What do weeds and exercise have in common?
Lately my husband and I have been reading some of Eliot Coleman’s books, and this was from “Four Season Harvest”:
Weeds probably discourage more potential gardeners than any
other single problem. “Oh, the garden was overgrown
with weeds and we finally gave up” is so common a statement that it
is almost considered a normal reaction. It doesn’t need to be that
way. Have you ever heard anyone say, “Oh, the living room finally
got so dirty that we just stopped using it”? We don’t stop
enjoying the living room because of dust. We simply vacuum or
sweep every so often to keep the room clean. The same applies
in the garden. Furthermore, just as dirt in the living room can
be minimized by placing a mat outside the front door or asking
the people to remove their shoes before entering the house,
weeds in the garden can be prevented in a number of ways. All of
them make less work for the gardener.
How many times have you “let exercise go” or “let the new eating plan go” because you messed up or life happened?
I was part of a small challenge among some friends. We’re all on an e-mail list together, homeschooling mamas who’ve known each other a long time. Most of us had major things come up last month that kept us from “finishing” as well as we had hoped. One had a major move and all that entailed. Another had an unplanned surgery. Yet another has major stress with what her husband is going through in his job right now. I felt my adrenals weren’t quite up to snuff the second half of the month, so I had to back off.
Should we just throw in the towel and quit? Let the “weeds” take over?
NO!
I think the biggest area we have to really watch those weeds is in our thoughts!
When life hits, don’t say “Well, I blew it again! Might as well wait until next week/month to start!”
The way to overcome and make “lemonade” when life throws lemons at you is to say, “This month isn’t going as I planned, but I can do something! I can at least do 3 moves throughout the day and brush.”
Or “I might not get a whole workout in 3 days a week, but if I can get one in plus a few moves on the other days, I’ve accomplished something!”
As the old adage goes, “Something is better than nothing!”
It’s often good to have a back-up plan. The past few weeks I got a modified PBS in (MORE style) and Organs in Place (OIP) some nights before bed. Although I would have liked to do more moves on the days I didn’t teach classes, that was all I could handle. As I’ve shared before, in preparing for my trainer certifications, I will mentally go through a move as if I’m teaching it, and I also have been reading Fit and Fabulous in Fifteen Minutes one move at a time, so I am still “working on it” even if I can’t actually do a move every day!
As in the “battle of the weeds”, nipping things early helps. Or Eliot Coleman’s example of a mat at the front door to help with dirt in the living room.
We can do the same with our mindset about T-Tapp: what can you do to nip the “negative thoughts” in the bud? What can you do to defray the temptation to just give in and do nothing because you couldn’t do everything you had planned?
Before I started training to be a trainer, MORE was my “go-to” workout. When I was in a funk and couldn’t decide–it was already decided for me! If I was still balking due to a late night the night before, or because the day was getting away from me, I would tell myself, “You can do MORE Chair. It’s only 10 minutes!”
At least I did something!
Think through your “contingency plan” and what are the bare bones basics you will do no matter what. For me it’s brushing (I take Sundays off), PBS in the morning and OIP before bed. I also try to get in the Mitten Chop Box, but I don’t stress about it. PBS is easy to remember because it helps me wake up and stretch out the nighttime kinks. OIP is fairly easy to do before bed without too much thought–although there have been nights I was so dog-tired I just fell into bed! 
And lest you despair that just doing a few moves won’t yield any results…here again is Debbie Davidson’s powerful testimony of “just” doing a few Hoedowns throughout a stressful time in her life!
Share your thoughts in the comments–do you have a “go-to” plan? A set of basics that get done no matter what?
I’d love to hear from you–and I’m sure others would benefit from it, too!
Be sure to stay tuned–I am hoping to have the “surprise” I mentioned a few weeks ago ready for next T-Tapp Tuesday! 