“They” – those unspecified developers of conventional wisdom – say it takes three weeks to form a habit, and one day to break it. Mind you, this theory “They” share only applies to “good” habits like eating well, working out, getting to work on time and never missing a deadline. Bad habits, we all know, are easier to pick up and harder to break. But let’s pay homage to the lengthy process each of us endures while abandoning our finely tuned and hard-fought-for “good” habits. Specifically, I’ll apply The 5 Steps of “F-it!” to the workout habit.
Step 1: “F-it. I am tired. Need to sleep in. Sleep is at least as important to health as exercise. I’ll go tonight instead.”
Step 2: “F-it! Busy day! I’m skipping today’s workout. I earned the night off. I’ll work out doubly hard tomorrow.”
Step 3: “F-it! I don’t have it in me to make up for yesterday’s workout. So, is today worth it?”
Step 4: “F-it! I missed 2 days. Let’s just write off this week and start fresh – on Monday!”
Step 5, “F-it! Feed me! I have missed a FULL week and have been eating well to make up for it, but why bother anymore? Eating well isn’t going to make next week’s return to the gym any easier. Give me the cookies Antonio brought in for Maya’s birthday. Give me that full-sugar soda. Who left their chips in kitchen? Their loss. And do we have any chardonnay at home for tonight? Husband and I could use a relaxing evening over wine. Been a stressful week. Eating well, in my current state, would be a waste.”
And there we have it. The 5 Steps of “F-it!” They’re marinated in excuses, sautéed in procrastination and topped with a dollop of human suffering. We all go through them in one area of our life or another because we’re all fallible.
I’ll even bet next month’s gym membership that the proverbial “They” go through The 5 Steps of “F-it!” from time to time.
My point? Give yourself a break once in a while. But, after step 5 – give or take five days or so of serious “F- it” (also called actually enjoying time off) – get up, squeeze into your formerly-cute workout clothes, and endure the pain of re-entry. It will suck. But, you’ve done it before. You’ll do this again. Go!
