I had a tough winter through January to March. Did you? My husband had passed away at the end of the year, I regained some pounds eating my way through the initial shock and grief, the last two winters had developed into unidentified lung issues for me, and I basically sat inside my house being completely inactive. So when spring finally broke through the ice, I realized I needed to start moving and shaking off the cobwebs of my grief and winter. I tied on running shoes and went out the door to get in a walk. I only made it to the corner before I was feeling winded and done in; about half a block. It was shocking to me that I had become so unfit. Initially it was hard to make myself go out the door each day, and to push a little further each day. But I did. I made it a commitment to myself and knew I needed to honor that commitment. Then I found I could go out several times a day, even if subsequent walks that day were only minutes around my block. It all added up by the end of the day, and I was feeling better.
Then came the day, after a couple of months of walking, that I took my time and was so enjoying the beautiful afternoon, I continued on for 2 miles. It did not “hit” me until I got home how far I had come from only being able to walk half a block and feeling ill from that, to walking 2 miles and feeling energized and elated by it.
All it takes is a commitment to yourself and for you to honor yourself and do it. You only need walk 5 minutes. You don’t even need to make it every day if that is overwhelming. Set it for 3 days a week. The point is that you do it; and each time you do it, you reinforce how much you value yourself and honor yourself. It can make a huge difference in how you begin to feel about yourself. Then there may be the day that you find you’ve walked for 45 minutes because you had the time and so enjoyed the feeling of moving your body. Can you commit? You are so worth it.
