Like most people who are into a holistic lifestyle, I try to find balance in how I live. Nourishing my body, mind and spirit is a daily practice in being mindful of my choices. Will I choose to eat lots of fresh vegetables today or just go for the organic tater tots? Will I get up early to meditate and do yoga or lay in bed for an extra hour? Will I go to the gym after work or go home and watch a movie? There are choices to be made day-by-day, hour-by-hour.
For me the hardest choice by far is whether to exercise or not to exercise. After a long day of work, it often feels like it’s just too much to go to the gym and do a yoga class or work out on a machine. In the summer, I can be motivated pretty easily to do a brisk walk around the lake, but in the winter the thought of going anywhere but my nice warm home is at best unpleasant.
It’s times like these when I employ one of my favorite mental exercises.
I ask myself, "Who do I want to be?" Do I want to be the person who goes home and is a couch potato or do I want to be the person who loves herself enough to go and exercise her body so that it stays in shape, happy and healthy? This one question helps me so much in making decisions, because I know that I do love myself and getting exercise is just one way I demonstrate that. I want to be that person who takes good care of herself and has a fit and healthy body to live in.
Now truthfully, some days I really do want to be the person who goes home and takes it easy. That is a valid choice when I am run down and the very best thing for me is to rest. But taking a moment to do a mental exercise of asking myself who I want to be is a way to keep both my mind and body fit and aware.
