healthy routines which will move me towards my goal and come Spring, the routines will be well-entrenched. One new habit I’m working on is trying new healthy recipes to keep things interesting (because the Freestyle turkey, bean and corn chili is gonna get old!). ❤️❤️❤️
Thank You Terra, I began my Weight Watcher travel with you many years ago in Naperville. I am still at it, have not given up though there have been times I would have. I am up 3 lbs from my lowest weight and don’t like those 3 lbs on me. This Winter has been harder on me than I thought it would be or remember Winters being. I start my morning out staying on program and as the day progresses I manage to go off program a little, thus only 3 lbs. I have shared at the meetings that one of the reasons I have not given up is that I have gotten rid of all my clothes a size larger and I don’t want to start buying the clothes a size larger.
Your chili recipe is still one of our favorite Winter meals.
I won’t give up.
I will readjusts my brain to enjoy the snow that fell last night. I will not go out and walk in it for fear of falling, but will go back to walking at the grocery stores where I know I won’t fall and break something.
Thanks Tara – your blogs are always timely and on point. After three successful WW weeks I find myself struggling. Time to tighten the belt, sharpen the point tracking and get in gear. Oh and back to the gym tomorrow (they’re closed today).
Great post, and even greater timing! With the weather as brutal as it has been, I’ve been unable (unwilling??) to get in my outdoor exercise. I also have been telling myself to start a modest weight training program that I can do from home. But as you stated, an object at rest stays at rest. While I could’ve been using these past weeks to get my weight training program up and going, I’ve done nothing. Without running outside, I just prefer to do nothing. Now that I’m more aware of why, I’m going to take action–starting today–to change those feelings and ultimately my behaviors and actions.
Thanks for helping me increase my awareness!!