Doing It Anyway

Something I learned to say out loud from Melody Ross was "She did it anyway." What that means to me is: 

• It doesn't have to be perfect to be worth the effort. That is a pretty big deal for me. 
• "It" is anything from working out to being happy to eating well, to forgiving, to not getting caught up in emotional stuff that is not real. ETC.. (I have a lot of etcetera in my life.)
• Sometimes buckling down and just doing what you're told is the best thing of all. Trusting someone else's judgement and experience rather than trying to limp forward with all my past failures can actually be freeing. 

Today's bit for the Did it Anyway file is that I worked out. 

A real, challenging, exactly-what-was-on-the-schedule workout that made me sweat and my muscles tremble. I did it even though I didn't have a gym. I didn't have all the right equipment. I'm staying in my son's college married-student apartment that gives new meaning to the word cozy. But I did it anyway. I compromised and was creative. I also reaped the rewards of forethought, as I'm traveling and brought some good essential equipment with me. I actually made a decision to pack this stuff first, as a sort of declaration that I'm really going to make this lifestyle change I'm going for a top priority. I want changes in my body and mind. I'm pretty okay already, so this doesn't cancel out all that I am and have been and experienced. I'm looking for abundance. To add to. And this is one small way to do it. Pack fitness stuff first. More and more, I can feel that translating to actions like Read PN lesson first. Work out first. Strategize eating first. 

My tiny foam roller, yoga mat, jump rope, resistance band and
workout clothes, all in a packing cube. 

Of COURSE it's not happening all the time, but that's the point here. 

The more important moment in my mind is not the moment of lapse, but the day AFTER the moment of lapse. Will I start again or let the lapse (the not doing something formerly known as failure) get me? 

Doing it anyway means I have infinite do-overs. Eventually, 2 do-overs in a row becomes a streak of starting again, and after that, it becomes a habit. 

It felt good this morning to do the whole workout, wholeheartedly. To persist through the shaking legs and stop and correct my form, then complete the reps. 

I hope I'll remember that feeling tomorrow when the challenges arise. I hope you will, too.