Can I tempt you to work out?

Some days we just need a good reason to get up and work out.  Here are five.

1.     We will feel better afterwards.

2.     We can brag about it to our friends.

3.     We’ll live longer.

4.     We can eat a cookie if we want.

5.     We will have better sex.

If none of those reasons work, find another one that does.  We can do this!

I'm not so great at taking photos, either, but it's fun!

Yesterday I wrote about appreciating what we’re good at.  Today I want to talk about appreciating what we’re bad at.

I am not a strong swimmer.  I swim backstroke because I have only figured out how to breathe on one side when I crawl.  I’m slow.  And all of that is all right.

Would I like to be a stronger swimmer?  Sure.  But for now, I am happy being wet and occasionally crashing into the lane lines.  My heart rate gets up.  My muscles get tired.  My chest opens up.  And, for me, it is just bonus points that I get to smell like chlorine at the end.

We do not have to be good at everything we enjoy, or at everything that is good for us.  We can still get the benefit of doing something if it isn’t perfect.  And we may even get the benefit of laughing at ourselves.  Taking ourselves lightly is a not-inconsiderable thing.

I Appreciate You

In fitness, unfortunately, we spend way too much time thinking about what we aren’t good at yet.  We’re always pushing up against the limits of what we can lift, or how fast we can run, or how far away our toes (still) are in that forward bend.  Yes, we grow by recognizing that we’re not there yet and by continuing to work, but it is all right, from time to time, to stop and appreciate.

A long time ago, I used to work in the nonprofit sector.  Nonprofit organizations exist to solve problems.  Most of them need to do too much with too few resources, so everyone is always looking for a better way of working.  It was in that context that I learned about something called appreciative inquiry.

When we approach things with appreciative inquiry, we ask what we’re good at, what we’re doing right.  Then we do more of those things.  This takes the focus off all the other stuff that we are struggling with and allows us to leverage our success.

If we are strong, that means that we focus on our strength.  We do just enough cardio and flexibility work to keep ourselves healthy, and then maximize what we’re good at.  If we are flexible, we do enough weight work that we can control our bendy joints safely and we move enough to keep our hearts healthy, and then we pretzel ourselves to our hearts’ content.

We need to take a good look at what we CAN do and marvel at our own wonderfulness.