That First Step

Wow, what a powerful topic. As soon as I read this on the message board, I thought, "I have to go!" I went & did my: walk 3 minutes, run 2 minutes, for 5 cycles. I have been working up to this more slowly than most, but hey, so what? I never used to be able to run for 1 minute, never mind 10. I use a combination of many ideas to take that first step. Sometimes I sleep in my gear, sometimes I lay it out the night before. Sometimes I go before work & sometimes in the evening. Today, I went for a short walk in the morning, but then I didn't have time for breakfast & over ate. I walked to the bank on my break. I took 4 flights of stairs 4 times at work. I often count steps as I run or repeat a mantra like, " I am strong & powerful." I often use "other" voices for myself eg. What would I say to my best friend in this situation? Would I say, "Oh lay on the couch, it doesn't matter." or would I say, "Let's go for a walk, you will feel 1000x better when we get back. If it is only 15 minutes, that's okay. Any movement is better than sitting still." What would my "inner coach" say? She'd say "let's go, the discomfort is temporary & your goals are super important. Remember when you thought that you would never, ever shop in the regular sizes? " Any time I am at Winner's & I walk by the plus sizes, I am overcome with thankfulness for my progress - that I don't have to shop there anymore. That has been the biggest reward for me.
In a way, exercise has become a huge anti-anxiety pill for me. It makes my whole day much easier to cope with.
All the best to you in your journey friends . When you are on the road to good health, remember that if you get a flat tire, you fix it & get back on the road. You don't run around & pop holes in the other 3 tires.