This post almost didn’t happen because I felt horrible last night. This cold sure hit me hard. I ended up asleep on the couch at 6:00 pm and then laid there for pretty much the rest of the night.
I am worn out. I hope this crap goes away soon. I am done being sick.
I did fix myself some pretty awesome cider that I found in my pantry. It sure made me so happy that fall is here.
Yesterday (Saturday) I had a come to Jesus moment with myself. Yes, I talk to myself sometimes just go with it.
I talk about doing a lot of things. Some of them I do and some I don’t.
I noticed today as I was getting ready to go to the gym to workout, the more that I talked about it the more I was talking myself out of going and bringing many negative thoughts in my head.
I finally stopped, took a deep breath, and said to myself “Quit talking and just do it!”
I went to the gym, had a pretty awesome workout, and it was done.
This goes along with some many things I talk about doing:
Spinning – I really don’t like to spin. I go on and on about how much I don’t like it.
Quit talking about it and just do it!
I say at the beginning of every single week how productive I am going to be. I talk about making a schedule, spending at least 2-3 hours a day away from the house getting stuff done. Then I sit at home and only get half my “to do” list done.
Quit talking about it and just do it!
I also go into every week telling myself it’s time to cut out the bad parts of my diet and eat clean!
I will talk about it all day and beat myself up when I fall off course because I’m so focused on trying to do things perfectly.
Quit talking about it and just do it!
I talk about how much cleaning I have to do each day. How I will NOT let my house get out of control, yet every single week by Friday I may have completed one forth of what I set out to on Monday.
Bobbi posted this earlier last week on Instagram and I loved it! It is perfect and simple to keep up with daily housecleaning.
Quit talking about it and just do it!
The purpose of this is not to be hard on myself. The purpose of this was to realize that talking about doing something doesn’t make it happen. Progress requires action, and if I keep complaining or dwelling on the negative things I will never get where I want to be.
There is so much to be enjoyed in life, and my motto from here on out is simple: Quit talking about it and JUST DO IT!
Do you ever talk yourself out of things before you’ve even started?
How do you stay focused and motivated throughout the week?
As the old saying goes ‘the road to failure is paved with good intentions’ 🙂
We ALL have those self-chats, how we are going to be better about this or that, not do this bad habit, be more efficient with time, not waste time browsing random web sites / blogs and so on. And then we are at best 75% good about stuff.
And to be honest, for the most part that is JUST FINE. Life is about finding the things that matter and those that don’t, and making sure to take care of the big things and not sweat the small stuff.
Because nobody is perfect, and while we can look at some folks and think that they ‘have it all’ or ‘have it together’, we are all trying to pack 10 pounds of stuff into a 5 pound bag.
Over at Megan’s (The Lyon’s Share) site this morning she has an image that says ‘Life goes by in the blink of an eye … appreciate the moments’. My kids missed the bus this morning because they were lazing around, and I could have given them a rough time about it, but I was leaving at the same time and it is literally 2 minutes out of my way, so instead we all had the chance to chat for a few minutes and relax before starting the day.
So certainly work on stuff – because it is also sometimes easy to give ourself TOO MUCH slack – but be sure to appreciate the moments of your life.
Completely agree!! I love that!
I have just noticed over the course of the last several weeks I talk for hours on end about what I am GOING to do, waste so much time I should be using for something else, and then it never gets done. Instead of getting what I need to get done during the day so that I can enjoy the others aspects of life later on. I need to focus on making MY life the best it can be both for myself and my family!
AHH I work from home your second statement hit me, so buh bye gotta get some stuff done!
Me too girl! Sometimes you just got quit talking and make it happen! 🙂 Hope you have a productive day!
Its amazing how I keep coming across people having the exact same feelings as I, and blogging about it almost simultaneously. You followed me on Twitter this weekend and then this morning I see this post, I was writing a similar that I just posted this morning. Thanks for writing this though, so many ways to look at the same thing!
http://www.marcbigbie.com/diet-fitness/confession-i-have-a-debilitating-illness/
I think it is something that we all go through at some time or another. It is important that we focus on the important things! We all can do this! Good luck to you as well! This is going to be our best week yet! 🙂
For sure! And on that thought …. I am going to get some exercise in right now before heading to work in a few.
Get it!! Sometimes I just have to kick myself in the pants and get going! 🙂
I have mixed feelings about the whole “just do it” approach. On the one hand, there are certain unpleasant tasks that need to be completed in order to achieve a larger goal. For instance, I made myself sit still and work on grad school apps yesterday because, even though the writing itself is tedious, ultimately I do want to go to grad school so the apps are (obviously!) a necessary step. Another example is running: do I want to do every single run? No, of course not. But I DO want to become faster and stronger, so therefore I push myself to run even when I am not 100% in the mood.
However, I think it’s really important to examine why I am doing something if it isn’t making me happy. If I find that, like writing applications or running, it fits into a larger goal, then I will force myself to continue. On the other hand, if I don’t want to do it and I can’t see the bigger picture, then I might not push myself. When I was growing up, I think I had this robotic attitude of doing everything that was expected of me, striving for “perfection,” but it left me feeling pretty miserable and empty. So now I try to be more self-aware when those feelings of reluctance come up.
Sorry for the novel! This was a really thought-provoking post 🙂
Great thoughts! I completely agree – When I wrote it I was focused more on the fact that I am too negative about doing some of the things in my life and I will actually think about things and talk about them and then they never get done – I use all my energy on focusing on the what could be bad instead of just getting out there and getting things done! I don’t think you should do it when you know you need rest or you know you need to be careful, but for me sitting around thinking about something for hours and wasting the time does nothing but hurt me in the long run.
