Thank you to P&G’s Have You Tried This Yet? program and Kroger for sponsoring my writing about trying new things and breaking out of my everyday routine. Click here to find great savings on high-performing P&G products at a Kroger store near you. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.
Have you ever gotten stuck? Stuck in a rut, not really wanting to do much of anything, much less exercise? (If you haven’t then let us know your secret, pretty please!) Bored with your routine, knowing full well that you NEED to get moving, but just not quite able to grasp that motivation to GET GOING? Secret: I have. More than once. GASP!!!
I also have an irrational fear of making a total fool out of myself.
Last year, I was half a season into my half-marathon training and was growing bored of my elliptical-treadmill-weight machine routine. I have a short attention span. Spending hours on the same equipment day in and day out with little personal interaction is not my cup of tea. Yet, I was soooo afraid of stepping out of that comfort zone. So afraid. For years and years, I had wanted to try classes at the gym. I found every excuse NOT to… I was too fat, too out-of-shape, too klutzy.
10-mile training run
One day, I made a promise to myself and to some friends (because, really, who wants to let their friends down), that I would confront this fear head-on. I would go to one of those classes that I wanted so badly to try, yet felt panicky at the mere thought of attending. I picked a class that one of my best friends went to, lovingly called “death by Barb”. It was tough. My clothes soaked through with sweat. I was not the thinnest or toughest woman there. But I did not die. I DIDN’T DIE!!! No one pointed at me and laughed or whispered about me behind my back. Or maybe they did?
That ONE day may seem so very small in the grand scheme of life, but to me, it signifies something so much bigger. That one day, that one MORNING, gave me the confidence to shake up my fitness routine and to branch out and try new classes and activities. I went back to “death by Barb” again and again and even got the guts to try some new classes all by myself.
I have learned that I love, love, love kickboxing. I love aerobics-type classes. I don’t like yoga. I am utterly uncoordinated and rhythm-less when it comes to Zumba, but I enjoy it anyway. I am not afraid much to try new activities. Stepping out of my comfort zone that first time was HARD, I’m not going to lie. But it is so worth it. If you do one thing for yourself this month, do this… try something new. Step away from your every day routine, if only for one day, and put yourself out there. I don’t think you will regret it.
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