Just got back from working out.  Felt good today.  And I had a couple of  “aha!” moments while I was there…

First off, I think I have always approached exercise in the wrong way.  I always looked at it as my enemy because it was hard and it made my body hurt.  While I was doing it, I felt like I was fighting against it.  My mind and my body were like two separate entities.  My body was saying, “I hate this.”  And my mind was saying, “Do it any way!”.  So, in essence, they were fighting against each other, too.  Basically, my workouts were a wrestling match between the exercise, my body and my mind.  No wonder I didn’t look forward to going to the gym each day.

Today as I was running on the treadmill (or maybe I should say jogging!) I had a thought.  What if I approached my own workouts as I would a friend who needed someone to come alongside her?  What if I looked at my mind and my body, and even my exercise as friends working together for a common goal?  What if instead of dukin’ it out each time, they encouraged each other and said, “we’re in this together!  We can do this thing!” ?  What if all those components work better as a team than individually?  Hmmmmmm…..

Well, I tried working with that thought today, and it made my perspective totally different.  I’m doing this for the benefit to my mind and body and even soul.  So they should naturally be together in this thing.  And exercise isn’t the enemy.  It’s the tool that gets me to my goal.  Yeah, it’s gonna hurt sometimes and times when it feels like it’s pushing me too hard or too far, but ultimately it’s for my good.  Nice.

And yes, you could hear the analogy coming a mile away, couldn’t you?  Just like life.  Tough times come.  We look at them as the enemy.  We fight against it.  Our minds and bodies at war against each other in the form of stress and worry and fear.  But what if we look at those difficult times as tools to help us reach our goal, to reach GOD’S goal for us?  What if we recognize hard stuff as being for our benefit, even when it hurts, even when it feels like too much?

In exercise, our goal is hard, strong muscle.  In life, our goal is a soft but strong heart.  When we embrace exercise, we experience the beauty of our goal being reached.  Same with life.  If we lean into and not away from those difficult things, knowing that they have been allowed or planned by God Himself, then we will see those same benefits on our hearts.  A great softness mixed with a new strength. And when our mind and body come into agreement on that, the process has purpose and meaning and gives us the endurance to WANT to keep going and see it through.  Just like on the treadmill this morning. 🙂

There was another analogy this morning,  but I think I’ll save it for later.  Have a great day!  Go Team!