Are you feeling the winter blah’s yet? Have you already given up on your New Year’s resolutions? Here are 7 ideas for ways to help you get motivated to exercise – even in these cold dark winter days.
Snippet from the Show
We have so many different obligations that make it hard to find the motivation to workout.
Shownotes
- Take a 15 minute walk.
Start where you are and start small. Just go for a walk! Right now! Taking action right now will help you make positive moves toward regular exercise.
- Offer it up.
Choose a special prayer intention or offer up your work out for the intentions of someone you love who is going through something hard right now. All suffering and sacrifice has value – don’t waste it – offer it up!
- Be creative.
Embrace new ways of thinking about exercise. It doesn’t have to look like going to the gym or doing a video workout to “count.” Dancing in the living room, running up the stairs, and doing laundry can “count” as exercise. Look for creative ways to add more movement to your days.
- Keep track.
You might wear a fitness tracker or just keep a journal of your efforts. Tracking your activity and workouts can be very motivating and give you a great sense of accomplishment.
- Forget “all or nothing.”
Every little bit counts! Forgive yourself for being out of shape or neglecting exercise and start right now, right where you are. Missing a day is not an excuse to throw it all out the window.
- Reward yourself.
Keep it simple and not too indulgent, but look for a way to pair exercise with something you really like. Maybe watching a TV show, listening to a podcast, or treating yourself to a smoothie.
- Buddy up.
Everything is more fun with a friend! Enlist a friend in your fitness goals. Exercise with a friend (or even your kid or husband!) can help hold you accountable and help you feel not so alone in your workouts.
Listener Question (30:05)
What are your thoughts on letting your little one cry it out? There are so many different methods of sleep training and I would really appreciate any advice you can give.
-Elaine
My new book, Whisper: Finding God in the Everyday, is available to order!
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Megan Madden
Megan Madden is a homeschooling mother with a passion for writing and speaking on authentic femininity and virtuous womanhood. In 2017, she began graduate studies in marriage and family at the International Theological Institute in Austria. After moving to Kraków, Poland to work with university students, Megan more personally continued her research on the complementarity of man and woman, particularly on the question of what it means to be a woman. She delved into the study of renowned Catholic writers on women such as St. Edith Stein, Gertrude von le Fort, Alice von Hildebrand, St. John Paul II, and St. Teresa of Avila.
The results were the development of Megan’s online ministry A Mother’s Lace, as well as speaking opportunities and her book with Ascension: Mary, Teach Me to Be Your Daughter.
Megan lives outside of Oxford, England with her husband, who is a lecturer in theology, and their five children.
