Everyone Starts Somewhere

Deciding to exercise is the first step on your way to a new and improved body and mind

 

When you’re looking to start lifting weights, running, bike riding, or doing yoga, just thinking about how to start exercising can feel intimidating. You’ve probably had that terrible thought in the back of your head: “I don’t even know where to start.”After all, scrolling through all the fitness posts on social media—or even seeing runners easily power up the hills in your neighborhood—can make it seem like working out comes so easily to those who are already in the thick of it. Nothing can be further from the truth. You can rest assured that the yoga teacher you follow on Instagram didn’t immediately pull off that handstand during her first class, or the CrossFitter didn’t bang out 10 pull-ups the first time they hung on the bar. And those runners you see going for hours? At one point, jogging nonstop for five minutes was probably a victory for them. And, for many people, even gathering the confidence to spend 10 minutes in a room full of other people fighting their own fitness demons is considerably harder than completing 10 pushups. Everyone starts somewhere.

The fact is that most of us are hung up on the minutia, the fears that we face in not being able to complete an exercise or embarrassing ourselves in front of other people, but now is the time to put those fears behind us and talk about the initial motivation and find the wherewithal to get off the couch, and use that fear as the fuel that drives us to get past the excuses and on with the exercise. If you can’t bear to look in the mirror, even to tell yourself that this isn’t the body that you want, then look inside your heart and think about what matters most to you—your family, friends, health, happiness, success, etc.—and start understanding that the following are just some of the aspects of your life that will improve.

Drop the Facade

Whether we accept it or not, our physical appearance affects the way that we interact with and treat other people. If you’re unhappy with yourself, you’re not going to be happy with others unless you’re the greatest actor in the world. But here’s the problem with that— everyone close to you can see right through your façade. By exercising and dieting and just working toward small weight goals and physical improvements, you can kill two birds with one stone and simply become a happier person. And don’t worry about the birds, because if this works, you’ll be killing them with kindness instead of stones.

Sleep Better

A lot of doctors and health experts will tell you that the cornerstone of a healthy and happy life is a routine of a good night’s sleep. Some may tell you six hours, others may tell you eight. There might not ever be a number that the so-called experts agree on, so just do the smart thing and aim for seven hours of sleep per night. “But I don’t sleep well, I have insomnia,” you might complain to the barista at Starbucks. First of all, too many people throw that “I” word out there all the time, as if they really believe they have a clinical sleeping disorder. Chances are you’re not suffering from insomnia and you just have a brain that keeps you up at night because you haven’t properly used all of your body’s fuel.

 

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