Go ahead, push that START button yet again.

It’s that time of the year again; the time when our shadows cast by the lights on the floor follow us uninterrupted; when no longer scarce, we are greeted with an abundant supply of parking space on the lots; the time when our sweat droplets echo freely across the room.

Gone –at least for now- are the days of crammed spaces and the evil eye looks shot at us for using a particular apparatus past another's idea of long enough, or for taking up the spot someone else wanted, hell bent on following through with their workout routine. Those days filled with new year resolutions soldiers, disciplined and dedicated to whipping him or herself into shape, come hell or high water.

Today, most likely, we are back to our old selves; consumed with the day-to-day living priorities, we’ve forgotten about “self”.  We are back to the comfort foods that sooth us; back to relinquishing control to the remote devices; back to mindlessly eyeing our ever-expanding midsections. In short, back to our comfort-zones.

Think that’s a bad thing; think again.  It may not be such a bad thing after all; and that, of course, will solely depend on what we do next, as we are back to that place which motivated us in the first place; the place that prompted us to snap-out-of-it; the place from whence we began to take action; we began to make a change; we became that new year resolutions soldier, hell bent on following through with our scheduled workouts, come hell or high water.

In case you’ve forgotten, and chances are, you probably have, here are some reminders why you decided, and then, you continued to workout in the first place:

1-    You felt out of shape: your body began to impede, rather than  help you do what you wanted.

2-    You noticed the energy boost you got from exercising routinely and from practicing sensible eating habits.

3-    You loved your improved libido: yes, that sexual drive that prompted you to want more, to conquer, to share.  The one which transformed you into the hunter, not the self-loathing, needy, defeatist pray, who’s self-pity only increased after each sexual episode. 

Remember that YOU?

Remember how you got in touch with that YOU?

Remember how you enjoyed that YOU?

Well, that YOU is there for the taking, yet again. 

It won’t be easy. Anything worthwhile seldom is.  After all, while we do love the benefits of a healthy lifestyle; let’s go ahead and say it, putting in the work stinks; it sucks.  Who wants to be spending thirty, sixty, ninety minutes a day, drenched in sweat, smelly and in pain? Who wants to deprive themselves, on the regular, of their blessed comfort foods? Who wants the aches and pains, signals of a body clamoring to return to the old days; back to its old comforting ways?

There is a reason why we got there in the first place. It felt great getting there!! 

As a species we are highly wired to seek out comfort and to avoid pain. Change is guaranteed to cause pain. Unlearning old habits, while incorporating new ways, is easier said than done. So try not to panic when, motivated again, you hop back onto the healthy lifestyle train, only to find out that you’ve lost the conditioning you’ve acquired in your days as a new years resolutions soldier. Don’t be discouraged, as it will happen for sure; you will notice your diminished conditioning. 

Remember, we faster loose conditioning than we are able to build, or, for that matter, rebuild it. Just pace yourself and take it one day at a time; one workout session at a time, one exercise at a time.

I’m encouraged in the notion that this reading will prompt you to re-connect with that new years resolutions soldier tucked away inside you. But, enough about me; now, let’s talk about you!