Have you ever had those days when you had to battle the “I don’t feel like it” demon?
You know what you ought to do, but it’s hard to get started.
That happened to me with a scheduled exercise day once. “Ugh,” I thought, “I don’t feel like it.”
Now back in the day, that would have been the end of it; if I didn’t feel like it, I simply wouldn’t do it!
That morning though, another voice answered “I don’t feel like it” with a question:
“Does that mean that you are not going to do it?”
I laughed to myself, “Ha, ha! No, that just means that I won’t feel like doing it while I’m doing it!”
You see, what I’ve come to learn is that “I don’t feel like it” only lasts a moment – if I take action.
Unfortunately I’ve also learned that if I listen to him then, that will influence my whole day.
I’ll develop a pattern of procrastination – which naturally occurs when you have a habit of obeying “I don’t feel like it.”
This pattern has destroyed many peoples’ dreams.
It starts out stealing hours, then days, then weeks, then months, and finally years.
“I don’t feel like it” tricks them into thinking they have all the time in the world. They find out too late – they don’t!
However when you take action, no matter how small, you tell “I don’t feel like it” to get lost.
Because you make him irrelevant, he has no choice but to leave.
In the case of my workout, my mind shifted to getting the job done.
Even though I didn’t feel like it at the beginning, by the end of the workout I felt good!
Instead of ending up with regret (which I would have if I had obeyed “I don’t feel like it”), I ended up with the pleasure of accomplishment.
To clarify, if I was feeling ill then I might have just stretched a bit and taken the day off. But that day, I was just feeling lazy.
It was a case of “a body at rest tends to stay at rest.”
However, you also learned in school that “a body in motion tends to stay in motion.” To stay fit and healthy, keeping your body in motion is essential.
“I don’t feel like it” knows that it takes energy to shift from rest to motion. So he does everything possible to keep you from shifting gears!
But all it takes to outsmart him is to stand up, put your shoes on, and start taking those initial movements.
You exert energy to shift gears to motion and when you do that, he has lost!
If you still don’t feel like it after moving for 10 minutes, then feel good about that, declare victory and stop.
However, I’ve learned that it really is just pushing past that initial resistance – just like shifting gears in a car.
So, I wrote this message as a salute to those who are putting your bodies in motion today by working out. Let’s get ‘er DONE!
I just had to read this because I saw “sherry” had commented on it, and I wondered if I had forgotten what I read. This is just what I needed today!!! I’ve always been an avid morning exerciser, but for some reason, since the time change, I’ve had a really difficult time getting up with the alarm. I also read my devotions after exercising in the morning…so I’ve been missing that also. Thanks so much for the jolt!
It’s important for me to make an exercise ( standing, daily, regular) appointment with myself. Just like I would not get up in the morning and head out the door without brushing my teeth….so too I must keep to my self appointments. I have my devotions and prayer time then exercise time then what ever is planned for the day. Oh did I mention that since the first of the year when I began this TBYT program I have dropped 16 pounds, been delivered from obesity and the spirit of gluttony through prayer and studying the word.i am so thankful to the Lord for each tiny step I have come because it all adds up in the end. It’s learning to enjoy the Process!