Exercise Makes Me Happy!

Working out regularly over these last couples of weeks has reminded me how much I do enjoy it.

Being fit was always important to me and I used to be at fitness classes or the gym, or playing netball every evening when I was in my early twenties. My friend and I would often go to a fitness class as a warm-up for our netball match! Whilst I was pregnant with my first baby, Joe, I ran a 5K race and was still going to the gym regularly right up until I was 6 months into the pregnancy. I think the combination of that and a bit of luck helped me get back into my pre-pregnancy clothes almost immediately after I gave birth. I got back into netball and the gym after a few weeks and my body hadn't really changed much from before. I even used to go to the gym in my lunch break at work!
Fast forward 3 years and things were different after I had my second baby, George. I was older, my body didn't bounce back to what it was before, I was more tired, had less time and my exercise naturally took a back seat. Eventually I got back into netball but that just wasn't enough. I put on weight and felt like I wasn't my old self. The old Tracy was fit and active but I felt like that was another me, in another time - so far away from how I felt right then. I felt lost without the exercise, like I wasn't really living up to who I had been before. My priorities had changed, and that was OK, but it kept nagging away at me. So I signed up for the gym again in the hope that it would kick-start my fitness. The trouble was that I found it very stressful rushing to the gym after work in the traffic, squeezing in a quick workout that really didn't fit my needs, and then rushing back home again to be with my family. Of course, the gym ended up dying a death and I cancelled my membership because I just wasn't using it and I was wasting our hard earned cash.
But then I discovered home workouts and it was just so much more do-able! I could fit a workout in around everything that was going on without the guilt. It suited me perfectly! The only thing with home workouts is you're on your own. There's no friend waiting for you at the local leisure centre and you don't want to let her down. There's no group doing a workout together pushing you through to the end. There's no instructor shouting at you to do one more rep! You have to have discipline to work out at home regularly. That was the catch for me - discipline. It's easy to not work out when the sofa's calling your name.....and we're back to the importance of the small stuff again!
Making the decision to make time for my workouts was important to me - they affect my fitness, health, and they help me to be who I really am deep down.
On top of that, it's empowering to hold yourself accountable for sticking with it. It means I'm still in control even when life throws me curveballs that I have no influence over. I am in control of whether or not I work out, and by default I'm controlling how I feel regardless of whatever else might be happening in my life.
I'm glad I'm taking back control. You only get one life, and I'm gonna live mine my way!

How the Little Things Affect Your Bigger Goal

When you have a goal (whether personal or professional) it can seem unachievable, too big, too far away to even know where to start. But it has to start somewhere. If you don't take the first step you can't make the journey and you'll never get to where you want to be.

Baby steps are your friend. They're seemingly insignificant actions that you take and decisions you make. The things that you do every day, often without really thinking about it - the small stuff. Making considered choices that actively move you closer to your goal are the answer.

These baby steps - they're easy to do. But you know what?
They're a darn sight easier not to.
If you don't exercise today is it a big deal? If you finish up the kids' leftovers have you thrown all of your progress away? If you eat a packet of crisps instead of an apple is it a disaster? Of course not. One bad decision doesn't throw you off track as long as you get straight back on the wagon. But you have to get straight back on the wagon. It's when one bad decision turns into another, then another and.....well, you get the picture.

It's hard to not eat that piece of birthday cake when everyone else is, or to work out after a long day at work. It's easy to make excuses and convince yourself it's the right decision. Hey, no one will know if you didn't do it. No one except you.
That's where the true test is. It depends on how much you want it - whether you want the change more then you want to stay the same.

Know that the cumulative effect of your small daily actions and decisions will ultimately take you closer to or further away from your goal.

You have the control.
Keep your eyes on the prize. Envision it, make it real. You have to be committed for the long haul. You won't achieve your goals in a matter of days. Be prepared for it to take months, maybe even years. But keep your eyes on the prize.

So go ahead and take those baby steps. Make those considered decisions. Sweat those small things. Do it day in and day out. Do it even when nobody's watching.

You'll be smashing those goals before you know it!