Starting Small
Lately, I have been focusing on changing one small thing at a time. When it came time to start the new year, I decided to continue what I was doing. At the time I had made it my goal to work out 5 times a week. I am still doing that because I decided to start small and add momentum. My goal was ridiculous at first...30 minutes of walking 5 times a week. That is the kind of goal they give to people who have high cholesterol and heart problems. I am still young-ish..I should be working out for two hours a day and running a marathon every single day! Not so much. I didn't even want to go the gym, even though I was paying for my membership every month.
So, I started with my 30 minutes of walking 5 times a week. After a little while I realized I could do more than that. I was starting to feel more comfortable there and feeling better overall. In time, I have built up my workouts. Now I like to jog or do the elliptical. And lift weights. I have a workout partner now and that helps so much.
I used to feel embarrassed to even go near the weights because I didn't know how much I could lift and all kinds of weird reasons I made up in my head. Looking back, it makes me laugh. It's so easy. All you have to do is set it on a weight, try it and adjust. No one cares or even knows how much you are lifting. They are all looking at themselves. (Okay, that's not totally true. I am completely fascinated by the guy wearing those little biker shorts and the tank top that has a scoop neck all the way to his waist. I'm fascinated because he looks like he just stepped out of a bad 80's movie, not because I care about his workout. But that's neither here nor there)
Why am I sharing this with you? Is it to get you to work out? No. I'm not going to be a personal trainer any time soon. I am sharing this because it is my method for building a good habit. Start with something small and let it grow. I knew I could walk for 30 minutes a day and it actually seemed really easy. I let myself succeed right away and then built it up from there. Now working out is something I do every day no matter what. I don't go at the same time every day but I go every day. If I don't go, I feel weird, like something is out of place. That is a good habit.
The funny thing is that I am more apt to challenge myself now. I push it to the limit more often. I increase the weights and increase the resistance on the elliptical or run for longer periods of time. Totally different attitude than when I started.
What habits are you wanting to start? How can you break it down to start small and build up? What are your successful methods for building new habits? Let me know in the comments!
Take care,
::Liz::
Original Abstract Paintings @ LizardoArt
So, I started with my 30 minutes of walking 5 times a week. After a little while I realized I could do more than that. I was starting to feel more comfortable there and feeling better overall. In time, I have built up my workouts. Now I like to jog or do the elliptical. And lift weights. I have a workout partner now and that helps so much.
I used to feel embarrassed to even go near the weights because I didn't know how much I could lift and all kinds of weird reasons I made up in my head. Looking back, it makes me laugh. It's so easy. All you have to do is set it on a weight, try it and adjust. No one cares or even knows how much you are lifting. They are all looking at themselves. (Okay, that's not totally true. I am completely fascinated by the guy wearing those little biker shorts and the tank top that has a scoop neck all the way to his waist. I'm fascinated because he looks like he just stepped out of a bad 80's movie, not because I care about his workout. But that's neither here nor there)
Why am I sharing this with you? Is it to get you to work out? No. I'm not going to be a personal trainer any time soon. I am sharing this because it is my method for building a good habit. Start with something small and let it grow. I knew I could walk for 30 minutes a day and it actually seemed really easy. I let myself succeed right away and then built it up from there. Now working out is something I do every day no matter what. I don't go at the same time every day but I go every day. If I don't go, I feel weird, like something is out of place. That is a good habit.
The funny thing is that I am more apt to challenge myself now. I push it to the limit more often. I increase the weights and increase the resistance on the elliptical or run for longer periods of time. Totally different attitude than when I started.
What habits are you wanting to start? How can you break it down to start small and build up? What are your successful methods for building new habits? Let me know in the comments!
Take care,
::Liz::
Original Abstract Paintings @ LizardoArt
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1 comment:
You are so right on this. Start small or in a way that you will succeed, then build from there.
Thanks for sharing your journey.
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