Friday Tri: Showing Up is Half the Battle
I lie to myself all the time. About writing, and about triathlon. I go down to my computer in the morning and tell myself I'm just going to check email. Or that I'm just going to look over yesterday's work. Something easy. Write a short essay for my blog. Send out a couple queries for a short story I wrote a few weeks ago. I tell myself that I will just go online and look at twitter, or facebook, maybe I'll have an idea for a short line to write to friends.
I know there are people who say that the way to get writing done is to stay off the internet, and there are certainly loads of programs that help you do that, disabling your internet access for a few hours at a time. I understand that this is important for some people, and of course, everyone has their own ways of getting things done. But for me, the internet is a little carrot that I use and I have never felt the urge to turn it off. Because as long as I am sitting at my desk, I will eventually get around to doing some real writing. It has happened every time. Even yesterday, when I ran 35 miles and was in pain, and told myself I was just going to sit because I needed to sit, and check email. But then I thought—maybe I could write a chapter. Or two. And I did.
The same thing is true of working out. Lie to yourself. Set an alarm and tell yourself that you're just going to go for a walk. Or that you are going to the gym, but you're not going to work out hard. You're going to swim a few laps and get out. Don't make big promises to yourself. But little ones matter. Make a commitment to do something, even if it is a small thing, to get yourself to be in the right place at the right time, whenever that is for you.
If you need extra sleep, OK, you an give yourself permission to turn off the alarm. For me, if the alarm goes off, about 90% of the time, I'm awake and even if I want to go back to sleep, I can't. Some days I will sit in bed and complain to myself for ten minutes (or thirty). Sometimes I will get up right away and get going. It's OK not to be excited about it every time. It's OK if you just show up at the gym and only do 5 minutes. But if you get into the habit, you are going to improve. If you put yourself in the right place, things will happen.
Sure, maybe you're not a morning person. Maybe the alarm thing will never work for you. Then don't do that. Set an alarm in the evening. Or get a coffee by the place that's near the gym. Or sign up for a race and realize that you're going to be embarrassed if you don't do some training beforehand, and if you don't show up, you'll have wasted your money. Hire a trainer, because that's real commitment. But if you're not ready for that, just tell yourself you're going to get out of bed and put your shoes on. Tell yourself that if you feel like coming back in the door the minute you step out, that you're allowed, that you can go sleep on the couch if you really need to.
Like I said, lie. That's what writers do best of all, isn't it?
I know there are people who say that the way to get writing done is to stay off the internet, and there are certainly loads of programs that help you do that, disabling your internet access for a few hours at a time. I understand that this is important for some people, and of course, everyone has their own ways of getting things done. But for me, the internet is a little carrot that I use and I have never felt the urge to turn it off. Because as long as I am sitting at my desk, I will eventually get around to doing some real writing. It has happened every time. Even yesterday, when I ran 35 miles and was in pain, and told myself I was just going to sit because I needed to sit, and check email. But then I thought—maybe I could write a chapter. Or two. And I did.
The same thing is true of working out. Lie to yourself. Set an alarm and tell yourself that you're just going to go for a walk. Or that you are going to the gym, but you're not going to work out hard. You're going to swim a few laps and get out. Don't make big promises to yourself. But little ones matter. Make a commitment to do something, even if it is a small thing, to get yourself to be in the right place at the right time, whenever that is for you.
If you need extra sleep, OK, you an give yourself permission to turn off the alarm. For me, if the alarm goes off, about 90% of the time, I'm awake and even if I want to go back to sleep, I can't. Some days I will sit in bed and complain to myself for ten minutes (or thirty). Sometimes I will get up right away and get going. It's OK not to be excited about it every time. It's OK if you just show up at the gym and only do 5 minutes. But if you get into the habit, you are going to improve. If you put yourself in the right place, things will happen.
Sure, maybe you're not a morning person. Maybe the alarm thing will never work for you. Then don't do that. Set an alarm in the evening. Or get a coffee by the place that's near the gym. Or sign up for a race and realize that you're going to be embarrassed if you don't do some training beforehand, and if you don't show up, you'll have wasted your money. Hire a trainer, because that's real commitment. But if you're not ready for that, just tell yourself you're going to get out of bed and put your shoes on. Tell yourself that if you feel like coming back in the door the minute you step out, that you're allowed, that you can go sleep on the couch if you really need to.
Like I said, lie. That's what writers do best of all, isn't it?
No comments have been added yet.
Mette Ivie Harrison's Blog
- Mette Ivie Harrison's profile
- 436 followers
Mette Ivie Harrison isn't a Goodreads Author
(yet),
but they
do have a blog,
so here are some recent posts imported from
their feed.
