I’ve been spending so much time with coaching clients, making phone calls, and writing articles that I’ve nearly forgotten to exercise.
And like most people, I’m a devotee of one of the laws of thermodynamics; especially the item pertaining to inertia.
You know, the one that says: “A body in motion tends to stay in motion, while a body at rest, tends to stay at rest.”
Unquestionably, this explains what happens to me when I get busy with other things.
So, a few days ago, I decided to do something different. Instead of getting angry with myself, purposely, to get up a head of steam, and break through my sloth, I decided to be kinder.
Specifically, I caught myself thinking, “I’m so far behind in my exercise program that I’ll have to do a ton of work, just to catch up!”
Wrong thought!
Bad thought!
Fat thought!
Just the idea of seeing myself lifting weights over and again, or getting on my exercise bike, or using my Soloflex machine, turned me off, and made me feel fatigued.
So, I had an insight and made a deal with myself.
Exercising a lot is not my problem; it’s STARTING to exercise again. With this in mind, I told myself to just do ONE SET of exercises.
That’s it!
So, I picked up my light dumbbells, and did a set of ten repetitions, and I placed them on the floor.
I did a single set on my Soloflex, as well, and a single set of abdominal twists.
And I stopped right there. I wasn’t fatigued, at all. In fact, I felt nothing, at least right away.
About fifteen minutes later, the endorphins kicked in, and my mood lightened. Also, there was bounce in my step, where there hadn’t been any.
And I knew, I was getting back on my program, literally, without breaking a sweat.
When it comes to inertia, once you’ve started getting into motion, however modestly or slowly, you’ve made a powerful change for the better!
Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable, published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC’s Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.
