Hooray for me -- I ran last night! It felt great, physically and emotionally. And I feel optimistic about being able to squeeze in some other workout by the end of the week.
So it's all good, right? WRONG. I was so exhausted after running that by the time the baby finally went down for the night, I was no longer functional and fell asleep with a lengthy to-do list left undone. Today I woke up feeling guilty about getting "nothing" done last night, even though running really should count as "something." That's what I've got to make myself believe -- that taking care of myself is a worthwhile use of my time, as important as many of the other tasks on my seemingly endless lists!!
This is a bad time of year to try to find extra time for something like exercise, but it's also a bad time of year to be miserable, so I have no choice. I don't know how to get it all done. I don't even know if I CAN get it all done. It's time to get pickier about priorities, and make sure my well-being isn't the very lowest one.
I do still feel optimistic about being able to get in another workout this week, but I expect to engage in a mental struggle to postpone some other task in order to do it. If exercise wins that struggle, I hope that I will feel proud of myself instead of guilty!
Sounds like your head is in the right place. Do you include running actually ON your to-do list, so it's something that can be crossed out when you're done with it? Then it's not just on your head, but right there in black and white (or purple, because purple pens can be fun) that you did do "something" on your list.
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Oh yes, running is most definitely written on my to-do list, and ALWAYS in purple ink. :) And because I am on the same motivational level as my preschooler, I also reward myself with a sticker on a chart each time I exercise. Right now my challenge is to be proud of the few stickers I'm currently earning, and stop looking back at my old charts from the days when I was working out twice a day most days...my life is just different than that right now, and THAT'S OKAY!! (shouted more for my own benefit than for yours! lol)
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