I love going for a long walk every day. I also miss my Sunday family walk in one of the beautiful gardens of Delhi. Determined to find my way through the lockdown with a positive approach, I decided to try out a 30 minute online workout in place of the daily walk. After a few experiments, we settled in on one that worked for us. The first four days were fun. It also gave us something to do together that was good for us. The newness and novelty of it kept me engaged. But by day five, I found my enthusiasm had waned. I pushed through, but day six was really difficult.
My heart was just not in it. I kept thinking about how I love to be outdoors. Looking at trees, listening to the birds, enjoying the morning sun. It would have been so easy to give up and say, “No, this is not working for me…”
Luckily the trainer in his effort to pep up people like me kept talking through his exercise routine. One of the things he said about exercise helped me power through… “Change happens slowly…it does not have to be perfect, even if you are just walking and watch me, it’s fine, you showed up…”. It requires resolve and a routine. Every step counts. Sustained effort is what is required. It does not matter if I am able to keep up with him, just that I chose to get up and get moving every morning. That matters. I am happy to report that after that lull, the energy was back today. I enjoyed myself immensely again and the weighing scale is grateful that I kept going.
This got me thinking about the power of routine and rituals. I know that I am supposed to be kind to myself. So I was conflicted on the need to push and be demanding of myself to do things that I did not feel like. Luckily in this case my head won over my heart. I have kept at my exercise routine, forcing myself to drink the ‘Change Juice’ however bitter it may have been and I am feeling much better for it.
Like my physical health depends on my ability to stay committed to the routine and ritual of exercise, my mental health too is important to take care of. I have a ritual of a daily 33 minute guided meditation. I missed it for two days and felt my energy plummet, I got grumpy and angry and could not figure why. I put it down to confinement and Covid times, but on reflection it was triggered by me giving up on following my daily meditation routine.
I know what I need to do to stay healthy, but knowledge is not enough. I often even have the resolve to do what needs to be done, but I lose the plot when it comes down to execution on a daily basis. Drinking my daily dose of ‘Change Juice’ is a powerful way to stay fighting fit. So here is me reminding myself (and you) to power through, one step at a time. Each of us have a different flavor of juice that works for us, different quantities, different times of day that we drink it. Find your juice bar, fix a time and drink up. Every day, one small sip at a time, we will get through this. Don’t aim for perfection, aim for progress.
Stay healthy, stay happy and get those creative juices flowing on finding ways to drink that daily dose of ‘Change Juice’.
The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.
A trusted coaching and communications professional, Nikhil Dey is a certified life and leadership coach (International Coach Federation - ICF). Nurturing talent and helping clients achieve their goals is what makes him happy. He loves learning from students of communication, teaching courses and guest lecturing at various educational institutions. When he is not working you will find him on the tennis court or out for long walks with his family and four legged friends.
Previously he has held senior leadership positions at Weber Shandwick and Genesis BCW.
He can be reached on twitter @deydreaming
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