Pits!

Sometimes when we work out, we fall into pits.  Not literally, unless we are doing some sort of extreme obstacle course training, in which case I am not part of the we we are discussing!  Metaphorical pits are just as dangerous to our fitness goals as literal ones.

Not surprisingly, the most common pits are at opposite ends of a spectrum.  When in doubt, choose the middle road.

One end might best be described as the pit of despair.  We can’t do anything right.  We will never achieve our goals.  We pretty much suck at everything we are doing.  Everyone else in the entire universe is better, stronger, faster, more coordinated, and cuter.  Nope.  Not true.  We can always improve.  When we work hard, good things will happen.  True, the first thing that happens may be that we develop some extreme patience, but that is a good thing.  When we fall into the pit of despair, we need to use the Ladder of Doing Something.  Anything we do is better than nothing, because the bottom of the pit is a depressing place to be.  Walk five minutes.  Do one pushup.  Do a forward bend and try to reach your knees (no, not your toes; that’s for a day when you are not in the pit.).

The other end is the pit of comfort.  It’s nice there.  We are nice.  We recognize that we are so nice that we don’t feel like we have to do much of anything.  This pit is sneaky.  We may not even recognize that we are in it because it is so cozy there, doing the same easy exercises over and over again.  The way out of this pit is the Ladder of One More and One Higher.  Do the extra rep.  Add a pound or two or five to the weight.  Try the advanced version of the exercise.

We are both awesome and terrible at the same time.  We can offer solace through effort to our terrible selves and motivation through striving to our awesome selves.