Get Your A$$ Moving
Rebecca Jackson • February 26, 2021
There is no substitute for physical activity in a well rounded Self-Care Routine, so squeeze it in...
Now if you read the title to this blog and a small part of you panicked or wanted to cry, then you are probably sitting in a similar place to where I was when I reached this part of my Journey to find my Dazzling. I was painfully aware of how little I intentionally added physical activity into my life. I was painfully aware, and terrified to see how far I had really fallen off track, and I had no real idea where to start that didn't overwhelm me. I knew however, that it was something I absolutely needed to do. My life was going to slowly continue fading into an even more sluggish version of existence. I had watched as my energy had been disappearing, my interest in doing anything that challenged my body physically had gone virtually extinct, and I felt terrible about it, and myself as a result.
By achieving some balance in Step #1 - Back to the Basics, Step #2 - Step Your Game Up, Step #3 - Do Something Little Just For You
& Step #4 - Find Yourself A Hobby
then you should have achieved a natural boost in confidence and also your "Joy Supply" should be well on it's way to fully stocked before tackling the physical activity step. I tackled it barely surviving, much of my basic care lacking, and with a fully depleted "Joy Supply". Now my journey was rewarding and successful, but it was hard, and long as a result and it really took awhile before I had any real balance in my fitness efforts. Hindsight being what it is, I didn't realize how out of order I had prioritized this part of my self-care until AFTER I had begun exploring the other steps. Once I had successfully identified the first four steps, and worked on growth in my weaknesses within them, it seemed that this one became even easier for me to implement.
Allowing ourselves to work through the process in order and, take time to naturally balance each step before adding the pressure of the next step, is the most effective way to approach personalizing your self-care and wellbeing. Getting overwhelmed in the process doesn't aid in your ability to heal, grow and care for yourself effectively. Trying to find quality balance in any new fitness habit before you have navigated taking care of your basic needs, permitting yourself to look for ways to improve upon those basic needs, and doing little things for yourself to prioritize your own need for joy, will basically just make this step an inevitable failure. Trust me, I learned the hard way. If you try to challenge yourself too hard, too fast, you will break your own spirit and your own will to achieve. All that does is give you more to feel "bad about yourself" for. Build the foundation before you try to break yourself moving too quickly. When and only when, you feel mentally prepared to begin, start this step, and start it small.
Allowing ourselves to slip into the foggy existence of bare minimal physical activity however, will only ensure our own downfall.
DO NOT SKIP OR PROCRASTINATE THIS STEP. It may be the most magical step of all. I promise you. Our body was made to be used, to be moved, and to be challenged, and doing so also helps our mind and spirit in return. Getting moving in an intentional way will provide a multitude of positive payoffs in your life, the first of which will likely be a positive boost of endorphins into your system. Those endorphins will almost act like a tease to get you back at it the next day. When you know your mind will feel an uplifting boost from the physical activity, it gets easier to approach the temporary physical discomfort that you may experience.
To begin implementing this step into your life I recommend starting small, but it is important that you do start. Getting your heart pumping from positive, intentional activity has so many health benefits and there are plenty of studies to prove that. Head to Google and do a quick search on the health benefits of physical activity and then take your pick to start reading. I am not a health specialist or any type of trained or educated physician so that is an area of this step I do not feel qualified to discuss the technical side of the benefits. What I do want to talk about instead, are the personal benefits of adding physical activity into your Personalized Self-Care Routine. Those personal benefits include, but are not limited to, a natural increase in energy, a positive boost to your thinking and your confidence, improvement of sleep, even an increase in appetite among many others. If you focus on small steps towards increasing your physical activity, you will feel your body start asking for more, you will find your mind begins to challenge itself just a little further each endeavor, and your spirit will likely feel uplifted as a result of the boost your mind and body will feel. Instant Personal Care Trifecta achieved from just a little bit of physical activity!
Finally, don't feel obligated to get into a 5 day a week, 45 minute work-out regimen when you get to this step. Again I point out you are best served to start small, and the gym doesn't even have to be a part of your physical activity. Dance, take a walk, intentionally park at the back of the parking lot just to take more steps on your way to the door. As you feel your strength grow, challenge yourself a little further. If the gym membership is a tool you choose to add to your Self-Care Toolkit, then don't let the fee become a waste of money, get in there once or twice a week to start, and put the blinders on when you walk in the door. It can be so tempting to watch what other people are doing. It can feel easy to compare ourselves or our weight to that of those around us at the gym, it can also be natural to feel incredibly out of place, especially if you are very inexperienced. I will offer boatloads of tips tailored for the gym in other blogs down the road, but for this one I just want you to focus on walking through the door and challenging yourself. Just be your own competition and try to do a little more that the last time with every visit. Also, reward yourself for taking the scary step into the gym, if you decide the gym is right for you. There are SO MANY ways outside of traditional gyms to find physical activity though. The important thing is that you do find a way to "Get Your A$$ Moving" so you don't freeze up like the Tin Man. Now go get moving, and remember, I am not a trained physician or licensed fitness professional, so seek guidance from your physician before changing or adding any intense or new physical activity into your "Personalized Self-Care Routine" and start small to avoid any pain or damage from starting to intense.....and REMEMBER TO HYDRATE!!!
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