Momentum

I’m sitting on a long flight, 30,000 feet up, and wondering if I left the stove on.

If you are like me and don’t prioritize time to travel as you should, it can feel a bit foreign.

The act of packing up, organizing everything for while you are away, planning ahead and actually going can seem daunting.

Will the dogs be OK? What about the house? Did I finish those last couple of work projects? Am I forgetting anything?

The lack of traveling creates a sort of momentum of being used to regular day-to-day life, while making the idea of taking a trip seem foreign and maybe even stressful or uncomfortable.

Contrast that to someone who travels often for work or fun, and they might feel rather comfortable with travel. Possibly even getting the itch to go somewhere if they stay put too long.

The momentum of our life and habits is quite powerful. The more we do something, the easier it is to continue to do it again and the more comfortable we become with that habit or action.

We see this happen all the time in the health and fitness world.

Often, the idea of starting a new program, or even returning after time away from exercise, can seem daunting.

The momentum of not regularly exercising is powerful. It can make us say things like, “I’m just not an exerciser” or “I’ve totally fallen off; it's too hard to go back.” Even, “I don’t feel like doing that right now.”

But just as the momentum of not being active regularly is powerful, so is the momentum of creating a new fitness habit.

Just like the jet-setter flying around the world, hopping on a flight at a moment’s notice and loving it, the same can happen with developing a healthy routine.

I have seen it thousands of times over in my 24-year fitness career. So much so that “I never thought I would become a regular exerciser” is a common statement heard around our fitness center.

And the most important step here is starting.

Not planning it all out. Not waiting for the perfect time. Not finding any number of other reasons not to do it today.

But simply, just starting.

Sure, finding something with a level of support and connection can help, but the true magic is in just beginning. We know so many people who were overwhelmingly glad they did and wondered why they waited so long in the first place.

Much like traveling. By the end of the trip, I often don’t want to leave and wonder what the big deal was in the first place.