Every Friday my alarm clock goes off at 3:30am.
I’m at the gym working out by 4am.
My workout routine is sacred to me.
This past Friday however, my alarm went off, I hit snooze, and didn’t get up.
When I finally did open my eyes, it was 3:55am.
Darn it!
Cue The Mental Negotiations
I have a tight morning schedule a 15 minute late start makes a big difference.
“You’re only 15 minutes behind schedule, get up, get to the gym, make it happen.”
“It’s Friday, it’s early, my body is sore from yesterday’s workout, I’m running behind schedule, just forget it and get back at it tomorrow.”
Is it just me (maybe it is) or do you have these same mental negotiations with yourself as well?
Everything in me wanted to stay in bed and I had all good reasons to do so as well.
I decided to get up, go to the gym, workout, and deal with being late.
Why?
Because my health, my happiness, my integrity, my confidence, my sense of fulfillment and self-worth is much too important for me not to get up.
Even on days I’m not running behind schedule, that darn conversation creeps in.
It’s Not Easy
The whole idea that it becomes easy once you get going is a crock of you know what.
Truth is, it gets harder to stay on track the more I allow myself to get off track.
“The more we win that mental negotiation debate (to get up or not get up, to exercise or not to exercise, to eat healthy or not eat healthy, to drink water or not drink water) so that the decision is in our favor and contributing to us feeling and being our absolute best, the more we build our integrity muscle.”
.
Yes, that muscle does exist although you won’t find it in any anatomy book. 🙂
Your integrity muscle is responsible for your health, happiness, confident, how you carry yourself and view yourself, your sense of fulfillment and self-worth.
As you can see, it’s a pretty important muscle.
Your integrity muscle is just like any other muscle in the body too… the less you use it, the weaker it becomes.
If however, you work it out regularly, by making those tough decisions…
To get up when you rather stay in bed.
To exercise when you rather not exercise.
To eat healthy when you rather not.
To go for that run when you’re tired and worn out.
The more of these tough decisions you make, the stronger your integrity muscle becomes.
Building Your Integrity Muscle
Here’s the scoop… our integrity muscle isn’t built or exercised during easy times.
Your integrity muscle is built during the challenging and trying times.
When you find yourself wanting to give in to that dumb voice that’s trying to hold you back from feeling and being your best, but you don’t
You don’t give in because you know you deserve to feel your best.
Yes of course it’s harder in the beginning, it always is, but it does get easier… not easy (it never gets easy), but easier.
Make it a point to constantly work on your integrity muscle because when you do, you’ll find yourself on track more often.
Not just with healthy eating and exercise either, but in all aspects of life.
You’re awesome!
Mike
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