Advice I Give Myself

There seems to be an inverse relationship between movement in our everyday lives and the technology gadgets we use for work and entertainment. Why go kayaking on a river when you can just as easily do it in front of your T.V. on the Wii? Why run outside when you get on the treadmill with a TV in front of your face?

I try to get movement into my everyday in ways that look the furthest from exercise as possible. Exercise isn’t a fun term. Outside of work and family, fun is a big priority for me so I choose not to waste my time trying to integrate something into my life that I will not enjoy. Instead, I dance in the kitchen, I walk, hike, and bike. I try new things. I sit on an exercise ball at work because it is funny when I fall off and I can kind of bounce on it. I do these things not based on my waist line but because I enjoy them! Today we are fans of the monotonous, we run at the same pace, or walk at the same pace, or do the same dull routine at the gym. Get it done!  Get it out of the way!  On to the next obligation…I only go to the gym if I’m visiting my cousin in Chicago because her gym smells like chocolate due to the cocoa factory next door. Any place that smells like chocolate is fun for me, even if it is a gym.

So what is my point? Do not torture yourself for health, even if you are losing pounds you are hurting yourself in other ways. Some people love the gym, and more power to them! I’m not talking to them, I’m talking to myself.  I want to point something out…

When you look back on your life most of us won’t cherish the memories at the gym or in front of the TV doing the latest Wii exercise program. However, if we climb a mountain, learn a new sport, learn how to kickbox, go white water rafting in Colorado, take long walks on the beach, bike in Nantucket, or dance the night away we are much closer to making memorable moments and those things will always be worth any effort we put forward. Living a fit life can turn into something enjoyable instead of something we have to get over with.

Advice I Give Myself: Enjoy your day in every way. Make exercise into a game and keep finding ways to love your life more and more.