Obstacles and Your Ability to Work Hard

We all face obstacles to our goals, not just in weightloss but in life.  The key is to identify these obstacles and to think of ways to overcome them.  In many cases, our biggest obstacle, the most difficult one to overcome, is ourselves.  I know that I have a nasty habit of over-thinking things and making nothing into something, and then trying to rationalize why I have done it.  One of my personal goals, which I have repeated many times already, is to stop making excuses.  Just DO it.  (I now understand Nike's slogan from the past 20 years.)  Making excuses only hurts you, no one else.  Say you have a bad day at work and you think to yourself that you really just need to go home and rest and you'll work out tomorrow instead.  You're not punishing your job or the co-worker that upset you, you're only hurting yourself by making excuses.  As I have said before, exercise is a great stress reliever and it can really take your mind off things.  Sometimes I'll be on a machine, like a treadmill or eliptical, and I don't think of anything.  It's the perfect time to clear your mind.  You aren't going anywhere so you don't need to watch out around you, you aren't bothering anybody so you don't need to worry what others think about you, it's total YOU time.  I like to watch the distance, time, and calories burned, and focus on only those things.  That's all that matters in that moment. 

When I'm working out, I'm doing it for me, no one else.  Your body can take a lot of hard work.  The issue often times is overcoming your mind.  Your brain is going to tell you that you are tired and you should slow down, but if you listen to your legs, or whatever muscles you happen to be working, they are doing just fine.  Jillian Michaels has a nice saying, "If you aren't going to puke, faint, or die, keep going!"  Your body can take it.  Get past your mind.  Workout time is not a time to look cute and worry about what other people are doing.  I have a goal when I'm at the gym.  I work out as hard as I can in hopes that when I go in the locker room to get my stuff to leave, I look in the mirror and I say "whoa!" I want my face to be red and sweaty, my hair to be messed up, my clothes to be damp, the whole she-bang.  Those are my signs that let me know that I know I tried my hardest.  I'm not there to impress anybody.  I'm there to work.  If you want results, you've got to put in the effort.  If you're not breaking a sweat, a GOOD sweat, then you're probably not pushing yourself hard enough.  You can do it.  You've got to get past your mind telling you anything different.