I'm not one of those fortunate people who can eat all they want and never have to exercise or worry about weight gain. Those people, quite frankly, make me sick. I'm kidding (but not really). I'm also not one of those "either/or" people who can get by with either eating right or exercising. As a health advocate, I have done extensive reading and research to self-educate myself on which foods will render a healthy dose of good nourishment without packing on the pounds. And in the six years that I spent as a certified group fitness instructor, teaching aerobics classes at various local gyms across metropolitan Atlanta, I was well-versed in what to do in order to build a healthy heart and fit body. But what I have found is that if I eat right and don't exercise regularly...or exercise and don't eat properly, I fail in my efforts to keep fit. If I want to maintain a healthy weight, I have to do both. I know that to be true because in the last four months, I've maintained a relatively healthy diet, but due to my heavy workload, I didn't make the time to exercise like I should have. As a result, I've gained six pounds. Ughhhh...those evil little scale crushers!Monday morning, for the first time since the end of August, I got out of bed, and after spending time in prayer and meditiation, I hit the gym. The one hour session that had become second nature for me months ago was tedious to get through today. I had to pep talk my way through those miles that I walked the threadmill on an uphill incline. And when I erased the incline so that I could throw in a few high speed sprints on level grounding, I found myself switching from pep talking to downright praying. By the time I made it to the weight bench and began churning out chest presses, bicep curls, and tricep dips, I was ready to start speaking in tongues. And those crunches... Man! What a difference (and not in a good way) that four-month hiatus from the gym made. I have truly learned my lesson. Getting back on the exercise wagon wasn't easy, but I've done it. The hardest part - that first day - is behind me, and I'm back on track now, and the strides of day one already have me pumped up to take on day two.
The point I'm trying to make (I took the long route to make this point because the long route burns more calories) is that if you want to do anything well, and if you desire for it to become less of a chore, you've got to do it regularly. A few more daily visits to the gym, and my workouts
will become second nature once again. That's just the way it is. The more you do a thing, the more natural it becomes. It may not be easy, and it may call for a little schedule shifting and a little sacrifice, but once you get accustomed to doing it routinely, it becomes a normal part of your daily schedule. And that includes PROCRASTINATING. That's right. The more you put things off, the easier it becomes to put things off. Like my exercising. Notice I said because of my workload, I didn't make the time to exercise. It wasn't that I couldn't exercise, I just didn't make it a priority.Anyone who has taken any of my Writer's Cocoon Workshops have heard me say it. Writer's write. Anybody can talk about writing a book, but only a writer actually writes one. Talk is cheap....and useless without following it up with action. I'm a firm believer that anything you want to accomplish, you'll do what you have to do to accomplish it. You may have a full day of activities on your schedule. Work....family....laundry....cooking....cleaning....eating....most of us share those duties. They are not viable excuses. If you want to get that book written, you have to make the time to do it. Plain and simple. Donate thirty of those minutes that you spend sitting in front of the television. Sacrifice fifteen minutes of sleep time. Better yet, give your writing at least one of those four hours you spend on Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter telling everybody in cyberspace your business. Use that time to hit the literary gym. Exercise your creative writing skills. Put that energy into lifting a pen and pad or burning calories by allowing your fingers to dance across a computer keyboard as you type out that manuscript. Lose the fat of procrastination and build the muscle of achievement! It will be a challenge at first, but mark my words...the more you do it, the easier it will be come.
There is an old church song that says, "I believe I'll run on and see what the end is gonna be..." The only way we will ever see our literary goals achieved is by daring to get in the uncomfortable position of taking the first step. Once we've done that, the hardest part is over. The finish line is within reach....
Run on...walk on...write on!
