Mind vs Body on a Friday afternoon

So there I am on the subway coming home from work. My plans were to go to the gym...but let me tell you, I was TIRED! And more than that, I just wanted to curl up on the couch, drink a tea and watch the movie I bought (Crazy, Stupid Love - awesome fun movie by the way). As the subway stops passed by I mentally started talking myself out of going to workout, thinking about how nice it would be to just go relax. I know many of you are thinking - aren't you a trainer? don't you love working out? - yes...I do. But like everyone out there, some days it's tough to make that decision to go and expend energy and work hard. Personal Trainer or not - we all have days like that.

As I was trying to decide what to do, something I had read about in my psychology days came to mind. I remembered reading that every time you make a decision to do something you reinforce that connection in your mind. So in the case of the gym, everytime I make the decision to walk in those doors and get down to business, it strengthens that association in my mind - that when I say I'm going to workout - I do it. Everytime I say 'forget it' and go home, it strengthens that association instead and makes it more likely that next time, I'll just go home again. The same is true with many other tough decisions - everytime you decide it you are going to give into temptation and buy that cupcake, everytime you pick up that cigarette when you are trying to quit, everytime you press the snooze button knowing that it will make you late. Everytime you give in, it makes it harder not to the next time around.

The more times you decide to walk into that gym instead of going home the more likely you'll make the decision to go there in the future - even on the tough days. Today I wasn't injured or sick and I slept well last night. There was no reason not to go. Just sheer laziness.

So as the subway stops passed and I had arrived at my gym stop, against my body's wishes, I stepped off and made my way to my workout. Because if nothing else, I'm reinforcing the habit that healthy choices are what I want to make. And not just on the days where it's easy - it's even more important on the days that it feels tough! The couch will be waiting for me when I'm done :)