Barriers to Change

Last week I exercised two times. One of them was through playing Broomball through a USC sponsored event. I think social events with friends serve as a very good way to not only have fun but to get in some exercise time as well. This week I have not exercised even once. I know this is hard to write, and I'm not particularly proud of my lack of progress. In my defense the whole week is not over, so hopefully I can get in some workout time by the end of the week. Also, I have been making an effort to get in more exercise through everyday life, I park my car further away so I walk more, and I try to take the stairs as opposed to elevators. So I thought this week would be a good time to write about the things that stand in the way towards me getting fit and how I can overcome them.

Barrier number one: I feel like I'm busy and it's hard to schedule in time to workout. School projects and internship work has kept me pretty occupied this week as opposed to other weeks. I really think it's important to schedule out the times I will spend on work and school and then schedule in actual time to workout. I think this problem can be overcome through time management and sticking to a schedule. It's important to make time to workout even when things get busy as maintaining one's health is necessary to be able to perform your best in school and work.

Barrier number two: Sometimes I just feel too tired by the time I get home from everything to workout. I'm starting to think that one way to overcome this would be to wake up earlier and workout in the morning. This way I can add in workout time around my schedule and hopefully this will give me more energy throughout the day. I think I would also be more motivated to have exercising be one of the first things I do to start a day as opposed to one of the last things I do during the end of the day.

Barrier number three: Once I go through one or two weeks of not meeting my goal I get discouraged and it gets harder for me to meet my full goal in subsequent weeks. I think this barrier can be overcome through just maintaining a positive mindset. Just because this week did not go well doesn't mean they all will end up the same way. I think it's important for me to think of the ways I will overcome my barriers, and focus on acting out on those plans to get me to meet my goals in future weeks. I also think I should just forgive myself for not meeting my goal this week and work towards meeting it in future weeks.