Day 18: "JUST DO IT!"

Thank you Nike!
I don't think anyone anticipated just how powerful and inspirational those three little words would be. Determination. Passion. Relentlessness. With 3 little words, Nike tapped into the soul of a generation and inspired us to go the distance. What we must remind ourselves of is the Nike campaign was about going the distance physically. It was about athleticism and the fitness craze of the 80s. The famous Nike slogan and accompanying ad campaigns motivated the masses and shamed the rest into exercise. Guess what? It's time for us to revisit that inspiration and/or  guilt.

We all know what we should be doing. Eat breakfast. Eat healthy. Get 8 hours of sleep. Drink lots of water. EXERCISE. And yet, when the daily grind gets the better of us, what is the first thing we sacrifice??? We run out of the house in the morning with an empty stomach and coffee in hand. We rush to the office. We work through lunch. We have some more coffee. We work late. We grab some substandard food. We sleep poorly. We get up the next morning and we do it again. Our energy levels deteriorate. We feel lethargic. We look exhausted.  Our inevitable answer to this dreadfulness? More caffeine.

We are very smart people acting in very stupid ways.

We all know how much better we feel when we allow ourselves to JUST DO IT. Last night I was reminded of just how important good old fashion physical exertion can be. Monday was a marathon. Tuesday was a marathon and a half. Wednesday, after 5 hours sleep and an action packed 10 hour day, I was spent. BUT, I had made a commitment. There it was screaming at me at me from my outlook calendar.   I had a date with a stationary bike and a 60 minute Road Drills class,  I wanted to do about as much as I wanted to pull off my own finger nails. I rushed home, changed and literally dragged my tired butt to the gym. 30 minutes into the class,  I was drenched with sweat, breathing way too hard and feeling absolutely alive. It hurt like hell and it was the best hurt I had felt all week long. There was no time to even think about where my Blackberry was as the drill sergeant-like instructor told me to turn up the resistance and peddle harder. How luxurious. By 6:30, my head was clear and I felt better then I had all week. The feeling was not foreign. I know how good it feels to be good to myself and make the time to JUST DO IT!  It makes me more alert. It clears my mind. It makes me a better person. And yet, I continually sacrifice the time to maintain my place in the rat race. For a relatively smart individual, I make some pretty foolish choices sometimes.

Today's challenge is for you to make a smart "JUST DO IT" choice for yourself.  Pick a physical activity. It shouldn't be  something way beyond your level of fitness...that would be the wrong choice, too.  Now,  schedule it in your calendar at least twice over the next week.  I mean it.  Block the time and protect it.  Bumping it or scheduling something over it is not permitted.  Keep your commitment and allow yourself  to enjoy how good JUST DOING IT  feels.

Tb