Thursday Thought: Just Go

Hi Peeps, I thought I’d start a series called Thursday Thought where I’ll give you some thoughts that have been helpful to me.

I have always preferred exercising in the morning. Then I have less time to talk myself out of it. However, I still do have lots of thoughts right when I wake up about how this is a bad idea, and I should just stay in bed. I know in the big picture that’s not what I really want, but at that moment, it’s so convincing. I’ve been struggling with this for a few weeks as I’ve been trying to start a new habit of doing a 20 minute workout 3 times a week. I would still get it done, but it would be later, when my kids were awake, which pushes everything else behind, besides I don’t always get my 5 minute solitude (I just lay on my back for 5 minutes in silence and solitude) at the end, which is a huge motivator for me. Try it! It doesn’t sound like much, but I love it.

So, as I was contemplating what to do about this, I remembered my University experience. I would stay up later and get up earlier those days, and sometimes would try to talk myself out of going to class. At some point, I realized if I got in the shower, it was very unlikely that I would get back in bed. So when the alarm would go off, and all of those thoughts would start flooding me with reasons to stay in bed, I would redirect to this thought, “Just go. Just get in the shower.” I just focused on the one thing I needed to do to get going, and then I could get to the rest of my day. I just couldn’t handle the whole day at once. I decided to try this out with my new dilemma.

Now when I wake up and my mind starts thinking about how I’d rather lay in bed than workout, even if it is only 20 minutes, I redirect my thoughts to “Just go. Just get in your workout clothes.” Once I’m that far, it’s not hard to just do the workout, because then I realize, “Oh ya, it’s only 20 minutes, then I can get in a nice warm shower.” I also love to just lay on my back on the ground for 5 minutes of solitude at the end of my workout. Doesn’t sound like much, but I love it. Try it!

What helpful thoughts do you use to help you get out of bed in the morning?