“I Don’t Feel Like It”

The Pitfall: Have you ever said, “I don’t feel like it” when it was time to exercise? If this had happened to me back in the day, that would have been the end of it; if I did not feel like exercising, I simply would not do it. The Way Out: I discovered that “I don’t feel like it” only lasts a moment. It's often a case of “a body at rest tends to stay at rest.” However, I also learned that “a body in motion tends to stay in motion.” I decided I wanted to live my life fit and healthy, even as I got older. So keeping my body in motion is essential - as the old saying goes "when you rest, you rust." To get past "I don't feel like it, my challenge was moving from rest to motion. The Change: Most of the time, my "I don't feel like it" came from sheer laziness. And the Bible warns against laziness in this little story:

I went by the field of the lazy man, And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding; And there it was, all overgrown with thorns; Its surface was covered with nettles; Its stone wall was broken down. When I saw it, I considered it well; I looked on it and received instruction: A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest; So shall your poverty come like a prowler, And your need like an armed man (Proverbs 24:30-34)."

I no longer wanted to neglect the body God had given to me. That meant laziness had to go. I reminded myself that there were plenty of times I did things, even when I didn't feel like it. For example, I didn't always feel like  going to work but I did it anyway. Why should working out be any different? All that would mean is I would be exercising, but I just wouldn't feel like it while I was doing it! To move from rest to motion, I'd tell myself: "I'll exercise for 10 minutes. If I still don't feel like it, I'll stop." Most of the time, it was just a matter of getting past that initial resistance. But if I still didn’t feel like it after moving for 10 minutes, then I'd feel good about that, declare victory , and stop. However 99% of the time, I'd be fine after 10 minutes and want to keep going. Whether I did 10 minutes, 60 minutes or any number of minutes in between, I ended up with the pleasure of accomplishment in knowing I had done something good for myself. Kimberly Taylor takebackyourtemple.com P.S. Going forward, I challenge you to examine your own weight loss pitfalls. What consistently gets you off-track? I'd love to hear about it. Feel free to contact me and tell me your story. God bless you!