How I Stay Motivated to Exercise

I've exercised each day for a week straight, and I feel motivated to continue. Doesn't sound like much, but this is a significant achievement for me. I've tried many times to start exercising, and each time I get derailed. What's different this time? A couple things.

First, I'm starting out slow. The first day I only exercised for 10 minutes. That's it. I went on the treadmill, and walked at a very comfortable speed, and when 10 minutes were up, I stopped. By the end of the week I was up to 18 minutes per day, still walking at a slow pace. I'm starting out this way because I intend to avoid getting sick. It has happened to me repeatedly -- I start an exercise program with vigorous enthusiasm, and within a couple days I'm run down and physically ill. Then I'm too sick to exercise, and the whole routine falls apart. I figure I can avoid this scenario by taking it easy and gradually increasing the time and difficulty of the workout. This strategy is also helping me develop positive associations with exercise: "Oh, I can do this. Just walk for a few minutes? No problem!"

Another important reason why I've been able to stick to exercising is because I've started listening to personal development podcasts and audio programs on my mp3 player as I exercise. The time goes by faster, and I'm exercising my mind along with my body. It also gives me inspiration, ideas, and new perspectives to help accomplish my health goals. I look forward to exercising because I know I'll have the opportunity to listen to interesting material. I do have to give Steve Pavlina (personal development blogger) some credit for this method, because I didn't consider listening to podcasts while I exercise until I read a post about his daily habits. Sure, it's a simple, rather obvious idea, but he spurred me to actually try it, and it has worked.

So it's simple, but this has worked for me for one week. And although that is a relatively short amount of time, I am one week closer to forming a habit that will serve me throughout my entire life.

A Serving of Healthy Habits, Please

Do you hear me universe? I said please!

Here's the deal. I'm 220 pounds. That's about 60 pounds more than my ideal weight. Over the past year, hell, over the past ten years, I've exercised sporadically, at best. For more than a year, I've been eating too much almost every day. My blood pressure is creeping up, probably because of the weight I've put on, my triglycerides are high, and my good cholesterol is too low. Did I mention I smoke cigarettes? So that's the reality check.

And why am I in this situation? Simplest answer: bad habits. Sure, there are reasons, some subconscious, behind these habits. But the fact is, these habits have to be replaced with healthy ones, pronto. Because the longer this continues, the worse things will get.

I think of habits in terms of a compass analogy. If you take a compass reading and are a couple degrees off, it doesn't seem like much. But walk a mile in that direction, and you will find yourself far from where you want to be.

So I've resolved to change course. To develop good habits. I've been exercising every day since Monday. I've been trying to eat right. It's been frustrating at times, but I feel OK about where I'm at. Spring is officially here today. Where I live, it will be a couple more weeks before we start getting actual Spring weather, but it is something I'm looking forward to. The more positive I stay, the greater chance I have of achieving my goals.

The ground is starting to show in the back yard, where the snow has melted. I can see the labyrinth again, and it looks solid and intact. I was a little worried about how it would fare throughout the winter, but it seems like the snow kept everything in place.

I think Spring is the perfect time to ditch old habits and form new ones. It is a time of rebirth and growth. So why not grow internally while the world outside does the same?