If you were to take just ONE SMALL STEP today toward taking better physical care of your body, what might that be? What would be the EASIEST small step…something that if you did it you could actually say, “I feel [private_membership circle]less stuck”. Would it be taking the clothes off the handles of the exercycle in the basement? Maybe it’s just making a plan to buy new walking shoes this coming week and putting that date with yourself on your calendar along with a commitment to keep it. (Maybe it’s making a plan to get your teeth cleaned or get a mammogram scheduled.)
If the weather is good where you live, could you take a walk today? If you have not been exercising, maybe today’s walk is just to the end of your driveway…or a walk past three houses and back. If you have been exercising, maybe today you go a bit further, or a bit faster. “Begin with the end in mind”, as Stephen Covey would say (Seven Habits of Highly Effective People). Think about what it will be like when you have completed the commitment you made to yourself and you can say, “I did it. I said I was going to do it and I did it!”
When it comes to moving our bodies, and resetting our belief and trust that we can and will follow through when we promise ourselves we will, no commitment is too small!
If you do choose to make a plan today, and you follow through (which I have no doubt you can, if you make the commitment small enough to guarantee that), take note of what that was like for you…it will help you get the most and my next post, “One Step at a Time!” (Part 2)…
Ellen Shuman is a Life Coach who specializes in working with people who struggle with emotional and binge eating issues. She is the founder of A Weigh Out & Acoria Eating Disorder Treatment, Vice President of the Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA), and Co-Chair of the Academy for Eating Disorders Special Interest Group on “Health at Every Size”, ellen@aweighout.com
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