Get Inspired and Get To It!

It's easy to get inspired. I do it all the time. The key is taking that inspiration and turning it into something positive. It does no good to get inspired, only to do nothing about it.  You have to take action or else your passion will fade and you will never realize your dreams, and we all want to live our dreams, right?

When I started writing, I was inspired by the writing podcasts that I had been listening to for a while.  Both "Writing Excuses" and "I Should Be Writing" had inspired me to write but time passed and I never did anything about it.  Not at first anyway.

It wasn't until I heard about The Magic Spreadsheet that my inspiration turned to a consistent habit that I look forward to everyday. With the help of the spreadsheet I've been writing for 150 straight days and have not plans of quitting.

Exercise is much the same way. It's easy to get inspired to get in shape, but unless it's something you really want, you will inevitably give it up. Just like writing, it helps to have a goal. Give yourself something to look forward to. If you're writing, getting to the end of that book or story is your goal.  Your fitness goals could be something like a local 5k or mud run.  With a goal in mind, you can push toward that goal and use that goal to push your exercise habit.  One thing's for sure, you'll be less likely to fall by the fitness wayside if you set yourself a goal to work toward.

So go out there and get inspired. Then get a plan together and set some goals. The next thing you know, you could have that book that's been rattling around in your head down on paper or a set of six pack abs and healthy body. Whatever you want, go for it and don't stop until you reach your goals. Good luck, and let me know how it goes!

Making Time to Exercise

I've thought a lot about my health lately.  Since I started writing on the regular, I found myself slacking off on exercise, choosing instead to sit in front of the computer typing away.  While I didn't feel exactly out of shape, I realized that I wasn't exactly in great shape either.  Some changes had to be made.

The first change was easy.  It involved work and the way I spent my days there.  I was always pretty good at taking the stairs to the upper floors when I needed to go, but often I would make one trip up and then think that was enough for the day, often taking the elevator on later trips.  Now I try to make more than one trip per day.  Sometimes it’s tough, especially on those hot summer days, but it’s important to keep going.  You don’t achieve your goals by quitting.

Changing my home habits was a bit harder.  At home it’s easy to sit and type or watch TV or whatever else comes along, and just forget about that pesky exercise.  The elliptical sits there waiting, but it’s up to me to get on there and get the work done.  It’s sure not going to spin round and round on its own.  So I started hitting the elliptical on the regular and so far so good on that front.  My cardio is looking up as a result of the double blast of stairs at work and the elliptical at home. 

To go along with the cardio, I’m throwing in push-ups, pull-ups, and various ab exercises to help round out the rest of my body.  I just hope that I can continue the trend that I've started.  I can honestly say that I feel better now than I have in a while, and I’m looking forward to getting into the best shape of my life. 

In the future, I want to add some free-running into my fitness plan because that just looks like a lot of fun.  That probably won’t take place for a little while though, at least not in full.  (I’m always jumping off of something)  The way I see it, your health is a journey and you have to keep progressing if you want to stay at the top of your game.  So take a look at your health and access what you need to do to improve yourself.  If you plan to keep on living, you may as well feel good doing it!