As I was leaving the gym today, the sign in the picture above caught my eye. I had to take a picture because that is exactly how I was feeling as I made my way to the car. For the past few days, I’ve made a commitment to myself to get back into my walking routine. Since Saturday, each day I have made it my business to walk for 20 minutes, no matter what.
Of course it was easy to stick to that commitment while the sun was shining and the temperature was nice, however, today when I got up it was gloomy and raining. My initial thought was to blow it off because I couldn’t possibly walk in the rain. That’s when I knew I had to encourage myself. I quickly came up with a plan B. Without belaboring the issue I packed my gym bag and headed to work. The day was long and taxing. I received bad news from a friend who had lost their mother, and my back was killing me. But you know what? I didn’t let any of that keep me from honoring my commitment to myself.
When I left work I went straight to the gym. My goal was to walk 20 minutes and that was it. However, as I was approaching the 20-minute mark I noticed that I only had a quarter mile to go in order to complete one mile. So I dug in and walked for 5 extra minutes to reach the one-mile mark!
Today was the first time I noticed that sign. It resonated with me immediately. As I headed out of the gym, I did so with my head held high because today I did something great for myself. I didn’t let how I was feeling or the unexpected circumstance of needing to console a friend stop me from taking care of me. Yes, I left the gym and went straight to my friend and was able to be there for them 100% because I had taken 25 minutes to be there for myself first!
Your Turn To Share
What great thing did you do for yourself today? What great thing are you planning to do for yourself this week?