Why is it so hard to stick to an exercise routine?

Why is it so hard to stick to an exercise routine?

There are only two ways to do anything: willingly or unwillingly. Anything you do unwillingly will feel unpleasant, or like a struggle. So you must do things willingly, or don’t do them. That is just a choice.

If sticking to your exercise routine is a struggle, then ask yourself why you are doing it in the first place. Why are you so unwilling to do it? Maybe you’re not getting the results you want.

Maybe you don’t have a realistic sense of what it takes to get the results you want. Maybe you don’t even know what you want or why you’re exercising to begin with. Or maybe you realize exercise, the way most people approach it, is not what you want and you would rather dance, or play a game, or learn to use your body in some other way. 

You can come up with any number of excuses why not to exercise. And that is fine, because exercise is not necessary. What is absolutely necessary is using your body and being physically active in ways that keep you inspired, challenged, and growing. Most exercise is dull and repetitive. But you can certainly break that pattern and take up new ways of using your body and keeping physically active. Instead of forcing yourself to exercise you can willingly decide to learn new movements, take up a sport, take up a dance class, or try something totally new. 

Like when you were a kid, using your body is supposed to be a joy, not an arduous core. Seek out joyful ways of using your body actively and growing. If your mind is your greatest barrier, then work at that. Mediate. Do some internal work. Above all, stop only trying to find how you can benefit from something. Instead of what you can get from something, see what you can bring to it. If you are joyful, then you will move with joy. If you are miserable, then “exercising” will become miserable. At Grand View Hotel, we teach classes for movement flow, energy cultivation, and physical strength – this is why our motto is “gGrow at Grand View”.

“You don’t dance because it’s good for your health, you dance because you’re happy.”

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