Tough Choices

Let’s be real for a minute.  Life is messy.  Best laid plans are cast aside every day because life happens, ready or not. Some are ripples that disrupt our day:

You have your workout scheduled and clothes laid out then a kiddo wakes up with the flu.

You are scheduled for noon workout but can’t get that client out of your office.

You shopped, meal prepped, and packed your lunch but your boss insists on going out to lunch.

Others are big waves that potentially shift the course of the rest of your life:

The promotion you thought you had earned went to someone else.

You wake up one day and realize you are 50 pounds overweight, pre-diabetic, with high blood pressure.and you wonder how this happened.

A car accident, a divorce, the death of a loved, or any number of other unplanned personal catastrophes turn your world upside down.

We all have our own scenarios in life that haven’t played out like we planned. Though our situations are all very different, the options we are left with are the same.  We can dwell on the opportunity lost or the perceived unfairness of the situation. It’s easy to choose to be angry or make excuses. I’m certainly guilty of this but it is a quality that I dislike when observed in myself or others. The reality is that our previous decisions have led us to this moment. 

Or, we can learn from our mistakes, dust ourselves off, take stock of the resources we have at our disposal, and begin charting the path forward from our current position. Prepare for the next challenge, stay true to our values, and take each day as it comes.  We choose to make the best of what we have at any given time.

If you have found yourself “off the wagon” with your fitness lately, it’s ok.  You’re faced with the same choices. It’s much easier to just go home every day and relax on the couch and swear that tomorrow is going to be different.  (There are times when I make this choice.) It’s much tougher to force yourself to change your clothes, grab your gym bag, and head right back out the door after you’ve been gone for the last 8+ hours.  And it gets even tougher the next day when you’re so sore you can barely sit down. 

But isn’t this what life comes down to?  How do we react when the going gets tough?  And you will have those days when you give in and just can’t get out the door.  Motivation will inevitably fail you. Stay positive and don’t get too far down on yourself.  Instead, surround yourself with a support group that respects your goals and build in some accountability to set you up better for tomorrow. Lean on the community when your own motivation fails. Then celebrate the wins when your efforts pay off. Before long you will see that wins generate motivation…not the other way around.

See you at the gym.