Making Fitness a Priority Goal
Happy August, everyone. How are things? Still chugging along? I’ve been getting busier and busier, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. I do know how I feel about it. I’m tired. I’ve had longer workdays, but I’ve also been traveling for vacation… and as you know, travel is taxing on the body. Over the last few weeks, a scary thought has kept popping up.
“Maybe I should start working out.”
You see, even though I play some tennis, that’s been my only source of exercise. I take a decent number of steps, but it’s been a while since I’ve worked out. You know, use weights, push my limits, things like that.
The next thought after that is, “Ugh, that sounds tiring.” After having this pattern of thoughts a few times this past month, I realized I’ve grown comfortable with not exercising. I’ve been spending time meditating, and that’s done a lot for me, but I’ve now entered a season of life that requires a more physical me. The only way to increase my energy output is to strengthen my body.
This leads me to my next realization: I don’t like change because my current life is comfortable. If you’re okay with your situation, there’s no need to change. However, I’m so busy that it’s no longer okay, so I need to examine my willingness to work through the discomfort seriously.
As I was coming to accept my new reality, it sparked another realization (as you can tell, this was a big moment for me), that I tried to fight off the idea of working out by saying working out didn’t feel right, that I didn’t need it. However, at that moment, I was mixing up the difference between something feeling right and feeling comfortable.
Too often I hear people say how they could never do something because they’re not that way. However, in most cases, it’s not that they can’t do it, it's because doing it would be so uncomfortable that it’s not worth the effort. However, if they took the time to work on it, they could become the type of person that does that thing. For example, public speaking is the number one fear for most people. Number two is the fear of death. That means more people would rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy. Those people might say, “I could never speak in front of a crowd.”
However, if we created a way for the person to practice speaking in front of 1-2 people, then a small crowd, then a medium-sized crowd… that person could become a public speaker. Slowly working through the discomfort allows them to change and grow.
So, when it comes to changing ourselves or achieving our goals, a certain level of discomfort is required to grow into that level because the goal is set at a level we currently do not operate at.
So how are your goals coming along? If you haven’t made progress, is it because you don’t want to leave your current comforts? Is the discomfort of change too great? If so, there may be some adjustments to make. For me, I decided to reach out to a trainer friend and get her support. If you’re unsure how to make those adjustments, please reach out.
Coach Kev helps people find calm, clarity, and confidence in their life while getting uncomfortable. Contact him at kevinkoocoaching@gmail.com, or follow on IG and YouTube @kevinkoocoaching and come meditate with him at https://bit.ly/kkcmeditation
