I have been thinking about the goals I made right when I was planning my MBA experience before I moved here to Utah. Those goals were relatively simple, and included “work out daily from 11-12 PM”. I arrived two days before orientation and have yet to work out once. I have thought about this failure from time to time as I’ve rushed from one class to a study group meeting and from there to an information session but have consistently combatted the failure with the self-talk that amounts to personal resistance. My strongest argument is “I will let my group down if I exercise between the hours of 8 AM and 5 PM and after 5 PM I am just too tired.”
This is personal resistance but it is based on perceived relational resistance. I actually sat up one night and planned how I would approach the subject of exercising during the 11:00 hour to my group, but the next day I was so overcome with worry regarding their reaction that I never even brought it up. I am severely committed to my group which makes it so any personal goals fall to the side. Every time I reconsidered broaching the subject, personal resistance manifested itself by reminding me of all the things I need to accomplish before I leave for a conference this week. I just do not have the time to drop everything and work out for an hour each day. The task seemed hopeless.
Then I remembered that maybe the framing of the task was the problem! By simply changing my underlying assumption, I might have a chance at success. If my ultimate goal is to infuse my life with energy building rituals, there are a myriad of ways I can accomplish this- I am not solely limited to the traditional working out routine. This week I made it a goal to bring exercise into my already packed schedule by simply doing two things: 1) refusing to use the elevator and 2) quit asking my husband for a ride home from school. As I pursued these two goals this week I found myself trudging up seven flights of stairs on a few occasions as well as trudging up the hill toward home, sometimes at 10:00 PM after long, tiring days. Each time I made it to the top, though, I felt a sense of accomplishment and energy go through me and I knew that I was making a difference for my body.
I've found it difficult to set aside time for exercise as well. It's sounds like you're taking a sensible approach to the issue. For me I try and compensate by being more active and walking to and from campus every day and trying to be active with my kids. In the end I don't worry about it too much and hope I get a bit more free time to keep healthy once the crazy MBA schedule is over!
ReplyDeleteGREAT perspective. I've never thought about looking at what is keeping me from my goals, I always just modify them or set new ones. Great thoughts!
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