I think it is important like you said to focus on what isn’t making you happy though. Spinning doesn’t make me happy BUT I know that it will help me in the long run towards getting back to running. Self awareness is very important!
Thank you for your insight! I really enjoyed it!
I am working on a blog on just this. I feel like excuses are everywhere. Just have to give them up and do it! Great post!
Completely agree! Sometimes we just need to put on our big girl pants and get it done!
I have also noticed when I stay on task and get stuff done I have so much more time in my day to enjoy other things 🙂
You don’t like spinning, you don’t like swimming. Is there anything besides running you do like? lol 🙂 Early morning workouts I seem to find myself talking myself out of as soon I wake up. Especially by the end of the week.
I actually do enjoy pool RUNNING haha but swimming I think I could come to like I just am really horrible at it right now and I end up getting frustrated. Spinning I just can’t get into – maybe eventually, but it is a necessary means to an end! 🙂
Yes, the later in the week I find it gets harder too!
Exactly true – you know how on airplanes they tell you to put on your oxygen mask before helping others? That is true with all of life – and you know that. There is a ton of stuff you’re dealing with, and as you said before you really want to get back to being the best wife, daughter, sister and overall person possible. That all starts inside of you, and it is always true that when your gut tells you something needs to change … something needs to change.
Another blog I follow, the writer took all of last week off – wasn’t planned, but his wife was on vacation, he didn’t run as much as planned, and didn’t write a blog entry all week. And rather than stressing about it or overanalyzing – he stated it, and said that there was tension early in the week where he felt like he should do something, then he decided his plan, and just went for it. Today he noted what and why he did, and now we go on from there. Or as your blog title says, he just ‘quit thinking and did it!’
Hehe, OK, I think this post is karma coming at me … I am currently at the office avoiding a big task that I need to have done in 90 minutes, and procrastinating by (obviously) reading blogs. So I think this means “JUST DO IT!” Thanks for the reminder :).
Haha well I’m glad I could help Megan! You’ve got this!! 🙂
You’re so not alone…we ALL talk the talk and then don’t walk the walk on certain things…. But it’s good that you gave yourself a little jolt…a little reset….to get the momentum going. Good luck and I hope to be inspired by your Just Do It attitude!! My latest ‘quit talking’ is starting the NASM certification process… 🙂 🙂
-Sammy @ http://www.peaceandloveandicecream.com
Awesome job girl!! I wanted to do that at one point – sometimes I still toy with the idea, I even bought the books but never did it! Good luck would love to hear your experience!!
Today was a good day and I got a lot accomplished – I think this new motto is working already!
Just have to make the decision and ACT on it! I will def keep you posted! 🙂
Agreed! 🙂 Please do!
I love this post! I am the exact same way I spend so much time making lists that half of it never gets done. I had a little motivation chat with myself yesterday basically saying the same thing! We just can’t get down on ourselves, every once and a while we need to have that little pep talk and keep truckin’ on. Thanks for passing on the Just Do It motivation!!!!
Thank you Ally! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
I agree – sometimes you just need to pick yourself up and keep going! It may sound simple, but sometimes we do these things without even realizing! We are capable of so much more than we think sometimes!
Oh my gosh yes. I hate cardio. But I have to tell myself “quit talking and just do it” all the time. And funny thing is, once it is over, I love how I feel. So all that whining and complaining was just that…whining and complaining. Great post girl. BTW, saw that same post from Bobbi and started using it for my home. I am in love already with this new routine!
Isn’t it great!!? It makes my cleaning so much easier. I haven’t been 100% with it yet, but it gives me something to follow!
Yes it is amazing that once you do it you feel SO much better, it just getting yourself to do it. I have used this approach today and it is already amazing how much more I have accomplished! I hope I can keep this going the rest of this week, but right now I just take it a day at a time!
I love a cleaning calendar! I follow one and it makes life SO much easier!
I honestly had never heard of such a thing till I heard that. It really does make things SO much easier with no question about what you need to do!
I hate spinning/cycling too. I am such a wimp and constantly complain about how much my bum hurts. I find the spinning classes aren’t as painful because they do a lot of work out f the saddle, but still. Runners bums are not meant for cycling!
I am really hard on myself too and can really relate to this entire post. It’s so tough to not be hard on ourselves when we hold ourselves to such high standards. I have a similar mantra that I try to use to get myself to stop over thinking everything…”Don’t think, just do.”
Also, I highly recommend the book “the gifts of imperfection” by Brene Brown. It really is a great resource for trying to accept ourselves for the perfectly imperfect creatures that we are 🙂
I will have to check that book out – Thank you for the recommendation!
I agree on the butt issue! It KILLS! I can’t stand because of my leg and so I have to sit the whole time – MISERY! I am swimming tomorrow which will be nice. I’m having to slow down though because my legs been acting up, I am taking that as a sign to listen to my body and slow down a bit!
Other than sitting on a small seat and moving your legs in circles, spinning and cycling are not the same thing. Seats on those spin bikes are terrible, I don’t think you can ever get used to them, they just aren’t good, so a 45 min class is about all you could ever do on one of those “cushy” seats. A real bike seat, that fits you, takes a week or so, then you don’t think twice about it, you can ride all day on one of those.
But now that it’s getting cooler, I’ll be mostly running anyway. I hate being cold so 18mph in <50 degrees is NOT appealing 🙂
Good to know! Yes, those spinning seats are no where near comfortable!! I have a bike as well and it does seem better than the spin bike, but with the weather we’ve been having I haven’t been able to get outside!
I can’t wait to run again hopefully in a month or so!!