“If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.” ~ Someone cleverer than me
I don’t wanna be a complainer (well, I do for this post), but there are some things I don’t like doing. By no means is this an exhaustive list, nor is it in any order, but it’s mine and I wanna share it.
Now that I’ve shared my list, please share yours. Go ‘head, I’m listening. Uh-huh . . . yep . . . good one! Nice work. Now that you’ve got your list of things you don’t like doing, why do you do them?
I’ll get the ball rolling on this one as well. Here’s my list of why I do the things I don’t like doing.
One of the greatest complaints I receive from people about working out is that it’s boring (don’t get me started on the word “boring”), uncomfortable, painful, monotonous, etc. In the past, to give exercise more “curb appeal”, I would try to convince them that it’s not. But if I’m being completely honest with them, with you, and with myself, it is some of these things. Sometimes it’s these things.
There are days I don’t like working out or at least the idea of it.* For me it’s more about the discomfort and pain than it is boredom and monotony. (Here’s a tip: if you make your workout challenging and uncomfortable enough, they become a whole lot less “boring”.) So, here’s another list of things I [sometimes] don’t like doing.
But here’s what I like having:
I’ve stopped trying to sugar-coat exercise as being fun and easy (although it can be fun!). You don’t like exercising? Do you think it’s boring? Hard? I’m sorry, but that’s not a good enough reason to not do it if you’re interested in being healthier, leaner, and stronger. If you’re not interested in feeling better, looking better, or moving better, then yeah, why do it?! (It’s a trick question. You do it because you need to take care of the body God’s given you. It’s called being a steward. Oh, and the thought of my health insurance premiums going up because I’ve been “pooled” with someone who doesn’t give a rip about their health irks me to no end.)
Like most (all?) things that happen in life, there’s a cause-and-effect relationship. If you want to have something, you must do something. If you wanna be stronger (effect) you must lift things up and put them down (cause), both weights and a fork. If you wanna be leaner (effect) you must move more and eat the right foods in the right amounts (cause).
Regardless of whether you like doing something or not, sometimes you must do it to get what you desire. If you do like it or learn to like it, great, but it’s not a requirement. What is required is that you do to have the have. You can’t have the having without the doing.
*There are days I don’t look forward to working out, but there has never been a day I’ve regretted doing it.