….tends to stay in motion.  An object at rest, tends to stay at rest.”   I’m no scientist, but I sure know this to be true in my life!

Darin and I recently went on an amazing trip to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic with my sister, her hubby and Darin’s brother and his wife. We stayed at an all-inclusive, the weather was gorgeous everyday and we had an incredible week!

While we were there, I took a break from my normal activity routine. We walked a lot but I didn’t go out for a single run.  I was OK with the break even though by the end of the week, I started to feel a (negative) difference in my energy level and my quality of sleep.  I dismissed it and told myself… “You’re on vacation!  Enjoy it!  You’ll get right back to running when we get home. Have another Dirty Monkey frozen cocktail!!”

We landed home on a snowy Friday and it was typical, freezing cold Chicago weather.   Our big adventure was over. We had looked so forward to it for months and once it arrived, the time flew by too quickly.  I dearly missed my sister already!   Feeling very sorry for myself, I decided to take the weekend off from running. You know….give myself a “treat” by not making myself exercise.

Then Monday came and it was back to work.  Ugh!  No matter how much one loves one’s job, going back the Monday after a time-of-one’s-life week off is a tough re-entry process!  And it was still cold. And dark. And winter. I told myself…. “Take today off from your run. You’ll go tomorrow”.

You’ve probably guessed where this story is going.  The longer I stayed away from my exercise routine, the more I procrastinated going back to it. The more I dreaded it. The funny thing is, I truly enjoy my running. I have 3 fabulous, very positive, high energy friends I meet in the early mornings and we get it done together while most of the rest of the world sleeps. It’s quiet, peaceful and no one from work or home is calling us or needing something from us at that time of day, so the time is ALL ours!  Although it’s cold in the winter, we warm up quickly and the good conversation keeps us from focusing the temperatures.  Sometimes it ends up being the best part of my day!

So what’s the deal?  Why do we put off doing something that’s so good for us??  The longer I stayed away from it, the less I wanted to go back to it and the WORSE I FELT!!!  What is that??   The other real kicker is that the less active I am for long periods of time, the more I want to eat!  And eat junk food. Nice side effect, huh????

The end of the story?  It took over a week for the procrastination to become more painful than just getting out there and doing it.  And as soon as I was finished with the first run, I felt like A MILLION BUCKS!!!  I had “Done the thing I thought I couldn’t do” to paraphrase the famous Eleanor Roosevelt quote and I haven’t looked back since.

Let’s not put off the things that make us feel good about ourselves just because they take a little effort. Activity is so important to our well being!  It’s not just about exercising to lose weight. It’s about taking care of ourselves and being kind and respectful to our bodies and minds.  Moving more does wonders for our quality of life and our health. All we have to do is push through the most difficult part—STARTING.

My friend, Judie, sent me the above quote last fall and I wanted to post it then, but never got around to it. It fits this experience perfectly and was a great reminder to me, so thought you might appreciate too!!  Thanks, Judie!

All IS well😊

Love,

Terra💖