Thoughtful Thursday: Don't Suck, Just Do It

No question is so difficult to answer 

as that to which the answer is obvious.

-George Bernard Shaw

So when I was in Mammoth Lakes last month I stopped in a Nike cross country shop and saw a super cute sweat shirt that said, "Don't Suck, Just Do It." I couldn't find my photo, so you'll get a google image of a t-shirt I found instead.

Anyhow, onto to the message. I have been such a slouch when it comes to working out. I recently let the pressure of 7 weeks to the marathon finally motivate me to get my butt in gear. I started TRX Monday, ran with a group Wednesday and hit the TRX gym again tonight. Still trying to decide whether I will swim at 5:30 AM tomorrow or do TRX at 6:00AM. I totally need swim because I am signing up for a local "Club Championship" TRI at the end of the month, but I am totally in love with the endorphin/confidence boost my new workouts have been giving me. Tough choice. 

My trainer's facebook post recently was "Strong is the New Skinny." LOVE IT! So all this funk, feeling fat and lazy and overwhelmed has been exhausting. Literally exhausting. I have been wondering how and when it would stop. Hello?! How obvious is the answer to that question? It has all been about me not getting enough "me" workout time. So George Bernard Shaw said it eloquently, but NIKE hit the nail on the head in a more straight forward fashion. Funk, Fat, Lazy and Overwhelmed, SUCKS. I don't want to suck and the answer this whole time has been, just do it.

• Just go to bed early
• Just get enough sleep
• Just get out of bed with the first alarm
• Just lace up your sneakers
• Just do 20 minutes if you don't have an hour
• Just do the things you know will make you feel better

Obvious answers. Easy answers. I feel like I am repeating myself as I do believe I wrote a post about this very same topic a few months back. Huh, I guess history really does repeat itself. Am I insane? I once read doing the same thing over and over expecting different results is insanity. Every time I stop working out regularly (ok fairly regularly) then I get all worked up and in a funk. So why do I keep falling off the wagon? I have established the consequence of not working out, icky feeling me. While I am on my tangent of self analyzing. Why don't we talk about my schizophrenic workout and interest attempts.

Just Do It, probably doesn't mean everything, but I kind of like to try a lot of things and I rarely stick with anything. Running and triathlon are the longest running interests I have second only to basketball. In the last year I have sporadically done Master's swim, Krav Maga for a few months, women's basketball league and now TRX. Last year it was all about running, TRI and cycling. The year before it was personal training and running, before that I was into Bikram yoga for a while too. I have been a vegetarian, I have kept kosher, I wanted to be a teacher (High School, Spanish, Professor of Ethnic Studies, Ethics and others I am sure), a basketball coach, a life coach, a counselor and a consultant. I have been wanting to go back to school for a PhD, write a book, publish poetry, be a fitness model, full time athlete and try new career tracts within my agency. Getting back to Mr. Shaw, the answer to all my questions are OBVIOUS. Obviously I can do ALL of these things. Simultaneously? Maybe not. I am quite talented you see, with tons of potential and I think that is why it is hard for me to focus. I don't usually say how completely awesome I am because I don't always feel completely awesome. I think I am a little afraid of myself because I am pretty darn good at everything I do, so I truly believe with focus I could achieve any one (or more) of the things I have listed that I want to do.

It is not that I lose interest necessarily in all the efforts, I love most things I try. The problem is that I don't want to limit myself to one thing I know that I will not want to spend ALL my time doing. I like variety. I need variety. I thrive on having experience and exposure to a wide variety of things. So until I find the showstopper that steals my heart, the way fly fishing has stolen my husband's heart, I'll just keep trying. I'll try not to suck and hopefully recognize the obvious answers to the questions in my life.  

Are you a little schizophrenic with your interests too?

Why I Kick A$$: Because I am so naturally talented that I can try different things and be successful.

Thankful Three

1. For blogging, it is so much fun
2. For my husband and the Snicker's ice cream bar he just brought home
3. For Rock Star day at the kids school