The positive effects from exercise can be immediate.
That may feel counter intuitive to everything you’ve come to know about the application of patience when it comes to results, but when we’re chasing something other than massive biceps, progress comes a lot quicker.
As hokey as it sounds, when I was at my lowest mentally, the exercise gave me hope. It felt like it manifested as this little ray of light cracking through the darkness that gave me something to grab onto and start pulling. See, hokey AF, but it’s legit.
For context, at that point in my life, I had a tough time feeling good, period. It always felt like there was a wall around me that took a tremendous amount of effort to break through. Even something as simple as picking up the phone took some serious mental gymnastics to overcome the self doubt, anxiety and negative mental cycles that would catapult a simple thought into a novel of disaster. It wasn’t great. (still isn’t some days!)
But I remember that single smile that changed everything. It probably wasn’t the first time I smiled in the gym, but it was the first time I caught myself. It was a reminder that I knew how to feel ok.
I remember the smile and I remember what happened next. I left the gym but the feeling stayed with me. Not for long, but it did. I caught it and I held on and that was first shot of positive momentum that I needed.
That smile ended up being a catalyst for change.
This isn’t ever a linear experience. I didn’t plant a brick and then build another on top of it.
I had to create and the catch that feeling again. And then again. And eventually, I caught enough momentum that it became the norm and I relied on it to feel good. (And I still do!)
So it’s that moment that we’re chasing. Because that moment can change everything.
I’m always looking for it and in the gym, I’m always trying to help you find it.