If you want more movement in your life, flex your brain first!
Some things you just do no matter how much time you have for them. For example, the dishes need to be done. There’s a lot of motivation and intention behind why you would do them at some point even if you don’t have time or don’t want to, etc. They would get smelly, food would be caked on and hard to remove, and you’d eventually run out of dishes!
While there are analogies to what happens to our physical and emotional selves when we don’t use time for our most basic needs (think plaque on your heart, stinky thinking, and running out of emotional and physical “fuel”), that’s not what I want to focus on today. I’d like to focus on a flexibility mindset. While some things like dishes are a “just do it” situation, many things in life need to be shifted by examining and challenging our existing mindset and then making a plan for the action or change we want to see.
I am the proud mama of 3 amazing kids. While in my heart they are still cute babies, one is taller than me, then 2nd is gaining on me and the 3rd loves to torture me by reminding me that he is in double digits and will be in middle school next year. When they were little, I had no problem getting in vigorous exercise and taking care of them. I would plop them in the running stroller or childcare at the gym and studio. Everyone had their needs met and we were all together. As they have aged out of the stroller (I confess I probably got them in there when they were too old but I really did give it away years ago!), I now have to figure out how to get in my own movement and still spend time with them.
Flex point #1: Not every work out has to be amazing. What I hear from people that gets in the way most often from moving their bodies is not having the energy, time, or money for a workout. (pro tip: if you’re one of the many women who are struggling with adrenal dysfunction and/or autoimmune disease, intense workouts are not working for you anyway!!!) As seen in my most recent #doitanyway campaign, you’ll see the exercise I chose on a recent holiday with 2 of those 3 kids. Exercise is moving your body on purpose for some amount of time. I suggest starting w 5 min. Do the amount that you’re willing to do and have time for. You can always add on from there. Honestly, I love to get lost on a trail and spend more time. But that day, I could get cooperation for 30 min so I took it and was completely happy. Because I chose a value of flexibility; which is also a mental health necessity! If I was in my historic “it has to be (this amount of time or calories burned) or it doesn’t count” I wouldn’t have gotten any intentional movement that day, missed the beauty of the experience and/or missed out on that gorgeous time with the kids.
Flex point #2: It’s ok that they didn’t want to go. My dear friend who raised 3 amazing young men told me that “sometimes you just have to tell them what to do.” I’m not a drill sergeant; I do give choices and reasoning (that lead them toward healthy activities and healthy lives). But again, in the service of flexibility, not all of the time. As I am writing this, we are on an 9hr road trip and I make them take some screen breaks but for the most part, I’ll ignore the hours of screen time even though maybe they should be reading books or playing games or having meaningful conversation. I tolerated my hurt (but knowing) feelings that they didn’t want to go with me on that walk, my annoyance at their grumbling and we piled in the car with the dogs. The end result is that we all got healthy activity in that day (and even enjoyed each other’s company!).
What do you think you could be more flexible about? Try practicing this value and way of life and see if it frees up some room for that thing you want to do but never seem to have time for!