Irrational

There are people out there who love exercise for the sake of exercise.  They wake up in the morning excited to run or swim or dance or lift or whatever.  Good on them.  Me, I have to talk myself into it.  I know I am not unusual in this particular way.

We all know lots of good reasons to exercise.  Our brains tell us that we’ll live longer, look better, blah blah blah.  It is certainly good to know all the rational arguments for exercising.  Sometimes, however, it’s not the rational stuff that gets us actually moving.  Our bad selves don’t want to conform to what the teacher says we are supposed to do.  Plus the couch is really comfy and it’s cold outside.

So how do we get moving?  How do we convince ourselves to go get breathless and sweaty and possibly sore?  I deploy the irrational reasons.

Speaking for myself, I don’t have any sense of impending mortality.  Sure, I’m going to die someday, but it still seems like a remote event.  I can’t convince myself that one particular workout is going to make the difference between an independent old age and a pathetic nursing home existence full of pureed vegetables and bingo.  I can’t project myself that far into the future.  I have to go with the more immediate future:  I feel better right away when I hit the spin bike or stick my body in the pool.

Find the love.  Find the emotional satisfaction right in the moment.  That’s a good reason to work out.

Go play.